Category: Reflections

University of Richmond: Cinderella Team of the 2011 NCAA Basketball

By Scott T. Allison and George R. Goethals

The latest from Heroes: What They Do and Why We Need Them

Several people have asked us what it's like to be scholars who study heroes at the University of Richmond, arguably the biggest underdog team still playing in the NCAA basketball tournament.

While walking around our campus, we sense a big buzz in the air.  Nearly everyone is talking about our team, it's triumphs, and how exciting it is to be known as the NCAA basketball "giant killers." At 3,000 students, the University of Richmond is among the smallest NCAA Division I schools in the country, and we not only compete against the big boys, we beat the big boys.  In watching people around campus this week, we see a bounce in their steps, buoyant smiles on their faces, and a great deal of pride.

We also see the potential for pointing out a failure in our human priorities.  News stories today are filled with gloom and terror.  Violence and unrest permeate much of the Arab world. Human suffering on a massive scale is occurring in Japan.  Starvation is a daily fact of life in much of Africa and Asia.  And so we could say that all the excitement on our Richmond campus is sadly misplaced, that all the smiling and elation about our basketball team is an insult to all the human suffering on our planet.

But we won't say that at all.  In fact, we'll say the opposite.

We know our students, our faculty, our staff.  There isn't a kinder, more compassionate, more caring group of people than the members of our university community.  We've spoken to many Richmonders and they grieve over Japan's casualties, and they feel the pain of the hungry, the poor, and the suffering all around the world.  And they get involved in a big way, with their money and their time, to help solve these problems and to make the world a better place.

There is no head-in-the-sand mentality at the University of Richmond.  In fact, we argue that our campus's heightened sensitivity to the world's problems is one of the main reasons it is taking a moment to bask in the glory of our basketball success.

Everyone here knows that basketball is just a game.  Determining who is better at throwing a ball through a hoop is hardly more important than the crises in Japan and the Middle-East.  But in such a dark world, we're very, very thirsty for heroes.  We need heroes now more than ever.  And so we'll take those heroes in whatever form they come in, and that includes basketball players who excel at playing a silly game, but who also represent our school with such skill, class, and dignity.

Go Richmond!

“Reagan at 100” topic for historian and biographer Steven Hayward

Historian and acclaimed author Steven Hayward, an expert on the nation's 40th president, spoke Feb. 2, 2011 on "Reagan at 100: Why the Gipper Matters for the 21st Century" as part of the 2010-11 Marshall Center Lecture Series at the University of Richmond.

Feb. 6 marked the centennial of Ronald Reagan's birth. Hayward is the author of "The Age of Reagan: The Fall of the Old Liberal Order, 1964-1980" and "The Age of Reagan: The Conservative Counterrevolution, 1980-1989," a two-volume narrative history of the former president and his effect on American political life. His other books include "Churchill on Leadership: Executive Success in the Face of Adversity," and "Greatness: Reagan, Churchill, and the Making of Extraordinary Leaders."

A political commentator and policy scholar, he is the F.K. Weyerhaeuser Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research and senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy in San Francisco. He writes frequently on issues of public policy, political economy, and the environment for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Weekly Standard, and others.

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The John Marshall International Center for the Study of Statesmanship is located in Richmond's Jepson School of Leadership Studies. It encourages the development of new courses and faculty seminars about the nature and prospects of statesmanship and hosts lecturers from around the world to discuss leadership and provide diverse intellectual perspectives. Directed by leadership studies professors Gary L. McDowell and Terry L. Price, the center is advised by an international board of distinguished scholars and leaders, including honorary chair and former prime minister of Great Britain Margaret Thatcher.

Final Thoughts on “Leadership and the Collective Good”

Jepson Colloquium convened Jan. 22-23 and considered “Leadership and the Collective Good” through the writings and thoughts of scholars of altruism, philanthropy, empathy, volunteerism and collective action. Conference chairs Douglas A. Hicks and Thad Williamson wrap up the sessions.

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Being There: MLK Day Commemoration at the University of Richmond

Dr. Oliver W. Hill Jr., Dr. Edward Ayers, and Wilshire Bethel, ’12, speak at the University of Richmond’s community gathering in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 18, 2010. If you were not able to attend, experience the moment.

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Conversations on Leadership touch on success, ethics, morality, democracy and more

The Jepson School of Leadership Studies each year is host to many of the world’s top scholars and deepest thinkers on matters related to leadership. Some of these august visitors from the 2009-10 academic year sat down with Jepson faculty members for short interviews about leadership. In addition to these brief interviews, many of these experts also give full lectures or serve on panels. Lectures may also be viewed online.

Conversations on Leadership

  • Steven Pinker on Leadership and Democracy
  • Irene Khan on Human Rights and Poverty
  • James MacGregor Burns on Leadership
  • Dambisa Moyo on Keys to Successful Leadership
  • Scholars’ Reflections on Haiti 
  • Father J. Bryan Hehir on Ethics of War
  • Jesse Prinz on Leadership and Morality
  • Robert Cialdini on Influence and Leadership
  • Patrician M.C. Brown on Leadership and Health Care

The Chilean Miners: A Heroism Narrative

The latest from UR professors Scott T. Allison and George R. Goethals, authors of Heroes: What They Do and Why We Need Them.

Chilean minersThe world seems hungry for heroes.  That appetite was on display when the Chilean miners were set free after 70 days being trapped under a half mile of rock and rubble.  At different times, all 33 miners, or their leader, Luis Urzua, or the rescuers, or the Chilean president, or the whole country seemed to be heroes.  An undoubtedly great event had taken place, and observers craved to identify the heroes of the historic rescue.  The individual who seemed to be the most obvious was Urzua.  As the foreman of the crew locked underground, he seemed to have performed magnificently as the group's leader.

