A Lesson In Learning

I was jogging through the campus and passed a building called the "Poultry Science Center." Immediately, I had a vision of screaming chickens tied down on an examination table. An old professor in a white gown holds a scalpel and begins explaining to the packed lecture hall what he was about to do. The students lean in closer. The chicken screams louder.

I wondered if the Poultry Science Center is financed by Chick-Fill-A. I also wonder if students who graduate with degrees in Poultry Science are all hired by Kentucky Fried Chicken. It was probably in this very building that someone came up with the idea for Kentucky Grilled Chicken.

Anyway, I was jogging through the campus and sleepy eyed students were making their way to their 8 o'clock classes. The bright sun wasn't quite strong enough to chase away the chilly morning air, and students hugged their books and laptops close to their chest. Most seemed too sleepy to acknowledge me as I ran by but several smiled and a few even wished me a good morning.

I love college campuses and have rarely met one that I didn't like. My favorites are the University of Texas at Austin (beautiful from one end to the other), the University of Chicago (it is what a college should look like), Harvard (just because of the rowing classes in the river)and, of course, the University of Georgia.

I was enjoying the run this morning and as I ran by the dorms, I can still remember the smell of what a dorm smells like. After all of these years, they haven't changed. I jogged passed Snelling Dining Hall and watched students stumble in and stumble out and could recall how much I could eat when I was in college. Then I found myself at the student athletic center and remembered the years of flag football and the good times.

I loved college and I loved seminary too. I appreciate the fact that I am still asked to visit campuses across the country from time to time. Not too long ago, one of my mentor college professors called and asked if I would read his manuscript for a book that he conceived while visiting me in my office. I did and it was published and I thought how cool it is to come full circle with professors who influenced my life so much.

I try to remember if this is where my love of learning came from. Throughout my life, I haven't stopped. After seminary, I explored American poverty from the streets and found myself at ground zero of homelessness exploding and in the front trenches of AIDS happening. I moved back to Savannah and learned how to build housing programs. Then it was the American Health Care system. This was followed by first hand exploration of how mental health services really work in the United States.

Along the way there was the discovery of Peter Drucker and outcome measurements, long before funders began demanding it. Collaboration became a buzz word for me 15 years ago, again long before funders began asking for it. Now, I am learning to break through the glass ceilings of the for-profit world as a non-profit executive. I am also enthralled by social medium as a way of managing relationships and information. Learning has been a constant of my career.

I linger after my run, wishful for some chance to do it all again. I would love to do college now when I'm probably most ready for it. But that is just wishful thinking. There is too much to do at work this week. And so much more for me to learn as I do it.