Academic Leadership

Having recently spent four days in a Baptist leadership conference, I feel compelled to discuss several issues related to Baptist institutions, as well as to extol the virtues of the conference, the material, the presenters, and the overall content of this first of its kind event, a gathering of young Baptist college administrators from schools across the state of Texas. From deans to department chairs, from program directors to future administrators, a committed group of Christian leaders joined together to learn, grow, examine, listen, and discuss the many ways we can help our Baptist schools not just today but for tomorrow and for another generation in the future.

Born out of the Center for Ministry Effectiveness and Educational Leadership located at Baylor University and lead by Provost Emeritus Donald Schmeltekopf, the conference was located at the beautiful University of Mary Hardin-Baylor campus in Belton and supported in part by the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The conference was a stellar opportunity to learn and grow from various experts in the fields of Christian education and institutional leadership, men and women who have struggled with difficult issues and arrived at positive conclusions, people who have published in these fields and are well-respected for their accomplishments, for their personal insights, and for their vast experience in Christian leadership.

We, the participants sat enraptured by the appropriate blend of practical suggestions, suggestions that can be applied to the daily challenges presented, and the highly sophisticated and academically robust philosophies that give us a greater reason for our activities and our practice. The conference included an examination of our personal leadership styles as well as personality profiling, and was intended to provide enough knowledge of ourselves to find success as we deal with people in our various disciplines. The thorough psychological and leadership examination included comments and assessment from our selected peers in a personal look at how we deal with and react to the challenges and situations that come our way in our leadership positions. I found this to be most revealing and enabled me to recognize my strengths and, perhaps most importantly, how to deal with my weaknesses and avoid the inevitable stress times.

This portion of our conference was enlightening, slightly frightening in an entertaining way, a little too revealing, and overall enjoyable as we studied ourselves and read how others view us. I am reminded of Longfellow when he said, "We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done." Our dreams of our own capabilities should remain in the forefront of our thinking but those dreams may need to be colored to an extent by the knowledge of how others see us. Would we truly want the gift to see ourselves the way others see us? I think not!

Several sessions ensued dealing with faith and learning in private institutions with conclusions being made that faith should be a natural inclusion in the curriculum and in the educational process. A private institution has a responsibility (a term that is often tossed around rather casually but in fact is a term with great power and meaning, a word that implies action and commitment, a word that represents both short and long term objectives and a goal-directed existence without wavering) and an obligation to define itself and set its own parameters as regards curriculum, personnel, clientele, purpose, and, most importantly, mission. The practice, in other words, the daily operations including hiring, curriculum, behavior, and events, should be a manifestation of the institution's overall mission.

When a flaw or a breakdown occurs, it is either the result of antithetical application of the mission, or the mission itself, leading to a thorough examination of the mission and its comprehensive intent. One must examine the mission statement of the institution and work diligently and relentlessly to apply the principles set forth in all situations or conversely to change the mission to fit the purpose, resulting in a marriage of philosophy and practice. Subsequently, it becomes equally valuable therefore to communicate the mission of the institution to the constituents involved in the overall process, purpose, and objectives that lead to a fulfillment of the mission.

As leaders charged to uphold the mission of the institution, we must also provide the kind of excellent academic environment that allows faculty and students to grow and develop within the established framework. With this in mind, leaders should encourage faculty development, keeping in mind that development can mean a wide variety of activities, and continual program review with regards to curriculum, advising, assignments, and committee work.

Equal to the careful yet expansive examination of institution leadership were the poignant, sensitive moments of spiritual advancement, moments that began each day, moments of reflection, and moments that gave positive Christ-like purpose to the rest of the day. The scripture and prayer, delivered by a particular participant of the conference, were apropos to the topics for the day, providing a sense of goal-direction and a pathway on which to direct our steps, a purposeful guiding light that while immediate also had an underlying long-term relevance for living.

Overall, the conference was vastly rewarding, enlightening, and posed a rare opportunity to combine philosophical, global thinking with pragmatic, personal application. It was a time to learn about ourselves, our strengths, our weaknesses, our abilities, and give us a decided framework of objectives to consider as we continue in the quest for academic and spiritual excellence in our selected leadership professions. In addition, a surprise I did not anticipate emerged from the conference: a new set of friends and acquaintances familiar with the joys and challenges of Baptist Institutional Leadership; people driven to academic excellence but retaining their love of life, Christian commitment, and dedication to the ideals and principles of Godly leadership.