Education with a conscience: Impact on local and global levels
Dynamic social and environmental challenges provide exhilarating opportunities for University of Phoenix faculty. So says Philip M. Orlando, DMA, a faculty member for the University’s School of Advanced Studies and School of Business.
“Professional educators and other responsible individuals become empowered to contribute to the resolution of these challenges,” he says.
Orlando further explains that educating those in our local communities, regionally, nationally and globally does more than educate those individuals and the immediate lives they touch. “Educating the global community enriches the depth and breadth of human culture and is manifested in the increased quality of our global community,” he asserts.
One way to encourage societies everywhere to preserve, rejuvenate and restore natural resources is to educate them. The challenge lies in doing scientific research while considering ethical and moral considerations as we continue to consume these same resources to sustain our increasing global population.
According to Orlando, “it is the balance of consuming, preserving and revitalizing these resources that is our constant challenge.”
Orlando, a past corporate manager for a Fortune 500 technology company, is a professional orchestral and choral conductor in Wichita, Kansas. His professional and community contributions mirror the model and initiatives of University of Phoenix. The University’s Green Initiative, for example, provides opportunities to conserve resources at local campuses; whether recycling at the campus or at home, Orlando said he believes conserving resources impacts the larger setting—especially in energy conservation. He also supports participating in Earth Day events, serving on the county Recycling Coalition, volunteering at the local recycling center, training in various areas of environmental regulatory processes and modeling these behaviors for family and colleagues.
Orlando said he holds these concepts with the highest regard by promoting them in the classroom. He encourages creative thought from students. He asks probing questions and contributes to conversations that draw in students’ real-world experiences with sustainability and social responsibility.
The direction of our mission as faculty is clear, says Orlando, who doubles as both a faculty member and Director of Academic Affairs at the University’s Wichita Campus. The collaborative and collegial synergy we maintain is infectious, serves as a dynamic catalyst and encourages continuous improvement through assessment and responses, and exudes an institutional identity tied to the leadership of the University’s founder, Dr. John Sperling.
For Orlando, the practice of promoting social responsibility clearly does not end in the classroom:
“With sons in high school and university as well as grandchildren, we actively discuss and deal with these issues as a regular component of our lifestyle,” Orlando said. “Discussions with my two sons revolve around what sometimes becomes our healthy competition regarding the levels at which we embrace these ideas. From our home and community to discussions of these items as they appear in the media, we engage in dialogues and take action. Becoming actively involved is the mantra, for my wife, sons, daughter and son-in-law and what we share with our two young granddaughters.”
Orlando asserts that he believes the recent trend by corporations to adopt pledges of corporate responsibility will have a significant and continued effect upon the collective corporate culture. The social revolution of the 1960s contributed toward significant changes in the latter four decades of the 20th century, which then led to the changes we enjoy today.
“Clearly, the collective conscience of society has been, and will continue to be impacted by the social effects manifested through our shared increased awareness of personal and professional responsibility,” Orlando states. “For those in higher education, we shall continue to help guide the way as thought leaders and models of our professional and personal responsibilities.”
Ultimately, the social effects that may emerge from the positive realization and actions in which we engage may include: a healthier and more fulfilled world-culture made up of many societies around the world, as well as an enriched sense of education and quality of life for all individuals.
“As a higher education professional, I clearly see the exponential responsibilities and effects that we initiate have the potential to change cultures, societies and the global landscape,” says Orlando. “It is difficult to fathom that University of Phoenix would not have a significant role in the future definition and interpretation of socially responsible corporate entities. The corporate structure of the business framework within the University provides an ideal and custom designed superstructure upon which the mission, goals and objectives of our organization can rely for direction.”
In the era of corporate consciousness, online institutions like University of Phoenix continue to play an enormous role in shaping the future landscape and vision of education and, thus, culture throughout the world.
This article originally appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
