OWU Book Club
(Image courtesy of Jossey-Bass)
Parker Palmer’s recently published book, The Heart of Higher Education: A Call to Renewal will be the book d’ jour for the start of Ohio Wesleyan’s new faculty and staff book club, says Lisa Ho, assistant chaplain, who now is reading the book.
“I am so taken by this book that I want to hear from other voices at the University—from people who are as passionate about the topic as I am,” she says.
Her vision is for club members to meet bi-weekly to share ideas and feelings about the authors’ views on the importance of integrative learning—mind, heart, and spirit—as we educate students to be global leaders in the 21st century. Responses to this inaugural club invitation will dictate future plans and additional readings and discussions.
Dr. Palmer, a writer, speaker, activist, founder of the Center for Courage and Renewal, (and guru on vocational discernment matters) along with his co-author, Dr. Arthur Zajonc, a physics professor at Amherst College, advocate the importance of thoughtful conversations and the “it takes a village” community effort to bring about meaningful and relevant educational experiences for students. The Heart of Higher Education focuses on the value of holistic learning, relationships between science, the humanities, and contemplative traditions, and the importance of collegiality and conversation in developing further integrative education.
“Our book club will be somewhat reminiscent of past retreats and programs related to OWU’s previous Lilly Foundation grant, which periodically brought our mission team advisors and other groups together to discuss common texts and experiences,” says Ho. “OWU’s theory-to-practice and travel-learning opportunities now will provide additional inspiration for conversations and idea sharing.”
If you are interested in finding out more about the faculty-staff book club, contact Lisa Ho at llho@owu.edu.