| May 4, 2012 |
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| The End of an Era |
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| It’s the end of the year—and the end of era. Our little college, re-founded in the Empire State Building in 1999, vacates its iconic surroundings in a few short weeks. When you return to campus this fall, the landscape will be entirely different. |
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| Before we mentally settle into King’s-Lower Manhattan, we need to bid a fond farewell to the Empire State Building. After all, much good has come to The King’s College in our 13 years of residing here. It’s been remarkable. To highlight just a few: |
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- Rebirth – It’s a miracle we exist. In 1995, King’s died and the earth over her grave was cold and hard. Then came Stan Oakes, the founder of Christian Leadership Ministries who would later serve as our fourth president, with an audacious vision to resurrect the College and move it into New York City to compete in the marketplace of ideas. Many thought the idea ludicrous. Yet here we are.
- $70 Million and counting – In the past 13 years, God provided 70 million dollars in donations to launch and sustain the College. Incredible.
- King’s Who? In the early days, no matter who I talked to, nobody knew a thing about King’s. Today, wherever I go, I meet people who know about King’s—many of whom wish they could study or work here.
- Seventeen – This was the number in the student body in 1999. A brave lot. From these meager beginnings, the student body has grown—approaching 600 this fall—with students coming from all over the country, and even other nations, to study with us. We’ve also gone from one full-time professor to 30.
- Politics, Philosophy, and Economics – Before 2004, the academic core of our College did not exist. There was no PPE program and academics were lackluster. Thanks again to the initiative of Stan Oakes, the PPE program was catalyzed as the core of the College curriculum, forever setting apart our educational experience.
- Student (non) Life – Between 1999 and 2002, student life was virtually non-existent. There were no student organizations, no Houses, no King’s Council. Today, King’s boasts a dynamism greater than any other college I know.
- Graduates – In the past decade, we’ve graduated 308 students. They’ve spanned out into notable institutions in NYC, across the U.S. and other nations, and are exercising influence wherever they go. Tomorrow, we add another 56 outstanding graduates to their number. A hearty congratulations to each of you!
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| As we bid adieu to the Empire State Building, we will miss some things: walking into the world’s most iconic building; bypassing lines to the observatory; the three-minute commute for the residents of the Herald Towers and Vogue. |
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| Of course, there are things we shall not miss: stumbling over hoards of tourists; the severe lack of windows; dodging the six-legged denizens of the basement (I still have nightmares of the horrid, little beast that climbed up my pant leg). |
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| I look forward to a new era. What will the next 13 years hold for us? I’m convinced the best is still ahead. Our surroundings will be different, but our DNA remains the same, as does our audacious vision. God wants to do much more. We’ve already defied the odds. Let’s trust him for great things. |
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| I look forward to being with all of you in our new home this fall. Have a great summer. |
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| Warmly, |
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David K. Leedy
Dean of Students
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| February 16, 2012 |
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| A Vision Bigger than the ESB |
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| The King’s College will move out of the Empire State Building (ESB). This comes as a shock to some and all of us are trying to get our minds around what this means for King’s. For some students, and graduates of the last few years, The King’s College and the Empire State Building are virtually one and the same. It’s hard to fathom a world beyond the bowels of the ESB. |
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| The ESB has served us well these past 13 years. In the early years, the ESB brought a degree of notoriety to an otherwise unknown university. It also provided an unconventional campus for our unconventional college. I must admit it’s been cool, over the past twelve years, to walk through the lobby of the world’s most iconic building on my way to work. |
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| But there is a time for everything under the sun. There was a time for us to be in the ESB, and there is a time for us to move out of the ESB. |
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| The ESB is only a building. The vision of The King’s College is bigger than the Empire State Building—and goes beyond it. There was a TKC before the ESB. There will be a TKC after the ESB. |
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| Our mission and vision, however, will not change. That vision is what drew me to King’s—and that vision is what compels me to stay beyond our tenure in the ESB. |
