The Bell
In Celebration of Leadership and the Sciences
It was closing time at the Museum of Science when dozens of lab-coat-clad students filed in and took their places, several of them joining faculty members stationed on the first and second levels.
As guests arrived for Gordon College’s 5th Annual Celebration of Faithful Leadership, they were ushered in to experience interactive presentations by students and faculty about ongoing research in their departments. Among them, the drone that Dr. Greg Keller (biology) uses to understand landscapes from the point of view of migrating birds; an experiment in sorting M&Ms that illustrates Irv Levy’s (chemistry) mission to eliminate waste, or the “e factor” of chemical processes; and Dr. Jessica Ventura’s (kinesiology) computational modeling for assessing the effects of running form.
The lively celebration, hosted by Taylor Hughes, “The Magician You Can Trust,” processed to the ground floor for dinner and then up to the third floor. President Michael Lindsay presented the George F. Bennett Leadership Award to Pat Gelsinger for his pioneering leadership in the field of computing and technology and his deep commitment to faith. “Leaders of integrity will help us make the right choice in an age when technology is neutral,” Gelsinger said, in an interview with Lindsay. “Are we going to raise up people of moral conscience?”
Keynote speaker John Ortberg of Menlo Church (CA) credited Gelsinger with not only being the CEO of VMware, but the company’s pastor as well. Ortberg, too, emphasized the critical importance of faithful leadership in the sciences. “Christians should be engaged in science because science is hard work,” he said. “And hard work honors God.” Science, he went on, is noble work done in response to the greatest commandment: loving our God with heart, soul, strength and mind.
Student speaker Kristiina Boettiger ’19 aptly conveyed this ethos in describing the moment she knew Gordon College was the right school for her, when biology professor Dr. Ming Zheng told her that “teaching at Gordon is not a profession; it’s a vocation.”
Thanks to the tremendous generosity of guests and sponsors, over $1.5 million was raised through this event; proceeds will fund scholarships and help offset the burden of educational debt.