an Omenti mini-post
I was shocked and saddened to learn of Woodie Flowers' passing.
There's an interesting question you can ask about a school. Who is the most important person? Of course it depends on your point of view and what you think a school should be doing. It might be an administer who has managed to turn the place around, a remarkable alumni member who does the same, a Nobel Laurette perhaps? and for some it might be a coach who somehow energizes the place. Is there someone who makes the place special? Universities mean a lot of things to different people. Ask me about MIT and I'll suggest Woodie Flowers. He managed to light *that* spark and inspire more young engineers than you can imagine. In light of the current ethical problems ripping apart a school on campus, he was a beacon of ethics for decades.
I was lucky enough to have spent time with him on a few occasions. He was even more optimistic and even evangelistic than what comes over in this video:
Woodie was like this in many areas. He was responsible for developing and promoting the concept of gracious professionalism.. from an email a few years ago:
The election has been painful. It reminds me that we have a responsibility to help students become thoughtful citizens. Rational thought blended with empathy seems too rare everywhere.
Personal experience leads me to believe our students would be receptive to hearing us address their obligations to society. Dean Kamen founded FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989. A couple of years later, Dean and I co-founded the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) patterned after the creative design exercises I had been running for many years in the Mechanical Engineering design courses. The “2.70 Contest” was anchored by “gracious professionalism,” a term I coined to celebrate the wonderful behavior prevalent among students in that course. They competed like crazy, but treated one another with respect and took pride in helping and teaching one another.
At the first FRC Kickoff, I used one slide with the term “Gracious Professionalism.” Encouraged by Dean, at the second FRC Kickoff, I used six slides featuring the phrase. Since then, Gracious Professionalism™ has become a powerful part of the ethos of the whole FIRST community. FIRST competitions have grown and have millions of alumni. Scattered over 80 countries, young people have embraced the notion that competition and kindness are compatible. At MIT, 10% of our freshman classes are FIRST alumni.
As we make the transition to digitally-enhanced learning and machine-assisted professions, I believe “uniquely-human” will be a powerful differentiator. Professionals who understand the laws of the universe and also have an emphatic response to others will be the leaders. Those who think science is a la carte will have aspirations that Mother Nature will not tolerate.
MIT students will have an obvious advantage because of their understanding of what is possible. We need to make sure they are also well equipped to manifest creativity, leadership, good judgment, and ethical behavior.
I offer Gracious Professionalism as a convenient label. It blends rigorous adherence to the laws of the universe with the human qualities we hope to see as those laws are applied by our alumni. Giving back with conscience. Blending hard knowledge with soft feelings. Facts, feeling, and fairness. The FIRST community, which includes all ages, have embraced “GP” and actually compete to “out GP” one another.
How might Gracious Professionals have voted?
Woodie Flowers
I'm not an engineer, but am amazed what the good ones do. This is a big loss for MIT, engineering and the world
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