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| Yes, we will experience the loss of an iconic building, which will be painful. But new vistas will open for the College elsewhere in Manhattan. I’m even excited about the prospect of finding something that better serves our purposes and that allows the College to grow for years to come. |
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| Plus, after twelve years underground, I feel like one of the mole people. Perhaps we’ll get some windows out of the deal. |
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David K. Leedy
Dean of Students
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| January 30, 2012 |
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| Honor Requires Guts |
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| In June of 1978, Alexander Solzhenitsyn was invited to deliver the commencement address at Harvard University. True to form, he gave a thoughtful—and somewhat scorching—critique of Western society. Solzhenitsyn noted: “A decline in courage may be the most striking feature that an outside observer notices in the West today. The Western world has lost its civic courage.” He even had the audacity to describe this decline of courage as a “loss of manhood.” (Remember—he’s speaking at Harvard, the bastion of progressivism, not a Baptist potluck in the deep South.) |
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| Over the past several weeks, I’ve been reflecting on courage and its link to honor. Courage—one of the four cardinal virtues—is inextricably tied to what it means to be an honorable man or woman. Honor requires guts. It is more than passive piety, an avoidance of bad behavior; this is a truncated view of honor. Courage propels individuals to stand for what’s right when others cower, to speak the truth when truth is unpopular, to fight for justice for the vulnerable and weak. |
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| In December, one member of our community demonstrated such guts. On a Sunday evening, Josh Durnell, a freshman in the House of Reagan, witnessed a man roughing up a woman on the street. Josh walked up and asked if there was a problem. The young woman said there was and asked Josh to call the police. The guy responded, “I can make it your problem” and began punching Josh in the face. Thankfully, Josh was not seriously injured in the scuffle. |
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| Take a minute to read the full story here. You’ll be glad you did. |
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| Josh is not seeking public acclaim. In fact, the week after the incident, he told me, “I don’t think I should be viewed as a hero simply for doing what’s right.” You won’t hear him bragging about what he did. But I’d like to—Josh demonstrated real courage and honor, not only by intervening on behalf of the young woman, but also by handling himself with dignity in his response to the guy who assaulted him. Josh’s courage and grace are an example for all of us. |
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| I am not advocating that we all go out and intentionally put ourselves in harm’s way. Let’s not be foolish. But I am saying that becoming a person of honor sometimes involves taking risks to stand for what’s right. Josh demonstrated that. We should celebrate such acts of courage. |
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David K. Leedy
Dean of Students
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| Decmber 15, 2011 |
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| Looking Back |
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| The Fall 2011 semester is over. Congratulations! I know it’s been exhausting, but the countless number of hours of reading, writing, and preparing for tests have paid off. Well done. |
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| Now it’s time for a well-deserved rest. You’ve earned it—now enjoy it. |
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| As I look back over the past few months, I'm very encouraged by what has taken place this semester. Much has occurred that is worth celebrating. Here are just a few of those: |
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- In August, we successfully welcomed our largest incoming class ever (220)—and they’ve already added much to the life of our community.
- We survived an earthquake and a hurricane—both within the first two weeks of class.
- In September, the majority of the student body journeyed to PA and upstate NY for two Fall Retreats—a refreshing time of connection and teaching.
- Students have done more to engage NYC than in years past. Students filled an entire van with food, including two dozen fresh turkeys, and donated it to the Bowery Mission. Last week, students and faculty gifted 82 toys to needy children through Toys for Tots. Others have volunteered with Operation Exodus, local food pantries, and the mayor’s Cool Roofs program.
- The House Basketball Tournament was epic. Thatcher and Reagan walked away with their first-ever victories—and nobody died.
- The King’s Mock Trial team competed in UPenn’s Invitational. Jonathan Irwin won the Best Attorney award and was ranked fifth out of 120 who competed.
- Students did some cool internships, including working with Governor Chris Christie (5 students), UBS, MTV, and Advancing Human Rights.
- The King’s Debate Society made it into the quarter finals at the U. of Vermont—and are ranked 25th in the world. After Christmas, Josiah Peterson and Burk Ohbayashi are headed to the Philippines to compete at the World Universities Debate Championship (the ‘Olympics’ of debate).
