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Furman REPORTSCommentary“Kelly and I have chosen to support Furman and to continue toincrease our level of funding as a result of our steadfast belief in theenduring value of a liberal arts education. Our Furman experience,and I emphasize the word experience, created the firm foundationwe both have relied upon to build two successful businesses.”TEDxFurmanU speakers addressed topics in design thinking and social enterprise; Ben Riddle ’16 and political science professor Brent Nelsen were emcees; the 100 participants, includingstudents, faculty and staff, were chosen through a competitive application process; Katie Guptill ’13 offered a running artistic commentary on each presentation.Students bring TED(x) formula to FurmanTECHNOLOGY. ENTERTAINMENT. DESIGN.Ideas worth spreading.That’s what TED, a nonprofit organizationknown for its innovative conferences, stimulatingdialogue and inspirational 18-minute YouTubevideos, has been about for the last 25 years:promoting ideas that can change the world.It’s also the source of several spin-offs, amongthem TEDx, which allows independent groups touse the TED name and approach to sponsor theirown programs. Same format, smaller scale.Which is where Furman comes in — and,more precisely, Furman students.This year the Furman Creative Collaborative,consisting almost exclusively of freshmen andsophomores, received permission to bring aTEDx program to campus. The students chose“Redesigning Education” as their theme andattracted 10 high-energy thinkers to speak.TEDxFurmanU was held in Younts ConferenceCenter March 15 before about 100 students,faculty and staff, all chosen to participatethrough a competitive application process.AJ Calhoun ’15, head of the FCC, called theevent a “catalytic moment” for the university.Whether or not he was right, the speakers,who included Danny Stillion ’89, an associatepartner with IDEO, an international design andconsulting firm, did offer a wide range of possibilitiesfor education in the 21st century. A fewexamples: Christian Long of Cannon Design inColumbus, Ohio, advocated “human-centereddesign thinking,” which focuses on reinventingclassroom space to spur collaborative work. AlanWebb of Washington, D.C., a founding memberof the Open Master’s Program, discussed howeducation is primarily about creating relationships— and how to reimagine those relationshipsin a technology-driven world.Cynthia Lawson with The New School atParsons in New York City suggested pushingeducational boundaries beyond the classroomand into the world, where students learn fromhands-on fieldwork and teachers serve as facilitatorsto help them develop their resourcefulnessand observational skills. DeAndrea Nichols,founder of CatalystsbyDesign in St. Louis,addressed the needs of underserved youthand promoted empathy-based learning modelsdesigned to establish sustainable connectionsand eliminate the “failure mindset.”In all, the evening proved to be a fast-paced,five-hour package of ideas, thoughts, dreamsand possibilities. How can you top that? Furmanwill try on March 22, 2014, with “Stories: TheCommon Thread of Our Humanity.” The FCCand company are already on the prowl for storytellers.Learn more at tedxfurmanu.com.— JIM STEWARTCHARLIE REGISTER (4)— BRIAN McSHARRY ’88 OF GREENVILLE, AT THE RICHARD FURMAN SOCIETY BANQUETIN FEBRUARY, ON WHY HE AND HIS WIFE, KELLY KENNEDY McSHARRY ’88, SUPPORT FURMAN.“The right-to-life people are extremely smart with their strategy.Go after late-term abortions and chip away, chip away, chip away.You are making an argument on late-term abortions that mightend up being very useful to you as a limit on earlier abortions.”— POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR GLEN HALVA-NEUBAUER,IN A KANSAS CITY (MO.) STAR ARTICLE.“When I began my career as a sustainability student, it was witha somewhat vague idea of sustainability. I knew that I was interestedin living more harmoniously with the environment and making choicesthat would help everyone live a better life, but I did not then recognizethis as the basis for sustainability. Each year here has taughtme a new lesson in sustainability, which together created a learningexperience I will never forget.”— ANNE-MARIE MELIEF ’13, ON “THE GREEN SCENE AT FURMAN” BLOG.“The myths of vulnerability are that, one, it is weakness; two, I canopt out; three, it is letting it all hang out, or over-sharing; and four,I can go it alone. In reality, vulnerability is our most accurate measureof courage. It is the heart of all emotions; it isn’t optional. Withoutvulnerability, there is no intimacy. Vulnerability is about trust,intimacy and connection.”— BRENE BROWN, RESEARCH PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON GRADUATECOLLEGE OF SOCIAL WORK, DURING FEBRUARY’S “ENGAGING FAITH” CONFERENCESPONSORED BY THE CHAPLAINS OFFICE AND NEXUS CENTER.“It’s an opportunity for juniors and seniors to live together and orienttheir lives around the intersection of their faith and their life in theChristian community.”— RIMES McELVEEN ‘96, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF MERE CHRISTIANITY FORUM, IN AGREENVILLE NEWS ARTICLE. MCF PROMOTES CRITICAL EXPLORATION OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH.“This place was highly instrumental in my developmentas a person and as a musician, and it had a lot to do withwhere I ended up being.”— KEITH LOCKHART ‘81, BOSTON POPS CONDUCTOR, DURINGA VISIT TO CAMPUS IN FEBRUARY, WHEN THE FURMAN SYMPHONYORCHESTRA PERFORMED WITH THE POPS.“I’ve played a lot of instruments, but the ukulele is best, handsdown. Four strings, four fingers, super happy. Get a ukulele. It’llmake you feel better.”— RUSS MORIN ’84, IN A GREENVILLE NEWS ARTICLE ON HIS WORKAS A LUTHIER. VISIT RUSSMORIN.COM.“Probably around 700 students in Greenville County Schools rightnow are part of families regarded as homeless — that is, staying ina shelter, staying piled in with family or friends, staying in a motel,or staying in a car.”— TONY McDADE ’79, DIRECTOR OF GREENVILLE AREA INTERFAITH HOSPITALITY NETWORK(GAIHN), IN TOWN MAGAZINE. GAIHN IS A COLLABORATION AMONG CHURCHES TO PROVIDETHE HOMELESS WITH SHELTER, FOOD AND SUPPORT.“We had the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ back in the fall of 2011.People thought it was going to be a cathartic change, it was goingto be significant, an upheaval of massive social proportions. Andit was pretty much a non-event.”— DANA K. CHIPMAN, JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL OF THE U.S. ARMYAND FATHER OF CLAIRE CHIPMAN ’14. HE SPOKE ON CAMPUS IN MARCH.JEREMY FLEMING20 FURMAN | SPRING 2013FURMAN | SPRING 2013 21