What is the spirit of the University of Texas at Austin? According to John Henry Newman, in The Idea of a University, a university "will give birth to a living teaching, which in course of time will take the shape of a self-perpetuating tradition, or a genius loci, as it is sometimes called; which haunts the home where it has been born, and which imbues and forms, more or less, and one by one, every individual who is successively brought under its shadow."
The spirit of U. T. is embodied in the official "Core Purpose of the University" -- To transform lives for the benefit of society" -- and its six core values: "Discovery, Freedom, Leadership, Individual Opportunity, and Responsibility."
"Leadership" is defined as "The will to excel with integrity and the spirit that nothing is impossible. 'A university both leads and is a catalyst for leadership. By its creation, expansion, and transmission of knowledge, a university leads society to beneficial changes. University faculty both demonstrate and teach leadership to new generations of students. The quality of a university's leadership helps to determine the quality of our culture. The University's challenge is to provide informed, ethical, compassionate, and respectful leadership'. Larry Temple, BBA '57; President, Ex-Students' Association 1997-1998."
Why are students of the University of Texas expected to become leaders in society?
The seal of the university features a Latin version of this statement of Mirabeau B. Lamar, second President of the Republic of Texas: "The cultivated mind is the guardian genius of democracy, and, while guided and controlled by virtue, the noblest attribute of man. It is the only dictator that freemen acknowledge, and the only security which freemen desire." This statement appears in the Hall of Noble Words in the Tower:
The goal of a "cultivated mind ... guided and controlled by virtue" reminds us that composing a self, building character, is the traditional focus of a college education. What exactly is meant by that? In 1984, Peter Flawn, President of U.T. and Regents Professor of Higher Education Leadership, discussing the purpose of U.T. in his annual address to the faculty, said "In thinking about this issue, I reread Cardinal Newman's John Henry Newman's The Idea of a University, a classic treatise familiar to all who are interested in higher education."
Newman's idea of a university was based on his alma mater, Oxford, whose seal appears on the Main building:
Concerning character, Newman says:
When the intellect has once been properly trained and formed to have a connected view or grasp of things, it will display its powers with more or less effect according to its particular quality and capacity in the individual. In the case of most men [and women] it makes itself felt in the good sense, sobriety of thought, reasonableness, candour, self-command, and steadiness of view, which characterize it. In some it will have developed habits of business, power of influencing others, and sagacity. In others it will elicit the talent of philosophical speculation, and lead the mind forward to eminence in this or that intellectual department. In all it will be a faculty of entering with comparative ease into any subject of thought, and of taking up with aptitude any science or profession. ... He profits by an intellectual tradition, which is independent of particular teachers, which guides him in his choice of subjects, and duly interprets for him those which he chooses. He apprehends the great outlines of knowledge, the principles on which it rests, the scale of its parts, its lights and its shades, its great points and its little, as he otherwise cannot apprehend them. Hence it is that his education is called "Liberal." A habit of mind is formed which lasts through life, of which the attributes are, freedom, equitableness, calmness, moderation, and wisdom.... Moreover, such knowledge is not a mere extrinsic or accidental advantage, which is ours today and another's tomorrow, which may be got up from a book, and easily forgotten again, which we can command or communicate at our pleasure, which we can borrow for the occasion, carry about in our hand, and take into the market; it is an acquired illumination, it is a habit, a personal possession, and an inward endowment.
Let us return to the Hall of Noble Words in the Main building. Lamar's statement appears on the ceiling next to this one:
This statement is by the first President of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston.
"The benefits of education and of useful knowledge, generally diffused through a community, are essential to the preservation of a free government." Houston's distinction between education and useful knowledge was a common one in the nineteenth century. Newman stresses that "education is a higher word; it implies an action upon our mental nature, and the formation of a character; it is something individual and permanent, and is commonly spoken of in connexion with. . . virtue." Newman elucidates not only Houston's statement, but also Lamar's stress on a "cultivated mind ... guided and controlled by virtue."
