Mark Putnam | 8 Comments | Posted: February 25, 2013
People order the world in different ways. We are shaped by the experiences we have amassed in the settings that have defined our personal and group identity. It’s not so much a matter of what we value. Often we value many of the same things.
Mark Putnam | 8 Comments | Posted: January 14, 2013
Societal change is difficult to describe, much less interpret accurately.
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 | 1 Comment | Posted: September 21, 2012
A clearer lens of interpretation would reveal institutions of higher education have been designed for centuries to conserve and preserve deeply held values and pass them on to one generation after another. Colleges, much like the broader society, are built to last and slow to change. For some, this is a sign of incredible weakness sure to result in widespread failure; for others this is the source of strength that has preserved institutions for centuries.
Mark Putnam | 5 Comments | Posted: August 13, 2012
I think there is something much deeper behind this resistance to change, and it’s not the bureaucracy – it’s the market. The difference for the market is a distinction between models of learning that are primarily relational vs. transactional; models of learning that are formative vs. summative; and models of learning that pursue knowledge vs. certify credentials.
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 | 11 Comments | Posted: May 8, 2012
I took this amazing mental photograph of the Lower Falls in Yellowstone National Park during the summer of 1983. Though I didn’t have a camera to record it, the image stays with me. The trouble is my mental imprint is not exactly what most would admire.
Mark Putnam | 5 Comments | Posted: January 12, 2012
A few years ago I was a consistent user of a fitness facility near my office in Boston – a proud member of the dawn patrol arriving at 6:20 a.m. At that hour only the truly dedicated were present. We were all creatures of habit arriving at the same time, greeting the same attendants, finding our way to the same lockers, using the same machines.
Mark Putnam | 11 Comments | Posted: August 9, 2011
You don’t have to be an optimist to be a gardener, but it helps. My first attempt at gardening in the mid-1990s was a complete disaster. Undeterred, I pressed on and have had much more success in subsequent years, which I think is cause for “growing” optimism. Based on stories I’ve heard from others, I’m not alone. How do we get from failure to renewed optimism as the cycle invariably repeats?
Mark Putnam | 11 Comments | Posted: January 17, 2011
We are witnessing the formation of communities that transcend traditional loyalties in national citizenship or political ideology resulting in increased regional and global tensions. This kind of realignment presents increasing challenges as relationships rooted in history, language and culture are no longer located geographically, but nurtured and developed globally through technology. If identity is no longer associated with lines on a map, but through affinity and affiliation, how will this impact our understanding of a society?
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.
