Olivet People, Not Policy

This week, I sat in a conference room for about five hours with 13 new faculty members conducting an orientation to Olivet. "You'll learn more about us," I said, "through stories about our people than reading policy books." This place is defined by its people: faculty who teach, students who learn, alumni who succeed.

In that room were fascinating stories: a head of surgery from Indiana who feels called by God at this phase of life to teach Biology; an author or 13 theology books; an expert in teacher education accreditation; a former two-year resident of Thailand; a man who lived in Taiwan, Lithuania, Scotland and Utah. And on the story goes.

And yesterday, I gave a speech to a few hundred parents of new Olivet students where I highlighted alumni stories -- those who used Olivet to get from "here" to "there" (their dreams): Daryl Kreml studied History, went on to Harvard Law, and now lives in London as an international commercer lawyer; Robert Sidell completed a Psychology doctorate after Olivet and has counseled more than 5,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq; Cecil Crawford founded TicketMaster; Richard Jones was president of Sears. And on the story goes.

Tomorrow, 4,700 students and about 400 full-time and adjunct faculty begin or continue work on their story. I wonder what sort of greatness is hidden here.