Dean and speaker share servant-leader message
More than 700 students attend former NFL player's speech; dean looks at job in light of teaching virtue
Michal Elseth
Issue date: 10/22/09 Section: News
"Being a dean makes me a better deacon," he said, "and being a deacon makes me a better dean. They're very similar."
He said he is not worried about the faith of Hillsdale College students, but since his job is to help encourage growth and maturity a human being, the soul and spirit are part of our being that can't be ignored.
"When I look at my job, I think it's about teaching intellectual and moral virtues," he said.
He said reason, morality, and spirituality all come into play when he's dealing with a crisis or a problem. He has one perpetual concern, he said, and that is students coming every year with wounds from broken relationships. No matter where those wounds came from, he said, they can prevent intellectual and moral seriousness.
Petersen said he regularly prays for hurting students that they would grow and heal from those wounds and be able to make good judgments as a result of that healing. Ehrmann's talk, he said, was an opportunity to help students think about things like manliness and femininity and healing, but Petersen sees that as an ongoing part of his own job.
"We need to keep encouraging each other and challenging each other," he said.
He said he is not worried about the faith of Hillsdale College students, but since his job is to help encourage growth and maturity a human being, the soul and spirit are part of our being that can't be ignored.
"When I look at my job, I think it's about teaching intellectual and moral virtues," he said.
He said reason, morality, and spirituality all come into play when he's dealing with a crisis or a problem. He has one perpetual concern, he said, and that is students coming every year with wounds from broken relationships. No matter where those wounds came from, he said, they can prevent intellectual and moral seriousness.
Petersen said he regularly prays for hurting students that they would grow and heal from those wounds and be able to make good judgments as a result of that healing. Ehrmann's talk, he said, was an opportunity to help students think about things like manliness and femininity and healing, but Petersen sees that as an ongoing part of his own job.
"We need to keep encouraging each other and challenging each other," he said.
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