Happy 10th Anniversary to CSU Servant Leadership

I just had the wonderful opportunity to attend the 10th anniversary celebration of the Columbus State University's Servant Leadership program.

Dr. Stuart Rayfield, CSU's Frank Brown Distinguished Chair in Servant Leadership, directs an extraordinary program in a city named by the Greenleaf Center as the first Servant Leadership City in the U.S. At today's celebration, the 24 graduating seniors in the CSU program discussed their experiences and their yearlong project, yielding 1,500 volunteer hours. The celebration also revisited annual projects from the first nine years of the program.

This special program, now includes both the baccalaureate scholars as well as an M.S. program that focuses on servant leadership as well. My sincere thanks go to all involved in this wonderful initiative.

Rocking the House with 360 Degrees of Music

Congratulations to the Columbus State University Choral Union, the Trumpet Ensemble, the Trombone Octet and the Trombone Choir for their exceptionally powerful concert, Surround Sound: 360 Degrees of Music.

Special thanks to professors Constantina Tsolainou, Robert Murray and Bradley Palmer for their teaching and conducting on behalf of this event at our own Legacy Hall. The hall was packed with patrons of all ages, and the music was wonderful.

Berlin Study Abroad Program Offers Powerful Lessons

A special shout-out goes to professors Mariko Izumi (Communication) and Carmen Skaggs (English) for their exceptional work in orchestrating an incredibly powerful study abroad experience, a Berlin-based course focused on "Memorializing the Holocaust." Last night I attended a series of incredible presentations by our talented students who recently returned from a spring break trip to Germany. The poetry readings, digital storytelling and counter-monument presentations were exceptional. I remain most impressed by the power of what takes place in our classrooms and the enormous benefits of study abroad.