Humanics Lecture - "Humanics as Pedagogy: Academic-Community Engagement as the Pathway to Leadership in Service" - Regina Kaufman 2016
Description:
This is a video of a lecture titled "Humanics as Pedagogy: Academic-Community Engagement as the Pathway to Leadership in Service" which was presented on April 19, 2016 by the 2015-2016 Distinguished Professor of Humanics, Dr. Regina Kaufman. Provost Jean Wyld begins the video with an introduction and recognition of former Distinguished Professors of Humanics that are in attendance. Dr. Kaufman's presentation focuses on various ways that service learning is being engaged in across the College and in the community. Following Dr. Kaufman's presentation, Jean Wyld announces the recipients of the Friends of Humanics Scholarships and presents them with their certificates. Jean Wyld then introduces the 2016-2017 Distinguished Professor of Humanics, Samuel Headley, who addresses the audience. Further remarks from Jean Wyld conclude the video. Humanics is a word that has a special meaning in the history and philosophy of Springfield College, as well as in the college’s motto of “Spirit, Mind, and Body.” The Oxford English Dictionary defines Humanics as, “the subject or study of human affairs or relations, especially of the human element of a problem or situation as opposed to the mechanical.” In 1962, Dr. Glenn Olds, President of Springfield College at the time, began to wonder why this name was given to the intended philosophy of the college by Dr. Laurence Locke Doggett, Springfield College’s first full-time president. Olds acknowledged that the practices of the faculty were in large part consistent with the Humanics philosophy, but he believed that a more self-conscious application would improve chances of its continuity and survival. To ensure this, a Distinguished Professor of Humanics position was created at the college, first filled by Dr. Seth Arsenian from 1966-1969. The purpose of this position was to catalyze a renewal of consciousness in the philosophy. This was done by annually mandating the Distinguished Professor of Humanics to give a Humanics lecture on the definition of Humanics and what the concept means to them. Arsenian started this tradition in 1967 with his speech titled, “The Meaning of Humanics,” in which he described the concept as a set of ideas, values, and goals that make our college distinct from other colleges and make commitment and unity toward commonly sought goals possible.