In other words, the State of Texas is investing in your education because your leadership is essential to maintaining democracy in this state and nation.
Thus, here at U.T. you would be well advised to become conscious of your pilgrimage, and of the truth[s] that you seek and/or have found that will set you free.
As the image of the scallop shell below the motto on the tower reminds us, particularly important are pilgrimage goals that can endow you with a compelling vision that inspires others to follow you. Hence especially valuable are truths that tap into that which is greater than the self, truths that enable you to make a contribution to society that can be thought of as your legacy when you are gone.
Think of yourself as a freshman. As Newman says, "when he is leaving for the University, he is mainly the creature of foreign influences and circumstances, and made up of accidents, homogeneous or not, as the case may be." Then, if she or he is a good student, she will have experienced at least one "sensation which perhaps he never had before. He has a feeling not in addition or increase of former feelings, but of something different in its nature. He will perhaps be borne forward, and find for a time that he has lost his bearings. He has made a certain progress, and he has a consciousness of mental enlargement; he does not stand where he did, he has a new centre, and a range of thoughts to which he was before a stranger... We seem to have new faculties, or a new exercise for our faculties, by this addition to our knowledge; like a prisoner, who, having been accustomed to wear manacles or fetters, suddenly finds his arms and legs free. ... But now [for students] every event has a meaning; they have their own estimate of whatever happens to them; they are mindful of times and seasons, and compare the present with the past; and the world, no longer dull, monotonous, unprofitable, and hopeless, is a various and complicated drama, with parts and an object, and an awful moral."
Consider to what extent this has happened to you, to what extent you have transcended the accidents of being born in a particular place and time, and molded your own character, finding your own truths that set you free.
For example, what you would say to a visitor if you were asked 'What is your dream?'
Most college students consider themselves basically invulnerable at this age, if not immortal. Hence the most profound lesson they can learn is that taught by Willie Tichenor, a student in my 05-06 Freshman Course.
Willie Emulating His Hero: Stevie Ray Vaughan
Willie fought cancer throughout the course, until his death, half way through the second semester. Victor Hugo defined the human condition quite clearly: " les hommes sont tous condamnés à mort avec des sursis indéfinis " -- we are all condemned to death with an indefinite reprieve. Willie taught this difficult truth and demonstrated to perfection the traditional way of defying death. He never sought any special status for himself, indeed never even initiated discussion of his situation. If you went by his behavior alone, you would have never known he was mortally ill. He taught us the glory and fragility of life and set an extraordinary example of leadership. The U. T. Mission is "Transforming lives for the benefit of society." Willie tranformed us and we will benefit from his lesson for the rest of our lives.
His example prompts the question, if your life were to end now what would the torch represent that you would pass on to the next generation?
What would you, as the old cowboy in the sculpture, Generations, in front of the Texas Exes, say to the next generation?
Or, to climb down the ladder of abstraction, consider the basic question on the Truman and Temple scholarship forms: how would you "describe one specific example of your leadership"?
To answer these questions you may well have to accept the fact that you have many different goals, ranging from perhaps one you would be willing to die for, to major directions for your future, to short terms goals for this semester. To achieve unity you will probably need to choose just one of these goals or at least just one cluster of related goals.
YOUR SPECIFIC TASK IS TO COMPOSE YOUR OWN PERSONAL LEADERSHIP VISION IN 1400 WORDS OR SO IN THE SAME WAY YOUR WROTE AN ESSAY ABOUT YOUR PASSION. INDEED, THIS MAY WELL BE YOUR PLAN FOR APPLYING THE ENERGY OF YOUR PASSION FOR THE GOOD OF SOCIETY.
Return to the selection from Lee's Discovering the Leader in You in your anthology to make the transition from the personal passion essay to the leadership vision essay. This time pay special attention to questions such as "Where do you want to be in five years, ten years? If you live life to the fullest, what will you have accomplished? What impact do you want to make? .... Where is your life story heading? What better world do you like to imagine? Who inspires you?" Notice that the answers are not just about your career but also what you might want to accomplish outside your work roles. Very important for many people is the section on role models and how they have exhibited leadership.
