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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 (3102 notes).

Note 3100 by UMNS on Aug. 5, 1996 at 16:38 Eastern (4518 characters).

SEARCH: schools and colleges, higher education, leadership,
qualities, United Methodist, national association
Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of
the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New
York, and Washington.

CONTACT:  Ralph E. Baker                          386(10-71){3099}
          Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5470             Aug. 5, 1996

Association considers leadership
for a church-related campus

     ROCKPORT, Me. (UMNS) -- Presidents of United Methodist-
related institutions of higher education were called on July 28
here to rise from the "level of professionals" to that of
"amateurs" who "have the spirit of a lover."
     What is needed today are leaders who demonstrate the root
meaning of "amateur" -- one who does something for the love of it,
said Daniel Boorstin, historian, writer, teacher, philosopher and
retired Librarian of Congress.   However, he cautioned, such a
move is difficult.
     Boorstin was the opening speaker at the annual meeting and
seminar of the National Association of Schools and Colleges of the
United Methodist Church (NASCUMC) held July 28-Aug. 1 here.  About
70 college presidents and staff members of the church's Board of
Higher Education and Ministry attended the sessions.
     "Once presidents were expected to take positions as leaders
on great moral issues, not just serve as administrative heads of
institutions," Boorstin said.  Today, he continued, more and more
educational institutions tend to become bureaucracies and college
presidents are chosen for their abilities as administrators and
money raisers -- a circumstance he called "depressing."
     Continuing the conference theme of "leadership for a church-
related campus," Margaret J. Wheatley, an author and consultant in
leadership development, urged the United Methodist higher
education leaders to "stop thinking about each other as machines
and realize as human beings we possess enormous potential."
     There is a need, Wheatley said, "to discover others in an
organization who want to be there with us."  The focus of
leadership should be on "people who are working with us."
     An essential first step in leadership, the college presidents
were told, is to "make sure the organization knows itself."  A key
question here, Wheatley said, is what is the identity around which
people are organizing?
     Taking up a troublesome topic of the day, the education
leaders were reminded that lawsuits claiming sexual harassment
have increased dramatically in recent years with damage awards
often soaring into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
     Octavia Seawell, a consultant in organizational training and
development, said studies show incidents of harassment are as high
as 30 percent for female undergraduates, and 23 to 30 percent for
female faculty members.  The majority of incidents reported by
students involve other students, she added.
     "Most people who experience sexual harassment simply want it
stopped," Seawell said, "and most people will stop if asked."  The
two major types of harassment she cited are "quid pro quo" --
exchanging sexual favors for benefits such as higher grades -- and
practices that create a hostile work or study environment.
     Seawell traced a number of questions for presidents to
consider in developing a campus-wide policy -- a definition of
sexual harassment; the number of incidents at a particular
institution and their resolution; how confident are you in your
strategy to deal with incidents; and what kind of procedures are
in place for filing reports.
     Thomas P. Courtice, president of Ohio Wesleyan University in
Delaware, Ohio, was elected president of NASCUMC succeeding Neal
Malicky, president of Baldwin-Wallace College, Berea, Ohio.  Ann
H. Die, president of Hendrix College, Conway, Ark., was named
first vice president, and Stephen G. Jennings, president of
Simpson College, Indianola, Iowa, second vice president.
     In other business, the presidents voted to reestablish a
dialogue with United Methodist bishops concerning higher
education.  Seventeen new bishops were elected earlier this
summer.
     NASCUMC will hold its next semi-annual meeting Feb. 4-5 in
Washington, D.C., and its l997 seminar July 27-31 in Breckenridge,
Colo.  There are a total of 124 seminaries, colleges,
universities, professional schools and prep schools related to
United Methodism in the United States.
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