Stay Engaged Digitally -- Daily Updates to Spark Discussion

The Hauenstein Center is pleased to introduce a new way for our audience to stay engaged digitally. Starting March 25, we will be sharing daily updates to spark discussion for the duration of the pandemic. We will share the topics on our social channels and keep a running list of previously shared items on our page Daily Updates to Spark Discussion.

Journeys with Gleaves

Journeys is a series of short videos on a variety of engaging subjects: historical, literary, philosophical, religious, leadership, and governing. During the quarantine, we may not be able to journey much beyond our homes, but that should not stop us from journeying beyond our minds. Stay tuned on the Journeys page as we expand upon the series every week.

Lunch & Learn with Gleaves

As we stay home and stay safe, we are pleased to launch our new webinar interviews that will be broadcast live at 1 p.m. each Tuesday and Thursday. Lunch & Learn with Gleaves will be offered beginning March 31, 2020. Join Gleaves and a special guest from either the community or the Cook Leadership Academy for a brief video conversation that explores a provocative topic. Links to connect are available here

Hauenstein Herald

Introducing our inaugural edition of The Hauenstein Herald. Drawing inspiration from Ralph's time with the Grand Rapids Herald, we are pleased to present the Hauenstein Center's newsletter which will feature past events and lectures, current events at the center, and feature the Cook Leadership Academy fellows and Alumni. 


Direct from the Director

 

Dear Members of the Hauenstein Center Community:

Today (March 20) would have been Ralph Hauenstien's 108th birthday and there is much we can learn from him regarding citizenship, leadership, and friendship. We are paying tribute to our beloved benefactor on our Website, and I urge you to visit the page set up in his honor to learn more about his remarkable life. Ralph will always be our inspiration—our North Star at the center that bears his name.

As of this writing, I am most concerned about the health of our Laker family and broader community. The coronavirus continues to hold the nation in a relentless grip. In a pandemic it is easy to feel helpless, hapless, and hopeless. More than 16,000 cases have been confirmed in the US, resulting in more than 200 deaths. One-quarter of those deaths occurred in the last 24 hours. One-quarter of Americans live in states whose governors have issued orders to shelter in place. Large sectors of the economy are decelerating to a halt. The Stock Market has lost one-third of its value since the day Donald Trump was elected President in 2016.

Here at Grand Valley, the campus feels as empty as though it were the holidays. Because of the need for social distancing, Grand Valley switched to online platforms to deliver classes, and here at the Hauenstein Center we cancelled the remainder of our winter and spring events. But it’s no holiday. My staff and I continue the important work of the Center and are in constant contact by cell phone, email, Slack, and Zoom. We are restoring events for the fall 2020 and winter 2021 semesters, and we are wrapping up instruction and mentoring to the current class of candidates in our Peter C. Cook Leadership Academy. Hauenstein Center staff are determined to help graduating seniors and graduate students finish their work up on time and in good standing.

So there are silver linings amid the storm clouds. The number of people who have recovered from COVID-19 far exceeds those who have died from the virus. Leaders in both parties are showing signs of cooperating across the aisle. It is encouraging to see Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic governors Gavin Newsom of California and Andrew Cuomo of New York actually cooperate. (It’s as though they had participated in one of our recent Common Ground programs!) Social entrepreneurs are rising to the challenge to meet the needs of their communities, and neighbors are helping neighbors. It remains axiomatic that, in times of crisis, most Americans temper their partisanship and seek to find common ground for the common good.

While you are spending more time at home, check out some of our online resources. Perhaps you will tune in to C-SPAN 3 to enjoy our recent program featuring Pia Kurusu White and Brian Hauenstein on different perspectives of World War II. Perhaps you will revisit the debate that was referenced on 60 Minutes, “Hitchens versus Hitchens,” which has been watched by millions of viewers on all six inhabited continents. Perhaps you will want to find inspiration in the lives of our 70 Cook Leadership Academy candidates—remarkable individuals all. Visit our enormous online library of YouTube programs that enlighten as much as they entertain. You can also follow our frequent updates on Facebook and Twitter. All our resources are designed to bring leading thinkers and thinking leaders to you.

Until we meet again, face-to-face, I and my colleagues at the Hauenstein Center send our best wishes for your continued health. If, heaven forbid, you or a loved one has contracted COVID-19, we wish you a speedy recovery. I am confident that we can pull through this pandemic together and stronger than ever.

All my best,

Gleaves
Hauenstein Center

Hauenstein team remote working


Page last modified April 9, 2020