If you were in the Leadershape training program, your ultimate question for this assignment would be something like "What could the future look like (for my cause, community, organization, etc.) if I could have it way any way I wanted?" Your vision for the future should be vivid (a powerful mental picture), challenging, focused on something greater than the self (service directed), expandable to include others now and in the future (a "we" rather than an "I" statement), and compelling.
Adding to your personal vision (P1A and B), you might begin by asking yourself questions such like these:
What issues, organizations, or communities are most important to me?
What group of people do I have a special affinity and love for?
When I am most energized and focused, what am I working on?
What do I like so much I would do it for free?
What do I feel compelled to pursue?
When you have some answers to these questions, ask yourself again where you would be most interested in serving, making a difference, or creating a breakthrough change (specifically which organization, community, or cause)?
Then the essay should become an action plan consisting of, say, stretch goals (experiments, prototypes), manageable goals (small wins, predictable successes), action plans (timelines), etc.
You should have at least one stretch goal. Stretch goals move the organization forward toward the vision. They are almost impossible (but not quite), big, bold leaps into the future. They draw not only on your passion but your ability to think outside the box, beyond your comfort zone. Nevertheless, if possible they should have specific, objective assessment indicators for accomplishment: dates, numbers, percentages, new services, etc.
You should have at least two manageable goals. Manageable goals are more attainable milestones that encourage you with quick wins, enabling the organization to stay motivated, engaged, and propelled by a growing sense of confidence. Defined action plans and strategies for success, they are specific, measureable, realistic, and possible. Each manageable goal should begin with a first step, proceed with specific tasks, identify resources needed, and set a deadline or timeline.
As you think about this, ultimately you will be hammering your self into unity. You will be composing yourself. The word "compose" connects "pose," that is "to place," to "con" ("together"), and its root meaning is thus "to place together," "To put together (parts or elements) so as to make up a whole" (Oxford English Dictionary). As Newman puts it, your mind takes a "connected view of old and new, past and present, far and near, and ... has an insight into the influence of all these one on another; without which there is no whole, and no centre. It possesses the knowledge, not only of things, but also of their mutual and true relations." Such a mind "makes every thing in some sort lead to every thing else; it would communicate the image of the whole to every separate portion, till that whole becomes in imagination like a spirit, every where pervading and penetrating its component parts, and giving them one definite meaning. Just as our bodily organs, when mentioned, recall their function in the body, ... so, in the mind of the [student], the elements of the physical and moral world, sciences, arts, pursuits, ranks, offices, events, opinions, individualities, are all viewed as one, with correlative functions, and as gradually by successive combinations converging, one and all, to the true centre."
What is your true center? The answer should lead you to your leadership vision embodying the "living teaching" of your university, tapping into its "self-perpetuating tradition," embodying the genius loci of the University of Texas at Austin.
QUOTATIONS. As in P1, you will get points for quotations from our readings and Victorian literature generally. (Of course you can not get credit for quotes repeated from P1.) You can quote more than once from one source but the first quote will be worth more. You can also quote from sources other than those assigned, but again these quotes will not be worth as much as the first quote from an assigned text.
"We go for a walk in nature, we see a beautiful sunset — we breathe the order in through our senses, we feel connected. The inside begins to mirror the magnificent outside. In the Vedic tradition that connectedness is called 'yoga.'”
Chris Adamason, Vedic Architecture http://www.newlifejournal.com/aprmay04/adamson_0504.shtml
‘One
day when I was twenty-three or twenty-four this sentence seemed to form
in my head, without my willing it, much as sentences form when we are half-asleep, ‘Hammer
your thoughts into unity’. For days I could think of nothing else
and for years I tested all I did by that sentence [...]” William Butler
Yeats, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature (cited in Frank Tuohy, Yeats,
1976, p.51)
