CMU's Annual Fleer Lecture on Values-Based Education Set for April 12

FAYETTE, MO (04/05/2011)(readMedia)-- The 2011 Gilbert and Ruth Fleer Lecture for Excellence in Values-Based Education will be presented at Central Methodist University April 12 by Wayne Meisel, director of faith and service at the Cousins Foundation in Atlanta, Ga.

The lecture will begin at 7 p.m. in the Courtney-Spalding Room, fourth floor of the CMU Student and Community Center. The Fleers will be present.

The title of Meisel's presentation is "Why Serve? Why Now?" Meisel will be the third person to deliver the Fleer Lecture, which was established in 2009 in honor of Gilbert and Ruth Fleer, who live in Bentonville, Ark., and are alumni of Central Methodist University.

Gilbert Fleer earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from Central Methodist (Class of 1955); a bachelor of divinity degree from Drew University School of Theology, Madison, N.J.; and a master's and an educational doctorate, both in guidance and counseling, from Texas A & M University. He was an assistant professor of religion at CMU from 1959 to 1965 and is now retired as a social science professor from Western Texas College and as a United Methodist counselor. Ruth Fleer attended CMU (Class of 1958) and later earned her bachelor of science degree from Texas A & M University and master of education degree from Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas.

"We were extremely pleased to announce the establishment of the Fleer Lecture and to mark its inaugural presentation in April of 2009," said Dr. Marianne E. Inman, president of Central Methodist University. "Gil and Ruth Fleer had a vision to enhance the spirit of excellence at Central Methodist University. Their passion for their alma mater where they met, their strong support for leadership development, and their commitment to opportunities for future generations of students, led them to make gifts to the University celebrating the Central experience. This enabled Central Methodist to establish the

Gilbert and Ruth Fleer Fund for Excellence in Values-Based Education."

Prior to assuming his current position, Meisel served as president of The Corella and Bertram F. Bonner Foundation, which supports scholarships for low-income students at 22 schools in the Southeast and Midwest through the Bonner Scholars Program. In return, each scholarship recipient performs 600 hours of community service a year.

Meisel graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in government from Harvard University. He was a John Harvard Scholar for the highest academic achievement and was awarded a John Finley Travelling Fellow. With this fellowship Meisel walked from Maine to Washington to champion student and campus involvement in community service.

As founder of the internationally known Campus Outreach Opportunity League (COOL), Meisel created a platform for students and graduates to lead, sustain and challenge their peers to serve others and bring about positive change.

Working with COOL from 1983 to 1989, he set the tone for youth-run/youth-led organizations. His efforts brought about coalitions between and among individuals, campuses, local communities and all levels of government that today are actively engaged in program conduct and policy implementation.

For his activism and leadership Meisel is the recipient of a Lyndhurst Career Prize, an award given out by the Lyndhurst Foundation of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Also, he was previously named by Time Magazine is one of the "Top 40 Under 40" leaders in the nation.

Meisel has served on the National Boards of Directors of the Independent Sector, COOL, and The New Grange School, a nationally acclaimed school for youths with learning disabilities. He was also a founding board member of the President's Commission on National and Community Service and Teach for America.

He is the author of two books, "Building a Movement: Students in Community Service" and "On Your Mark, Get Set, Go: From Student Ideas to Campus Action." He has also edited two books of quotes: "Men About Men" and "Light One Candle."

Founded in 1854, Central Methodist is the only United Methodist Church-related university in Missouri and welcomes qualified men and women of all faiths and from diverse backgrounds. Its wooded, historic campus hosts a faculty of teachers, mentors, and scholars dedicated to providing extraordinary attention to the individual learner. With offerings ranging from high-school dual credit to graduate studies and a total enrollment in excess of 5,100, its liberal arts and pre-professional programs are centered on a character core that has twice brought Central Methodist national recognition for its leadership in character education. In recent years the University has attracted significant challenge grants regionally from the Mabee Foundation and nationally from the Kresge Foundation to help build a $15 million Student and Community Center on the academic quadrangle and to fund $5 million in major upgrades to its athletic facilities, and to compete a $5.4 million renovation of a historic campus building.

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