Most impressive seemed to be Urzua's ability to get the miners through the first seventeen days, before a probe finally reached them.  During that time the miners had no way to knowing whether they would ever be rescued.   Urzua persuaded the men to stringently ration their food and water.  They had enough for 48 hours, but Urzua anticipated that the rescue might take much longer than that.  At first the men limited themselves to a few bites of tuna fish, some fruit, and a half glass of milk each day.  But as the days stretched on, the men were issued rations only every 48 hours.  Finally, the outside world made contact with the men, and hopes rose that they might in good time be rescued.  Initial estimates were four months.  Chilean minersBut the efficiency of the rescue operation was truly magnificent.  In that context, the behavior of the miners as a whole and of Urzua as leader seemed flawless.

But then other information trickled in that suggested that their story was not so simple or so neat.  As the men faced starvation, and possible cannibalism, discord and despair descended on the group.  While Urzua tried to maintain cohesiveness, subgroups began to form, each with its own agenda.  Some planned their own escape.  Petty squabbles and even fist fights broke out.  Some men refused to get out of bed, seemingly overcome by hopelessness and depression.  As food became more limited, and the men had to drink filthy, polluted water, their bodies began to consume themselves.  And their minds just waited for death. Continue reading The Chilean Miners: A Heroism Narrative

How Christians should cope with the ‘Christmas wars’

Guest columnist Douglas A. Hicks wrote about defenders of Christmas, retailers, secularists and others struggling with the symbols and realities of the Christian holiday. The posting from the Washington Post’s “On Faith” blog:

Welcome back to the “December dilemma” death match — the 2010 edition. In this corner are the self-proclaimed defenders of Christmas, ready and organized to denounce anyone who says “Happy Holidays.” In the other corner are a more motley crew of retailers, secularists and religiously diverse citizens who communicate an inclusive holiday message but still decorate in red and green.

Christmas is loaded — indeed, overloaded — with symbolic power. It is a religious holy day; a national holiday; a sentimental family day; and a commercial event. No other day in the calendar has as much cultural significance, and no day has as much potential to fuel the culture wars.

This year, reports Natalie Zmuda on MSNBC.com, “Christmas is winning.” The American Family Association and other conservative groups have pressured retailers to advertize their consumer products with “Merry Christmas” campaigns instead of the more generic “Happy Holidays.” They threatened to organize boycotts against companies that they determined to be anti-Christmas. And, it seems, many national retailers have feared such economic reprisals by would-be Christmas shoppers.

Never mind that saying “Happy Holidays” was meant as a moral stand, an effort to be inclusive of the non-Christians who prefer not to celebrate Christmas as a religious holy day. Retailers desperate to keep their Christmas customers have decided to follow majoritarian pressure to recognize Christmas. Continue reading How Christians should cope with the ‘Christmas wars’

Muhammad Ali: The Odyssey of a Heroic Champion

The latest from UR professors Scott T. Allison and George R. Goethals, authors of Heroes: What They Do and Why We Need Them.

Declaring oneself a hero doesn't ordinarily do the trick.  But former Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali is an international hero in the eyes of sports fans and ordinary citizens around the world.  Ali began calling himself "The Greatest" early in his career, and clearly alienated many.  Now people generally realize that his braggadocio was always part of the act, something that enabled him to perform at his best in the ring, and entertain and inspire millions.

As we describe in our HEROES book, Ali's odyssey to heroism was complicated.  But by the time of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, there was no question as to which American medal winner would light the torch at that year's Games.  Two years later, it was only a bit of a surprise when corporate America fully endorsed Ali by putting him on a box of Wheaties cereal, The Breakfast of Champions.  The citation on the box credited Ali's impact in sports and beyond:  "he was a courageous man who fought for his beliefs" and "became an even larger force outside the ring with his humanitarian efforts." Continue reading Muhammad Ali: The Odyssey of a Heroic Champion

Secretariat: The hero who obliterated Triple Crown records

With all the interest in the new Disney film Secretriat, consider these thoughts from Legendary Heroes By Scott T. Allison and George R. Goethals, authors of Heroes: What They Do and Why We Need Them.

Secretariat’s performance is noteworthy in the context of the nation’s state of mind. Sporstwriter George Plimpton says he was the “only honest thing in the country” in 1973. With Vietnam and Watergate, our national confidence was at a low point. And, along came a horse. Much like the 2003 film Seabiscuit, which spun the yarn of a scrappy, underdog of a horse that gave people pride and hope during the Great Depression, Secretariat the movie may have good timing as well.  

SecretariatThe current cinema often reveals either the creation or the reworking of hero narratives.  Drama in the movies emerges from the struggles that make heroes so engaging, especially underdog heroes.  But it's not always the underdog that becomes the hero.  No better example is that of a non-human hero about to be celebrated in film this coming October.  That individual is the racehorse Secretariat.

Secretariat burst onto the national consciousness in 1973.  It had been twenty-five years since the great horse Citation had won racing's triple crown: the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes. After Secretariat won the first two races, millions of people rooted for him to win the Belmont, the final trial.  As race day approached, he was the favorite, not the underdog.  But in some ways the challenge of the Triple Crown itself made him an underdog and the sentimental as well as the betting favorite.

Secretariat was born in Caroline County, Virginia in 1970.  As a two-year old he enjoyed spectacular success and was voted horse of the year, a rarity for so young a colt.  A very large chestnut horse with distinctive white markings, he was nicknamed "Big Red."  His fame slowly spread outside of the racing world.  His great strength and grace inspired many. Continue reading Secretariat: The hero who obliterated Triple Crown records