- The Spiritual Life Project launched daily noontime prayer and daily 8:30 a.m. devotions. More students have committed themselves to seeking God through prayer, fasting, and Scripture than I’ve seen in years.
- King’s athletic teams have gone head-to-head with over 30 universities this fall, scoring wins against a number of those schools. A remarkable 20% of the student body competed in athletics this semester.
- Sixteen outstanding King’s students just became King’s alumni. A hearty congratulations to Sarah Ruth Boyer, Betsy Brown, Heidi Capnerhurst, Nick Dunn, Laura Herrod, Barbara Jones, Maria Laino, Haley Manning, Logan McDonald, Shelby Nobles, Karla Preisser, Fallon Prinzivalli, Daniel Salazar, Bria Sandford, Stephen Wesley, and Joy Wilkie.
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| Much more could be mentioned. But you’ve read enough this semester. Now go veg and daydream about how you would modernize 6th Century English society. I’ll do the same from the Florida Keys. |
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| I’ll see you all in a few weeks. Have a restful Christmas. |
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David K. Leedy
Dean of Students
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| November 10, 2011 |
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| Am I My Brother’s Keeper? |
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I met recently with a group of House leaders. They expressed to me their frustration about the fact that a number of students are apparently unwilling to confront others when they see them committing a clear violation of community expectations. One leader observed, “If students are not willing to confront something they see happening in front of their eyes, the whole process breaks down.”
She’s right, of course. She also underscores an aspect of our honor system that is difficult. On the one hand, the Honor Code is relatively easy to follow. Most of us are able to recognize when we are inclined to lie, cheat, or thieve someone’s iPad—and choose to avoid such improprieties. |
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The problem is the second half of the Code—the piece about not turning a blind eye and being honor-bound to confront others. These responsibilities, admittedly, make our Code challenging to follow, no matter who you are or how morally astute you aspire to be.
Frankly, it’s much easier for me to turn a blind eye than to confront. Confrontation is uncomfortable and difficult. Who likes it? I don’t like to confront anyone—nor do I find it enjoyable to be confronted (you can ask my wife). |
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On top of this, our society tells us to mind our own business. Live and let live. Don’t interfere. Don’t impose your morality on someone else. Don’t judge.
This is nothing new—the same sentiment seems to have plagued humankind from the start. When Cain killed Abel, God asked him, “Where is your Abel, your brother?” Cain retorted, “I don’t know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” In Cain’s mind, the answer was obviously, “No.” |
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| That answer suits the spirit of our age. The hallmarks of our culture are relativism and indifference. There are no universal moral standards and, even if there are, why should I care if you choose another path? Few today have a sense of responsibility for, or loyalty to, others. I am no one’s keeper, no one is my keeper. |
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| Some of us, embracing this line of thought, have adopted a murderer’s philosophy as our own. This philosophy leads us to do, or say, precisely nothing. We shirk our responsibility for our brother. We are guilty of what Eberhard Bethge, close friend and biographer for Dietrich Bonhoeffer, describes: “The sin of respectable people reveals itself in flight from responsibility.” |
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| Why are we inclined toward flight? One reason is that confrontation involves sacrifice. Mark Whitacre, while an executive for Archer, Daniels, Midland (ADM), was involved in a massive price-fixing scheme. Whitacre was getting rich by making back-office agreements with other companies to artificially raise the price of products. Eventually Whitacre told his wife, Ginger, about what he was doing. She confronted him, saying, “That’s wrong. You can’t rip off people for millions of dollars. If you don’t tell the FBI, I will.” |
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| Not long thereafter, the FBI came to Whitacre’s house and spent two hours questioning him. He had been coached by ADM management in how to answer their queries. After a couple of hours, the FBI agents, satisfied with his responses, got up to leave. Then Ginger stepped into the room. She stated firmly, “He hasn’t told you everything.” |
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| Exposed by his wife, Whitacre spent the next four hours telling the agents the whole truth. When Whitacre was interviewed at King’s a couple of years ago, he wept as he expressed his appreciation for Ginger: “I became the highest level executive in corporate history ever to become a whistleblower, all because my wife was willing to do what was right.” Eventually, Whitacre went to prison for eight years—because his wife was committed to doing what’s right, regardless of the cost. (You can download the full interview, which took place on Aug. 26, 2009, here.) |
