wfn.org | Educators focus on leadership

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"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS" by SUSAN PEEK on Aug. 11, 1991 at 13:58 Eastern,
about FULL TEXT RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (3046 notes).

Note 3045 by UMNS on July 8, 1996 at 12:38 Eastern (3899 characters).

SEARCH: leadership, institute, educators, society
Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT: Linda Green                           331(10-22-71){3045}
         Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470              July 2, 1996

  UMNS stories may be accessed on the Internet World Wide Web at:
                   http://www.umc.org/umns.html

Goal of leadership is to make 
positive difference in society     

                 by United Methodist News Service

     NASHVILLE -- "Leadership is as complex as life itself. It
engages the whole person, within his or her respective community,
to raise questions, to make a positive difference in society."
     So said Trudie K. Reed, a professor at Columbia (S.C.)
College whose field is leadership, during the 1996 Institute of
Higher Education, here, June 26-28.
     The institute, coordinated by the United Methodist Board of
Higher Education and Ministry's Division of Higher Education,
examined critical issues in higher education and focused on
leadership in the classroom, on campus, and within the college or
university community.
     The Institute of Higher Education is held annually to help
United Methodist institutions realize their mission and the goal
of Methodism's founders, "to unite the pair so long disjoined --
knowledge and vital piety."
     Reed told an audience of United Methodist-related college
presidents, academic deans, student affairs officers, provosts,
faculty and staff members, that as the world becomes more
technical, educational institutions will need to play a vital role
in restoring dignity to citizens who lack resources and the
ability to use telecommunications systems. "The growing rate of
illiteracy will further compound this challenge," Reed said.
     She told the educators that if they want to create effective
learning environments, they "must engage in a learning process
that is capable of providing flexibility in visioning without
interference from psycho-culturally assimilated values." She said
the greatest need for all human beings is confronting mindsets to
release old patterns of thinking that inhibit growth and maturity.
     She said that higher education is challenged to raise the
right questions necessary to facilitate critique of present day
realities and to foster movement beyond mental boundaries and
traditions. 
     A goal of an effective leader is to create a learning
environment in which each member of society becomes a perpetual
learner.
     She declared that institutions of higher learning not only
have the potential to bring wholeness and learning to the world,
but they must accept the challenge of creating a new movement for
"democratizing" society. 
     Leadership in a rapidly changing world has a primary goal to
empower individuals toward more dialogue and reflection whereby a
person can be creative and innovative and have the freedom to
explore the unknown, Reed said. 
     "Educational organizations have a unique task to respond to
the challenges of a changing society by matching the needs of a
new era with integrity, vision and conviction." She said, as
leaders, each educator is capable of transforming the world into a
better future.
     Throughout the three-days, three other principle speakers and
11 workshop leaders addressed the educators on the importance of
leadership preparation and programs.  Participants examined the
definition of leadership and explored ways to develop leadership
in students, faculty and staff. 
     The group discussed ways in which United Methodist
institutions can provide leadership by serving their communities
and the nation meaningfully, and how to address racial tensions
and social change on campus.
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