What are you reading, watching, thinking about this week? As usual, here’s a few which have been on our mind. Let us know your thoughts on any/all of them. If you have items you’d like us to consider for the top five, add them in the comments or send them to Tom or Mike.
1. The Spiritual Pathway to March Madness (John A. Murray, Wall Street Journal, 3/18/2010): Keep in mind the history of basketball as the tourney heads toward its conclusion. HT: Miller.
As a young Christian, Naismith received a master’s degree from Montreal’s Presbyterian Theological College. Convinced that he could better exemplify the Christian life through sports than in the pulpit, he moved to Springfield, Mass., to serve as a physical-education instructor at the Young Men’s Christian Association’s International Training School for Christian Workers (now Springfield College). Naismith’s vision? “To win men for the Master through the gym.”
Photo Credit: Dan Issel and Artis Gilmore of the Kentucky Colonels, by retro-space via Flickr
2. Facebook and Twitter Keep Calipari Ahead of the Game (Thayer Evans, NY Times, 3/23/2010).
Calipari has 1,113,647 followers on Twitter, 138,325 fans on Facebook, and his Coach Cal application for the iPhone and iPod touch sold more than 6,000 applications in its first month, making it the top paid sports application on iTunes less than a week after its debut last month.
His Web site, CoachCal.com, which went up in July, receives more than 100,000 page views each week. It has been visited by people from more than 100 countries, even Kyrgyzstan, which borders China. …
3. Last week Tom had the opportunity to connect with staff from Nurses Christian Fellowship (NCF). During his brief time with them he received a copy of The Journal of Christian Nursing (JCN). He commends it to those who are connected with the university hospital (and health care professionals beyond the campus) Here’s an excerpt from A New Culture of Leadership: Service Over Self [Kamalini Kumar, PhD, RN, Journal of Christian Nursing (JCN), January/February/March 2010 – Volume 27 – Issue 1].
Servant Leadership, a 30-year-old leadership and management concept, is slowly gaining popularity, especially in faith-based healthcare institutions. However, although theory is present, actually putting the concepts into everyday practice lags far behind. This article discusses how a person’s worldview influences leadership; specific servant leader characteristics adapted from a biblical worldview; the need for emotional intelligence; and Jesus Christ as the ideal Servant Leader. The author includes a Workplace Questionnaire on Servant Leadership Qualities.
4. Does Geography Matter in Academic Hiring? (Chronicle.com) George C. Fant, Jr., dean of Arts & Sciences at Union University, asks if there is geographic snobbery in academia. He quotes a colleague:
“There is prejudice aplenty about candidates’ doctoral alma maters. An odd one is that you can move south and you can move west, but you will have a very difficult time moving north or east from your alma mater.”
Do you think there is geographic snobbery in academia?
5. The Power of a Thank You: Brian Croxall at ProfHacker.com suggests a simple way to expand your academic network: write a thank-you note. Specifically, thank someone who has written an article, essay, or book that you have found helpful.
We all know that the audience for academic publications is small, and one result of this is that you might never hear from anyone that has read something that may have taken you a better part of an academic year (or longer) to see into print. Writing to let them know that you enjoyed the piece is not only kind–something that we academics could spend some time working on in general–but also provides an opportunity to get to know someone new whose work is related to yours.
Have you tried this simple act?
Tom enjoys daily conversations regarding living out the Biblical Story with his wife Theresa and their four girls, around the block, at Elizabethtown Brethren in Christ Church (where he teaches adult electives and co-leads a small group), among healthcare professionals as the Northeast Regional Director for the Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA), and in higher ed as a volunteer with the Emerging Scholars Network (ESN). For a number of years, the Christian Medical Society / CMDA at Penn State College of Medicine was the hub of his ministry with CMDA. Note: Tom served with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA for 20+ years, including 6+ years as the Associate Director of ESN. He has written for the ESN blog from its launch in August 2008. He has studied Biology (B.S.), Higher Education (M.A.), Spiritual Direction (Certificate), Spiritual Formation (M.A.R.), Ministry to Emerging Generations (D.Min.). To God be the glory!