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| It takes courage to confront, and confrontation often comes with a cost. Some of us are willing, like Ginger Whitacre, to stand up and pay the price. Others are still learning to count the cost. Many acts of courage have taken place this semester, as students have confronted others for underage drinking, lying, visitation violations, and so on. I celebrate their courage. These students comprise the moral backbone of our community. |
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| They also epitomize the character that is paramount to our mission. What does it take to be prepared “to shape and eventually to lead strategic institutions”? It takes courage and conviction. And courage is not something you pull out of a hat. It is learned here and now—one difficult conversation at a time. |
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David Leedy
Dean of Students
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| October 13, 2011 |
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| Dressing to Code |
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| There has been a degree of controversy of late surrounding the dress code. The brew ha ha began when it was announced that athletes will be allowed to wear official team uniforms on days when they do not have time to change into business casual attire before class. |
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| This has caused a degree of consternation. Some perceive this as an abandonment of the dress code—a divergence from what has been part of our culture since our re-founding 12 years ago. Others question the legitimacy of any variation on the dress code for athletes. Student athletes, on the other hand, find this a welcome solution to their dilemma. Let me address a couple of these concerns.
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| Are we diverging from our dress code? The answer is an emphatic “No.” Not only is the dress code appropriate for our context—the professional business environment of the Empire State Building—the dress code is an important part of our mission. |
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| It easy to dress down; few people need to practice wearing jeans or shorts. But dressing in appropriate business attire—and becoming comfortable in that attire—is another matter. When I was an undergraduate student, I rarely wore a tie or suit. When I did, I felt like a fish out of water. Later I went to a graduate school that had relaxed dress standards. I spent four years in shorts and sandals, then moved to New York City and began working in the Empire State Building. Talk about an abrupt and painful shift. It took me a year to realize that cargo pants didn’t qualify as business-casual. It took me another three years to become comfortable dressing for my setting. |
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| We want to impart those lessons to you now. When you graduate, you’ll recalibrate your attire to fit your work context. If you work for a dotcom company in Southern CA, you’ll likely relax your standards. If you work at Goldman Sachs, you’ll need to significantly upgrade your wardrobe. But while at King’s, business casual attire is what’s expected. |
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| Why the allowance for athletic uniforms? A number of our sports teams practice in the early mornings. A handful of those team members have 9:00 AM classes and, hence, don’t have time to change before going to class. These students are permitted to wear official college athletic attire on those days. To put matters in perspective, we’re talking about a handful of students—a few members of the cross country and soccer teams who don’t have time to shower and change before their 9:00 AM classes on Wednesdays and Fridays. Since these students are taking part in official college-sponsored athletic programs, they are permitted to wear their team athletic suit. |
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| Won’t this lead to slippage in our dress standards? If the perception in the student body is that the dress code is going by the wayside, yes, this will happen. But that is not the direction we’re headed. It is only students who are taking part in official college sports programs who are permitted to be in their official athletic suit—and even then they are only permitted to do so on days when they cannot change before class. There are no other exceptions.
Moreover, Sean Horan, Athletic Director, assured me the team captains are committed to monitoring their teams so that the athletic dress variation is not abused. |
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| There are times, traditionally, when we relax the dress code—namely finals week and homecoming. We will continue to do that. But during normal business hours (M-F, 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM), our commitment to business casual dress remains the same. |
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| It is true that some rebels—who shall not here be named—have been spotted in jeans on campus. What you may not know is that students and staff are confronting such lawlessness on a daily basis. |
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| For the dress code to work, it needs to be a standard everyone in our community upholds—from staff to faculty to students to athletes. |
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David Leedy
Dean of Students
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| September 30, 2011 |
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| The Barrenness of Busyness |
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| We are five weeks into the semester—and it’s already been a full year!
