in the Jesuit Tradition - Rockhurst University

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same way over the millennia, they wereinstructing their followers to do the same forthem after they had died. In that way theycould be preserved for the afterlife.If you look closely at the Egyptian statues,you can find the religious symbols, portrayalof the family, celebration of the community,commitment to the land, and preservation ofpossessions (particularly the ultimate possessionof one’s own ka (body) in the form of amummy) — the core values for which anFigure 3: François Girardon, French (1628-1715), Louis XIV as aRoman General, 1685, BronzeEgyptian would go into battle and die. In one ofthe most important Egyptian works in the Nelsongallery (not pictured), you can see the hand of alittle boy on the leg of the father. The statueshows the father as pillar of the family and animportant member of the community. Prettysoon almost everything in the Egyptian artworkseems to be about such core values.In their monumental works, the Egyptianleaders, “pharaohs,” were re-emphasizing thesecore values to their followers. By seeing howmuch their followers were willing to sacrifice toerect artwork that mimicked symbols and styleset by the pharaoh, a pharaoh knew how muchhe could count on them to sacrifice in timesof war. A simple glimpse at an Egyptian cityshowed the unity of its people.Even the Greeks copied the Egyptians. Butby the fifth century B.C., the Greek statuessuddenly become quite different, and thisdifference becomes the basis of Rome and theWestern tradition. Look at the statue of theRoman emperor Hadrian (Figure 1), which you’llencounter as you leave the Nelson’s Egyptiancollection. In all of our alumni gallery tours, theparticipants notice how much more “real” theGreek statues are than those of the Egyptians.The Greeks and Romans are no longer lookingto their ancestors for their style, but tonature itself. They have been plying thewaters of the Mediterranean Sea to discoverand appreciate the gods, symbolsand styles of many different cultures andare not quite so certain about their own.In fact, they discover that each individualcan choose different philosophies of life,and they author the early philosophiesof the cynics, the sophists, the stoics andthe Epicureans, which we still learn aboutat Rockhurst today.As there are differentphilosophies, there are differentstyles of leadership. The statue ofHadrian certainly communicatesleadership. The Medusa on hischest is a Greek goddess with hairmade up of snakes and she willdestroy the enemy. The Romansdid not generally wear beards, butHadrian wears a beard in referenceto the Greeks who did — anotherway of legitimizing his leadership.The piercing gaze shows fear of noone and no circumstance of war. InCourtesy of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Mo.(Purchase: Nelson Trust) 54-32this statue, the leader communicateslegitimacy to lead through strengthof body, fear, ability to commandand the power to vanquish.Look at the senator in Figure 2. How is thisview of leadership different from that of theHadrian statue? Most of the alumni groups thathave taken the Nelson tour recognize that thisstatue communicates age and the wisdom thatcomes with age. While such a senator might notlead men to their deaths in battle, he might bethe one in a democracy or the Roman Republicto convince others that the battle is necessary.Here we have the leader of the people. Leadershipoccurs through communal agreement. Hedoesn’t command people. He convinces them.Every wizened line of the statue communicatesthe battles of persuasion that he has endured.ROCKHURST 22
Courtesy of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Mo.(Purchase: Nelson Trust) 47-30Courtesy of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Mo.(Purchase: Nelson Trust) 55-76Figure 2: Roman, Roman Gentleman, ca. 120, MarbleWe walk all the way to the opposite(southern) side of the Nelson gallery to see howmuch we owe to the Greeks and Romans. InFigure 3 we see the statue of Louis XIV — oneof the greatest French kings (but one who lost alot of battles and put his nation into heavy debtfighting them) — and in Figure 4, BenjaminFranklin. How do the styles of leadership inthese two statues compare to the styles communicatedby Hadrian and the Roman senator?Louis XIV leads in the style of Hadrian. Heeven has the same Roman armor (and sandals),has the same piercing look of command, andthe Medusa is even represented in the statue.Except, now the Medusa is on the shield overwhich the horse is stepping. Louis the XIV vanquishesthe Medusa, the feared non-Christiansymbol. But Louis XIV also legitimizes himselfthrough the symbols of fleur-de-lis, whichreminds a viewer of his royal blood connectionto the French Monarchy.And good old Ben Franklin is wearing aRoman toga, just like the Roman senator. Hisstatue communicates his democratic leadershipand legitimizes him by connecting him toRoman traditions. He legitimizes himself onthe basis of his merit in persuading people.But do these models of leadership still applytoday? Today we still argue about differentstyles of leadership the Greeks and Romansidentified. Many corporations find themselvesseeking a more participatory leader after firinga tyrant, only to replace their incompetentparticipatory leader with a new tyrant. But themodern leaders may not be learning much fromhistorical examples of leadership.Figure 4: French, Workshop of Jean Antoine HoudonBust of Benjamin Franklin, 1780, MarbleModern leaders don’t often have to askpeople to give up their lives. Perhaps they can’tmotivate people by appealing to their corevalues. Just ask yourself which of the corevalues you can use in an interview to determineif you will hire someone. Can you use religion(or place in the afterlife), family situation,community, patriotism, ideology, image(or gender or race) or wealth and possessions?Modern leaders can’t explicitly or legally useany of these criteria in hiring, firing, retiring,promoting or motivating people.Or can they? As you walk through themuseum, think about how leaders communicatewith their followers today — through the Internet,the print media and television. How well dothese media replace art in connecting people tocore values? Or do these modern, efficientmeans of communication tend to eliminatereferences to core values? As you walk throughthe galleries, try to recall a case of failedleadership and think about the way the failedleader communicated about core values. Werethose values actually communicated? Now thinkabout your own leadership roles in family orcommunity. Can you create just one way toconnect your leadership with the core values ofsomeone whom you wish to lead? Now lookagain at the statues of Hadrian, the Romansenator, Louis XIV and Ben Franklin. Howinspired and creative the sculptorswere who communicatedleadership through their art. * This tour of the Nelson-Atkins Museumof Art was developed with Sherry Best,director of the Greenlease Gallery, althoughthe errors in this work are all mine.Michael Tansey, Ph.D.23 FALL 2001
Page 1 and 2: in the Jesuit Tradition
Page 3 and 4: Contents…ROCKHURSTT HE M AGAZINE
Page 5: School of Management Renamed in Hon
Page 8 and 9: RockhurstreportRecovery Is Campuswi
Page 10 and 11: RockhurstreportFaculty, Staff Witne
Page 12 and 13: HawktalkFreshmen Add Depth to Hawks
Page 14 and 15: LEADERSHIPINTHEIgnatius of Loyola,
Page 16 and 17: Photo courtesyof James Biever.repre
Page 18 and 19: By Peter Bicak, Ph.D.Assistant Prof
Page 20 and 21: Photo courtesy of Harry S. Truman L
Page 22 and 23: Photo courtesy of Smith-Lamar & Ass
Page 26 and 27: ForalumniYear as Volunteer Brings M
Page 28 and 29: Advancementdigest$50 Million Campai
Page 30 and 31: AdvancementdigestEndowed Chair Prom
Page 32 and 33: ClassnotesAlumni Notes’58Frank Ja
Page 34 and 35: ClassnotesBirths’92’93’94’9
Page 36: December115Ceremony ofLessons & Car

in the Jesuit Tradition - Rockhurst University

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