The world is filled with beautiful, brilliant people dedicated to serving others, nurturing our planet, and making our world a more just and sustainable one. Our world is also home to unspeakable acts of ignorance, neglect, and cruelty perpetrated by our fellow humans throughout time and, all too often, on unspeakably large scales. It is no doubt an awesome and yet terrifying world in which live but it is our world all the same.
PPS Scholar August Hutchins recently asked our current class of Scholars to consider the following question: "How do I effectively and ethically solve problems I care about." This question captures a significant piece of what we have collaborated with students on in my time as Director. How might they, as citizens of our awesome yet terrifying world, transform their passion into meaningful solutions-focused engagement while maintaining their values and respecting the rights and values of others. How might they collaborate with others to create effective solutions that truly make the world a better place for all involved?
It has been a privilege to collaborate with so many members of our campus community in engaging these kinds of big questions while at Guilford. And while the world's concerns can feel insurmountable, I believe that the values-based and engaged teaching and learning supported by the center and the college matters. And I am convinced that it can help our students, and ourselves, play meaningful roles in advancing our nation toward a "more perfect union" and in moving us toward a more just and sustainable world.
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We have much to share with you below. And I hope you will be able to take a few minutes to become reacquainted with the work of Center staff and that of our affiliated Guilford faculty and staff members. In particular, please review the grants section to see if there are ways that the PPS Endowment can help to support your work at Guilford. And do explore the updated--and yet always incomplete!--CPPS Website if you have the chance to do so.
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The pictures immediately below (and a few more further below) are snapshots of the wonderful At Home in the World mural found in the first floor back hallway of King Hall. Designed in conversation with long-time Guilfordians James Shields (Bonner) and Judy Harvey (Leadership for Social Change), the was an early PPS project supported by the PPS Endowment. Created by artist Kathleen Kennedy '10 and assisted by Center staff member Kim Yarbray and many students, this mural tells the story of Guilford students engagement in our local and broader world. Please come by and take it in when you have a moment.
The PPS Scholars Program
PPSSP Spring 2025: Changemakers
This year's Scholar's Program will engage students in an extended exploration of the art and science of changemaking. We will explore what it means to seek change and travel to meet and talk with people and organizations having positive social impact in our region. Students will be challenged to develop changemaker projects and given the opportunity to test their ideas and approaches in real time. Information sessions and the application process for the spring '25 PPS Scholars Program take place early this fall. Six students were selected for this scholarship program that includes a two-credit course in the spring 14-week session and a four-credit course in our 3-week session. Our 3-week session included visits to local organizations, Deep Roots Market and Beloved Community Center. We also traveled to Chapel Hill to meet with Guilford alumna Ree Ree Wei '21 (see picture), Executive Director of the Translating Traditions Community Garden. The leadership of these organizations gave us insights into some of the "how's" and "why's" of making positive social impact in their communities. Special thanks to August Hutchins our PPS Scholars Teaching Assistant for making our visits to the organizations possible!
PPSSP Abroad Spring '26
CPPSET Associate Director Sonalini Sapra and Zhihong Chen, Professor of History, traveled with fifteen PPS Scholars to Dharamshala, India, last spring to complete a semester focusing on issues of forced migration and displacement. In Dharamshala they meet with local and global community leaders and examined firsthand the global impacts of displacement. The spring '25 trip was our first study abroad trip for the PPS Scholars Program but the Scholars will travel abroad again in the Spring of 2026 with a similar itinerary guided by Professors Zhihong Chen and Eric Mortensen. Applications for the Spring '25 PPS Scholars Program will be announced early in the fall term.
Ethical Leadership at Guilford
The Ethical Leadership Scholarship Program
Ethical Leadership Fellows (ELF) admissions for the '25-'26 class are nearing completion with commitments for 7 out of the 8 available scholarships. Our newest ELFs are coming to us from the country of Ghana, the states of Montana, Florida, Massachusetts, and from Midland, Reidsville, and Greensboro North Carolina.
Our current group of 24 ELFs finished out the year strong after completing over 2,900 hours of campus and community leadership. A celebratory picnic was held in Amanda Szabo-Huff's backyard featuring a fire, roasted sausages and smores.
Ethical Leadership Spring Summit at Guilford College
The Ethical Leadership Spring Summit drew over 60 students and a few alumni to campus for workshops on civic engagement in a democracy, using a framework for guiding ethical leadership, discernment, and applying student leadership to your career path. Down Home NC who works to represent the interests of rural North Carolinians was awarded the Ethical Leadership Award. If you're interested in proposing a workshop for or attending the Ethical Leadership Fall Conference, in late September or early October, please email aszabo@guilford.edu.
