Basic HTML Version
W
INTER
2012
.
S
T
. L
AWRENCE
U
NIVERSITY
M
AGAZINE
49
I
was teaching a class recently about the
nature of complex organizations. The
discussion turned quickly inward to
the students’ own understanding of their
University and its future. “The St. Law-
rence Promise,” the new institutional Stra-
tegic Map, was their text, their grounding
of curiosity and questions. I was pointedly
asked, “Where is this map taking us?”
As a teacher, my instinct is to “draw out”
the student’s own discovery of a reply. So,
I countered with a question that would
suggest the purpose of the map. Do you
recall, I began, Homer’s
Odyssey
, Frank
Baum’s
Wizard of Oz
, or Luke Skywalker,
who must endure the journey of a hero
with a destiny? After a dangling pause and
some knowing looks, I simply said, “
our
Strategic Map is taking us home
.”
The symbolic idea of the map is to rep-
resent an odyssey through the perils of the
world’s economy, its volatile markets and
the rapidly changing landscape of Ameri-
can higher education. It is the way through
a dark wood and across the deep waters
of uncertainty. Its purpose is to preserve,
sustain and grow all that we cherish about
St. Lawrence as a place strong and ready
to do its best work. The map is not taking
us away from ourselves; it should not be
viewed as a change document. Rather,
the map ought to affirm and inspire that
all-too-human adage, “there’s no place like
home.”
One of the main contours of the new
map features the central support of alumni
(for more on this aspect, see page 10). We
know, for example, that nearly half the stu-
dents on campus today trace their presence
at St. Lawrence to the influential good
effect of an individual Laurentian. My first
St. Lawrence mentor entered the Univer-
tion, a young life was forever shaped.
The association of the name “Mentor”
with the pivotal role of guide and adviser
turns up constantly in the biographies of
the most interesting people. And because
of that common thread, historians caution
against the celebratory claims of men and
women emerging “self-made.” The name
of Telemachus’s great teacher is originally
derived from a base word that means
“remember, think and counsel.” These
simplest terms give ample definition to the
task mentors, such as St. Lawrence alumni,
must naturally comprehend.
At this stage of my life, I have now spent
many years trying to be a mentor; I offer
no across-the-board wisdom of successfully
doing so. Sometimes, I believe my efforts
were terribly inadequate; sometimes, I
seemed to do very little, but maybe even
that was enough to be useful. One of
the lasting lessons, however, comes right
fromMentor himself when he says to
Telemachus, “The gods have watched your
progress since your birth.”
By simply being aware and watchful, by
paying attention and patiently observing,
the great art of the most effective mentor is
expressed. When a young person is noticed
by someone, when an encouraging, unex-
pected word is given as praise or challenge,
and when the invitation, “let’s talk,” is
issued, the magic happens. We set them
upon the road; they turn toward home.
—WLF
sity in 1918, so I have a strong affinity for
our best and oldest traditions.
Our map suggests larger possibilities for
alumni contact to be further translated. It
will naturally originate in recruiting young
people to campus, but it can and must be
more than that while they are students
on campus and also after they leave this
“home” for a life’s work and journey.
T
he last line of Homer’s epic
The
Odyssey
reads like homage to the
goddess Athena, but then the au-
thor catches us by sudden surprise with the
final words, “yes, but the goddess still kept
Mentor’s build and voice.” Who was Men-
tor? Today, we know instantly what the
concept of “mentoring” means, something
Laurentians excel at doing for each other,
as a quiet, encouraging force of learning
the early territory of a career. And yet,
knowing who the first Mentor was ought
to amplify the Laurentian trademark of
serving our current students and recent
graduates in manifest ways.
When Odysseus reluctantly departs
home for the Trojan War, he leaves behind
his young son, Telemachus. While the
father is away for years, the son develops
into a thoughtful and confident young
man. His overall education and his acqui-
sition of moral values, however, do not
happen by chance. The last thing Odys-
seus does before leaving Ithaca is to ask
his most trusted friend to keep an eye on
his household, particularly his young son.
The friend’s name is Mentor and this man
instantly gives his solemn word that he
would always be present for Telemachus.
Mentor’s honor, integrity and wisdom
remain constant; a promise made to a
friend was fulfilled. By that selfless devo-
Maps and Mentors
We know what mentoring means: a quiet, encouraging force
of learning the early territory of a career.
“Ithaca gave to you the beautiful journey;
without her you’d not have set upon the road.”
—C. P. Cavafy (translated by Daniel Mendelsohn)