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| July 2018 |
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Thoughts from the road
Reflecting on what’s going on in the world and here at home As I write, I am in transit from Angola, where I have spent a week with a large group of students and colleagues on a challenging mission trip, and now on to Trinidad, to speak at the graduation events for the University of the Southern Caribbean. I have just finished presidential historian Jon Meacham’s new book The Soul of America, in which he chronicles the periodic challenges throughout our national history along with what Abraham Lincoln called “the better angels of our nature.” Even as I pick up occasional news in foreign hotels, it seems the polarizing events of our times continue unabated. From the fate of migrants, whether in Europe or America, to frustrating racial and cultural divides, to brutal civil wars bringing economic challenges and grinding poverty, the news cycles are unendingly similar. It seems that the new order of the day is “disruption,” often fed by “identity politics,” all designed to pull us apart. The stability of the past is now viewed as a liability, not a foundation. It is into this world that our millennials are asked to navigate their futures. And it is expected to get even more problematic as artificial intelligence and the digital revolution continue their steady advance, seemingly almost on autopilot, seeking their own ends. Where is the North Star for our young professionals graduating today, their anchor for what is right and good? Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods giant, asks it this way: “Who are the leaders who are going to be successful tomorrow?” They are “the leaders who don’t work for their own interest, but work for the common good; the leaders who can have a longer term vision; the leaders who are driven by a deeper purpose so that they can take some more risks in doing so. So those are the ones that we need to nurture.” Are we doing that effectively enough? We have just celebrated another 4th of July, commemorating America’s great contribution to the world as a self-proclaimed bastion of equality, justice and commitment to the rights of all humans. It is in this context that we must motivate and prepare this next generation of leaders, encouraging them to understand, discern and commit to their own “better angels.” Are we falsely living a dream, a mirage of hope that will never arrive? Or is it possible to make a difference, even in the lives of a few, in one corner of the earth — one community, one family, one child? Please pardon my frustration as I watch bureaucracies, ostentatious officials and cumbersome regulations prevent what is right and good in many countries. Part of me does want disruption, but for noble reasons, not personal or political gain. An old African saying — “When the elephants fight, it’s the grass that suffers” — has never seemed more self-evident. I’m hoping that we can be better angels and that whatever we do will be disruptive for noble reasons. Now that I have vented, let me turn to some updates on the home front. We don’t talk often enough about those who keep our lives balanced and focused — particularly our spouses. We have recently lost several who played a large part in our university family through the years. Patti Shryock Wallace, Carlton’s wife, who proudly wore a campus name of renown; Carolyn Thompson, standing by her surgeon husband Ralph during the early days of this organization’s clinical consolidation and a woman of influence in her own right; Patty Hansen, the wife of our longtime legal counsel, Kent; and Clara Rock, Oakwood University’s first archivist — her husband Calvin served us so well as our board chair during the 1990s. I had the privilege of knowing each of them personally and can vouch for the critical role they often played in the lives of individuals central to this institution. They are the ones who tolerate our long hours, frequent absences and hearing our burdens of the day. My condolences to these families and appreciation to spouses who carry this unsung role so faithfully for so many years, including my own wife, Judy. Lastly, I would like to let you know of a major change in our SAC Health System. Since shortly after SAC’s moving into the Norton Air Force Base clinic in 1995, Nancy Young has been our administrator. She has led SAC through many changes, including obtaining Federally Qualified Health Center status, moving into the new Loma Linda University Health – San Bernardino campus building, and growing the entire enterprise by many fold. Her transition on June 30 is the end of an era, and she will be missed. Her passion and guidance were essential through those years to create the kind of programs and people that make the SAC Health System so special, and provided the model of compassion and service so crucial for our students to learn today. Thank you to each of you who make Loma Linda University Health a place of compassion and service. Richard Hart, MD, DrPH
President |
July 12, 2018
Notes from the President — Thoughts from the road
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