The 2025 NCICU Ethics Bowl
For the first time in the college's history, Guilford students joined their peers from colleges across the state to compete in the 2025 NCICU Ethics Bowl. The topic was contemporary issues in ethics and medicine, with topics ranging from healthcare and end of life decision making to the role of AI and technological enhancements across the medical field. Team Guilford was recognized by the NCICU and numerous participating colleges for their strong initial showing, collegial attitude, and enthusiastic engagement. Guilford is registered to compete in next year's Ethics Bowl, which is currently scheduled for February 2026. The topic of the 2026 Ethics Bowl has yet to be announced by NCICU, but should be made available by July! We have a team of six enthusiastic and talented students who have joined, but are always looking for additional participants. If you or anyone you know is interested, please do not hesitate to have them contact Marius Pascale in the department of Religious Studies and Ethics.
Philosophy & Ethical Leadership: A Newly Revised Minor
After much effort, Guilford College's Philosophy minor has been updated and renamed Philosophy and Ethical Leadership. This is more than just a simple name change! The revamped Philosophy and Ethical Leadership minor reflects the Philosophy department's shift to synergizing classical philosophical inquiry with an array of current topics in applied ethics and leadership. This includes the incorporation of numerous courses focused on areas of applied and professional ethics. These include courses on Philosophy of Law and Leadership, Environmental Ethics, Ethics of Data/AI/Cybersecutiry/Analytics, Sports/Sports Management Ethics, and Medical Ethics. Combined with our courses on critical thinking, ethical theory, history of philosophy, epistemology, and philosophy of death, students have a wide array of options to pursue both theoretical and applied philosophy, a measurable benefit to any personal and professional pursuit! It is my hope that the changes to the program will help support Guilford's commitment to ethical leadership. If anyone is interested in learning more, please do not hesitate to reach out to Marius Pascale in the department of Religious Studies and Ethics.
Every Campus A Refuge at Guilford
The former ECAR family of 3 from Afghanistan truly loved living on campus and being a part of Guilford from March - September of 2024. They now have their own apartment, the father has a prosperous full time job, and they just welcomed a baby boy into their family on April 22nd!
The current hosted family of 5 is from Venezuela and have been here since November of 2024. They are all are doing great, love being on campus, the parents are both working, and the children attend the Newcomers school. The parents are saving up to get a car and learning to drive. We will be transitioning them to their own home off campus at the end of August.
This work or welcome and radical hospitality could not be done without our amazing students! They helped move the former family, set up the house for the new family, attended community events to share about ECAR, and currently tutor the kids after school. Our independent study students and intern this semester created ESOL flashcards and the ”I Belong in Greensboro” book inspired by our Albany chapter. We’ve also consistently had Guilford staff and faculty, as well as community members involved and supporting ECAR. We thank everyone for their support and engagement as we create “softer landings and stronger beginnings” to newcomers in our community!
CPPSET Faculty Fellowship Updates
The 2024-2025 CPPSET Faculty Fellows have had productive years with their respective duties and responsibilities. Here are brief summaries from our colleague's on their work this academic year.
Diya Abdo -- Diya continued her work as the Faculty Director for the ECAR@Guilford program that houses recent refugee families, offers volunteer opportunities for students, staff, faculty, and community members. Through the Center, ECAR also offers academic credits through internships, independent studies, and coursework in the PPS Experience Minor: Forced Migration and Resettlement Studies.
Christian Matheis -- Christian completed his second academic year serving as the Center/Faculty Development Inclusive Pedagogy Fellow. Christian developed and presented two workshops each year and dedicated many hours to individual consultation with faculty and staff.
Marius Pascale -- Marius served as the inaugural Ethical Leadership Fellow connected with his role teaching the Ethical Leadership First Year Seminar, developing the curricular requirements for the four-year Ethical Leadership Fellows Program, Co-Chairing the EL Council, and taking Guilford's first Ethics Bowl team to compete in the NCICU annual ethics event (details above). Along with Eric Mortensen, Marius was instrumental in revising our Philosophy minor to include the recently approved Ethical Leadership minor (details above).
Bronwyn Tucker -- Bronwyn launched the first part of a project to research and explore a new Outdoor Education and Leadership course for the Enviornmental Studies program. Collaborating with Guilford and external colleagues she is focused on offering our students and campus a path toward increased concern and connection with the more-than-human-world.
Zulfiya Tursunova -- Through interviews Zulfiya is engaging the Uzbek diaspora by documenting the intergenerational experiences of those who were involved in the journey to the USA as refugees from the times of Russian colonization and collectivization, the forced displacement of kulaks, the Andijan massacre, and the undocumented citizens and immigrants and community leaders who were involved in supporting resettlement efforts.
