Mark Putnam | 6 Comments | Posted: April 15, 2013
We carry the burden of the times we live in and the circumstances set before us. We can only succeed with the help and support of our companions on the journey.
Mark Putnam | 14 Comments | Posted: November 12, 2012
Students will redefine our political culture. They will challenge each other on the issues and yet maintain the quality of relationships that reinforce a healthy community.
Mark Putnam | 8 Comments | Posted: June 28, 2012
Many years ago I knew a young college basketball coach. As I listened to him describe his philosophy of coaching, I was impressed by one tenet – the system is more important than the individual players. He found a way to overcome a deficit in talent by organizing a strong collective system.
Mark Putnam | 7 Comments | Posted: June 7, 2012
Societies around the world are facing big choices these days. They involve questions of freedom and determinism, cause and effect, morality and logic. The problem is choice. Yet, no choice we face comes without a cost.
Mark Putnam | 4 Comments | Posted: May 22, 2012
Coming to peace with the past and carefully planning for the future leads us to the realization that every day we work for our successors. It’s true in our professional work, our volunteer and community service, our participation in communities of faith and even in our families.
Mark Putnam | 9 Comments | Posted: November 22, 2011
We are reminded as leaders of community-based organizations, educational institutions, communities of faith, businesses and corporations, and government agencies that our duty of care can never be compromised by self-interest. We pray for a world where the challenges of discrimination, abuse and other horrors do not exist. But when we encounter them, as leaders, we must respond firmly with decisiveness and compassion for victims.
Mark Putnam | 27 Comments | Posted: July 19, 2011
It’s not that simple.
We’re looking for easy explanations these days, but it’s not working. If our nation could collectively spend the same amount of time working seriously on societal reform, as we devoted to the Casey Anthony trial, we could accomplish more than we think possible.
Mark Putnam | 9 Comments | Posted: March 28, 2011
Liberty is a word we use infrequently these days. Perhaps our sense of individualism in America has rendered this word less relevant at a time when most in our society have a sense of freedom and independence. Closer examination, however, reveals a reality in the lives of many that is far from this ideal. I have been reminded of this through the stories of two individuals who recently visited our campus, sharing experiences that paint a very different picture.
Mark Putnam | 21 Comments | Posted: December 6, 2010
Early in my career I took every opportunity I could find to talk with people in leadership. It didn’t matter what type of organization they were leading. I was just curious about how they ordered the world and interpreted their own experiences. The result is that my memory is full of vignettes about a wide range of topics that have stayed with me even today.
On one occasion I had a private discussion with an organizational CEO. He was very seasoned in his work and already had been recognized with important accomplishments. As the conversation unfolded we turned to some of the greatest challenges he experienced in his career. He described a situation in which his private action was misinterpreted by the public. He said to me, “In the minds of the public, sometimes A + B = G.”
Mark Putnam | 19 Comments | Posted: October 19, 2010
Eager to perform my civic duty, I arrived at the Taunton Superior Court in Massachusetts on a Monday morning in March of 2010. Despite my willingness to serve as a juror, I hoped my time commitment would be limited to just a few hours. I would then be on my way with a renewed “get-out-of-jury-duty card” in hand for the next couple years. I was always excused before. My number was usually too high or the case settled once the jury pool was in the room. Proudly, I could say I fulfilled my service, but with little effort. By the end of the fifth day, I left the courtroom physically and emotionally exhausted.
The defendant was a 40-year-old man accused of assault with the intent to rape a child under the age of 16 and indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of 14. The alleged victim was his daughter.
I'm the lucky individual who carries the title, 21st president of Central College in Pella, Iowa. My wife Tammy and I have two beautiful daughters, Emma and Greta. Passionate about higher education and the issues facing it and the world today, I hope to invoke an engaging conversation with all who are ready to dig in, make a difference and build for the future. Share your thoughts. I'm listening and interested.
