Getting Strategic
On April 17th, I was invited to attend a Strategic Planning Town Hall at Rutgers because I am a campus chaplain. Robert Barchi, the Rutgers president, has recently come under criticism for his lack of due diligence during the basketball scandal that cost Head Coach Mike Rice and Athletic Director Tim Pernetti their jobs. The Town Hall was attended by about 160 students, faculty and staff. President Barchi handled the meeting with thoughtfulness and great sensitivity. I was impressed by his leadership. But the best part of the meeting was what happened just a few minutes before. I was sitting there waiting for things to get started when I noticed one of the residence life coordinators come in and sit in the row in front of me. I had met him during our busy airport pickup season, so I went over to say hello. During our conversation, he told me that international students they had surveyed indicated that they really wanted interaction with a more diverse group of students. They were housed with students from their home country and would naturally gravitate toward students in their programs who had similar backgrounds. He has also been talking with RCSSA (Rutgers Chinese Student and Scholar Association) about the welcome picnic for next year. He is encouraging them to open it up to international students from other countries. How interesting! We're praying that God's Spirit would direct us as far as what we can do to address this issue. Our goal is to disciple the nations God has brought to us!
On April 17th, I was invited to attend a Strategic Planning Town Hall at Rutgers because I am a campus chaplain. Robert Barchi, the Rutgers president, has recently come under criticism for his lack of due diligence during the basketball scandal that cost Head Coach Mike Rice and Athletic Director Tim Pernetti their jobs. The Town Hall was attended by about 160 students, faculty and staff. President Barchi handled the meeting with thoughtfulness and great sensitivity. I was impressed by his leadership. But the best part of the meeting was what happened just a few minutes before. I was sitting there waiting for things to get started when I noticed one of the residence life coordinators come in and sit in the row in front of me. I had met him during our busy airport pickup season, so I went over to say hello. During our conversation, he told me that international students they had surveyed indicated that they really wanted interaction with a more diverse group of students. They were housed with students from their home country and would naturally gravitate toward students in their programs who had similar backgrounds. He has also been talking with RCSSA (Rutgers Chinese Student and Scholar Association) about the welcome picnic for next year. He is encouraging them to open it up to international students from other countries. How interesting! We're praying that God's Spirit would direct us as far as what we can do to address this issue. Our goal is to disciple the nations God has brought to us!