In August, we welcomed 220 outstanding new students into the King’s community, causing the student body to reach a new peak at 465 students. Then came the earthquake (thankfully minor) followed by a hurricane (a first in my 12 years at King’s) and the evacuation of half of our student body. |
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| September didn’t slow down much. We had the drama contest—the image of Ray Davison in a skirt still haunts me—and the 10 year anniversary of 9/11. The following weekend, the majority of the student body was in Pennsylvania or upstate New York for the annual Fall Retreat—the most successful in 10 years by all accounts. This weekend is Homecoming.
In the midst of all this, my wife and I adopted a baby girl. Samaira has brought much joy to our lives—and a hurricane to our schedules. |
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| Thankfully, the intensity of the semester’s start is beginning to abate. As this happens, it’s a good time to settle into a routine that will serve you for the remainder of the semester. I want to offer three brief suggestions to help you do that. |
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| Stay focused on your top priorities. Marie O’Conner observes, “It is not so much how busy you are, but why you are busy. The bee is praised; the mosquito is swatted.” Life is busy—something will fill your schedule. But will it be the right things? Your time and energy are limited, so you must keep top priorities in front of you. |
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| You’re studies obviously should be at the top of the list. But even those must be prioritized. Do you work on your Western Civ paper today—or study for your Logic exam? I find it helpful to take a little time at the start of each week to determine priorities for the week ahead; doing so enables me to allocate time during the week to tasks on the top of my list. |
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| Say no. Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, prescribes having a ‘not-to-do’ list. There are many good things that we can do, but they detract from the things that are vital. Consider creating a list of things to stop doing in order to make time for the things that are crucial. |
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| Remember Sabbath rest. Several years ago, I discovered the power of Sabbath. As a recent college graduate, I was working 60+ hours per week with no days off. I was continually stressed out. My schedule felt out of control. Then I heard a sermon on Sabbath rest, something about which I had never given much thought. |
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| I began to set aside a 24-hour period each week, generally Saturday 6:00 PM to Sunday 6:00 PM, to rest. I would only do things that recharged me—including naps, leisurely reading, journaling, and exercise. I refrained from tasks that drained me, including anything work-related. That practice, which I’ve continued for 20 years, revolutionized my life. Every week, I gain fresh perspective, recharge for the week ahead, and commune with God. I cannot recommend the discipline highly enough. |
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| Corrie ten Boom once urged: "Beware of the barrenness of a busy life." Her words are still timely.
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Dean Leedy's Bio |
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David Leedy
Dean of Students
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| August 19, 2011 |
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| Welcome Back |
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| The Fall 2011 semester is upon us. Where did the summer go? It seems it was just a few weeks ago that we finished the spring semester. Gone are the long days of summer. A new year with new possibilities awaits us.
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| While you were away, we shook things up. You already received an email from Eric Bennett announcing me as the Dean of Students and his promotion to VP for Student Development. Now meet the new members of the Student Development team and learn about shifting roles for the old-timers by clicking here. |
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| Of particular interest to you are the expanded services of the Counseling Center, now located in the 330 space (in Dr. David Corbin’s old office); the soon to be launched King’s intramural program with sports like soccer, dodge ball and Ultimate Frisbee; our upgraded strategy to help you achieve your academic goals – the hiring of a Student Success Coordinator in Student Services; and the revamping of the Honor Council (see page 44 of the Student Handbook). |
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| We’ve put all of these things—and more—in place to foster the best student experience in North America. |
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| I suggest you keep up with the latest developments and opportunities at King’s via Twitter, the Career Services Facebook Page, the soon-to-be-released TKC-Weekly, and the Student Handbook (really). Also, you can expect to hear from me regularly via email on various subjects. |
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| With a reenergized Student Development team and improved services, we are ready for the 2011-12 academic year. I look forward to serving you this year. |
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| Enjoy your last weekend before the start of the semester.
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| Warmly,
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David Leedy
Dean of Students
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