Selena Wolf Berkley --Selena has created a project to further develop and reorganize Guilford's Writing Fellows Program. Specifically, her work will redevelop the program to align with the Learning & Writing Center's new mission statement including explicit commitment to anti-racism, anti-oppression, accessibility, and Guilford's Core Values.
The 2025-2026 Faculty Fellows includes four Fellows continuing with on-going or interrupted project work (due to events not of the Fellows' making) including Diya Abdo, Selena Wolf Berkley, Bronwyn Tucker, and Zulfiya Tursunova. We have two new Fellows joining the Center next fall including Marjorie Church and Tom Guthrie. Look for more details on next year's fellowship activities being communicated in the fall.
Engaging the World: Guilford and PPS in the World
In 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 the Center supported a number of study abroad projects in our efforts to bring PPS into contexts across the globe. Supporting projects embedded in study abroad courses as well as our first PPS Scholars trip abroad, our students engaged the PPS approach in Germany, India, Japan, and Mexico.
Reports from our spring '25 trips are yet to be completed at the time of the publishing of this newsletter. Below is a report from spring '24 shared with us by Eric Mortensen and Liz Nicholson. Their report reflects the kinds of creative and critical thinking and engagement in which the PPS approach flourishes.
Religious Studies Professor Eric Mortensen and Liz Nicholson, Director of our Quaker Leadership Scholars Program, shared the following summary report on a visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park supported by a CPPSET grant funded by the PPS Endowment. Thank you, Eric and Liz, for creating and shepherding this transformative educational experience with our students!
Flower Petals Falling from the Sky
Guilford College Student Group Essays Reflecting on Hiroshima
REL 350: Zen & Shinto in Kyoto ~ Spring 2024
Instructors: Liz Nicholson & Eric Mortensen
On Thursday, May 2, 2024, sixteen Guilford College students and two instructors traveled by shinkansen train from Kyoto to Hiroshima to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, cenotaph, and museum. In advance of our visit, during the 14-week semester course REL 282 Mindfulness & Social Action, students were organized into teams based on their interest in one of several sub-topics surrounding the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima by the United States. Students were asked to engage with the deep and challenging dynamics surrounding and ensuing from the bombing and its aftermath. Each student team composed a “queries & theses” document, intended as a set of articulated hypotheses and questions that would partially frame their hermeneutical approaches to their experiences and informational learning during our visit to Hiroshima in the middle of our ensuing 3-week term study abroad course REL 350: Zen & Shinto in Kyoto. In both courses (REL 282 & 350) students also watched films and videos and read essays and poetry about the bombing of Hiroshima. Following our visit to Hiroshima on May 2, we held class on the sunlit banks of the Enko River outside the museum. Over the course of the following days, in
Kyoto, student teams drafted their essays, presented them to the full class, then revised and condensed the essays into the short versions shared, below. Funding for our trip from Kyoto to Hiroshima was generously provided by the Center for Principled Problem Solving and Excellence in Teaching.
The PPS Endowment continues to offer funding for students, faculty, and staff in support of a broad range of values-based educational undertakings. Three categories of grants are available during the academic year to support the kinds of informed, creative, experiential, and solutions-focused work that our community excels in accomplishing. These three grant categories include:
- CPPSET Teaching, Research, and Project Grants -- Funds for faculty and staff to support a broad range of educational experiences that support the Center's PPS and Ethical Leadership priorities broadly speaking.
- CPPSET Changemaker Project Grants -- Funds to support individual or group student projects designed to have positive impact on our campus, local, regional, national, or global communities.
- CPPSET Events and Sponsorship Grants -- PPS Endowment funds are available to support campus or community events that are consistent with the Center's established priorities.
Complete details and online application forms for all CPPSET grant programs are available on the Grants Applications page of the Center's newly revised website. And please feel free to reach out Center Director Mark Justad (justadmj@guilford.edu) with any questions or concerns you may have about our grants programs.
Transforming Passion into Action
- The Center for Principled Problem Solving and Excellence in Teaching develops and promotes the knowledge, mind-sets, and skills necessary for values-based problem solving and significant positive social, political, and economic change.
- CPPSET is a unique academic center that creates and supports both credit-bearing and co-curricular efforts with an engaged teaching and learning focus. The Center and its affiliated faculty develop innovative programming guided by a commitment to academic excellence, the college's core values, and Guilford's Quaker heritage.
- The Guilford College PPS Endowment supports focused efforts in the areas of Principled Problem Solving, Ethical Leadership, and Excellence in Teaching.
- To find out more, visit our website or email us at cppset@guilford.edu.
