Students Take Learning on the Road

Jepson students hit the road, so to speak, on a number of occasions this year in an effort to expand upon and test their classroom learning. They toured the homes of two U.S. presidents in Charlottesville, Va.; attended a leadership conference in Annapolis, Md.; participated in the Ethics Bowl at Randolph Macon College in Ashland, Va.; and assisted with rebuilding efforts in New Orleans, La.

George R. Goethals credited one of his students with giving him the idea for the field trip to Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson, and Ash Lawn, home of James Monroe. "I made some crack early in my Presidential Leadership class about Thomas Jefferson quitting George Washington's cabinet to go up and sit on a mountain," Goethals said. "Sara McGanity, a student in my class, said, 'Oh we really ought to go see that mountain.'"

Goethals agreed. So on October 20 he headed for Charlottesville with a group of 10 students. "The object was to give students a sense of the presidents they'd been studying as human beings—how they lived, what their world was like," Goethals said. Indeed, the students gleaned many interesting insights into life in the late 1700s and early 1800s.

For example, the Ash Lawn tour guide told students that during the Revolutionary period most people bathed only once a month, with the oldest family member bathing first, followed by other family members in descending age order, the youngest bathing last. Everyone used the same bath water. Hence the expression "don't throw the baby out with the bath water!"

Goethals believes field trips such as the one to Charlottesville enhance traditional classroom learning. He recently made arrangements for School of Continuing Studies professor Gen. John Mountcastle, a Civil War aficionado, to guide him and two of his students engaged in an independent study on the Civil War on tours of Richmond National Battlefield Park and Appomattox Courthouse National Historical Park.

In addition to taking field trips such as these, students also benefit from participating in conferences related to their studies. Associate Dean Teresa Williams accompanied a group of students to the U.S. Naval Academy Leadership Conference in Annapolis, Md., February 5-7. When Williams attended this conference in 2002, the first year it was open to representatives of civilian schools, it focused almost exclusively on military leadership, she said. But this year's conference included speakers from the business and faith-based sectors as well as the military sector.

During networking sessions at the conference, Jepson students sometimes found themselves in disagreement with Naval Academy students about the best leadership practices and strategies. "It was good for our students to hear other perspectives on leadership," Williams said.

A couple of Jepson students, major Evan Zaletel and minor Kathryn Sigismund, had a chance to participate in some serious debates of their own when they competed as part of the winning four-member University of Richmond team at the statewide Ethics Bowl sponsored by the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges and held at Randolph Macon College in Ashland, Va., February 11-12.

Zaletel explained that in contrast to the other Ethics Bowl teams, which had been practicing for months, the Richmond team formed two weeks before the tournament and practiced only once—for one hour the morning of the tournament. The fact that the Richmond team won is a real testament to the Richmond education, Zaletel said.

“As I reflect on my Jepson experience,” Zaletel said, “I realize the extent to which Jepson professors push their students to debate ethical issues each class. Should Zimbardo have exposed his subjects to his prison study? Was Jim Jones or Hitler a good leader? Was the CEO’s decision ethical? Each Jepson class is a small ethical debate tournament in itself. To sum it up, Jepson has taught me to think creatively and ethically as well as to articulate my ideas in a clear and concise manner.”

A generous grant made to the Jepson School by the Donchian Foundation in support of ethics education has contributed to the success of the Ethics Bowl team by providing funding for a faculty advisor and for travel expenses to a regional competition in Florida in November. 

Like ethics education, service education has long been an integral part of the Jepson curriculum. So it seemed natural and appropriate when a group of Jepson sophomores—Erica Coleman, Allison DuVal, Corrie Mixon and Eric Van Der Hyde—took the lead in organizing university-wide Hurricane Katrina relief trips to the Gulf Coast during fall break 2005 and spring break 2006.
 

This year, those same students created a new, permanent student organization, the Collegiate Disaster Relief Team (CDRT). The CDRT sponsored a highly successful service-learning trip to New Orleans during spring break 2007, involving more than 40 University students. Coleman and Mixon again were part of the leadership team on the trip, while DuVal and Van Der Hyde provided essential support in the pre-trip planning.

Students helped gut and rebuild structures in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward, working in conjunction with local churches and community organizations. The students also met with city officials at City Hall. Assistant professor Thad Williamson accompanied the students on the trip, organized articles and reports on the present condition of the city for students to read and led three reflective discussions on the readings and the students' service experience. 

Experiential education opportunities such as these—field trips to historic sites, leadership conferences, ethical debates and service trips—help students gain a deeper understanding of the leadership theories they study in the classroom and enrich their overall educational experience.