Founded in 2000, the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) bills itself as “the largest and most comprehensive global information privacy community and resource.” It is more than just a certification body. It is a full-fledged not-for-profit membership association with a focus on information privacy concerns and topics. Its membership includes both individuals and organizations, in the tens of thousands for the former and the hundreds for the latter (including many Fortune 500 outfits).
Its mandate is to help privacy practitioners develop and advance in their careers, and help organizations manage and protect their data. To that end, the IAPP seeks to create a forum where privacy pros can track news and trends, share best practices and processes, and better articulate privacy management issues and concerns.
By 2012, the organization included 10,000 members. By the end of 2015, membership had more than doubled to 23,000 members. According to a Forbes story published that same year, approximately half of the IAPP’s membership is women (which makes it pretty special, based on our understanding of the gender composition for most IT associations and certification programs). Current membership must be between 30,000 and 40,000 as growth rates from 2012 to 2015 have continued, if not accelerated in the face of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which went into full effect on May 25, 2018. The IAPP also claims to have certified “thousands of professionals around the world.”
IAPP certification program overview
The IAPP has developed a globally recognized certification program around information privacy. Its current certification offerings include the following credentials:
- Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP): seeks to identify professionals who work primarily with privacy laws, regulations and frameworks
- Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM): seeks to identify professionals who manage day-to-day privacy operations for businesses and organizations
- Certified Information Privacy Technologist (CIPT): seeks to identify IT professionals who work regularly (if not primarily) with privacy policies, tools and technologies on the job
All these certifications comply with the ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024 standard, which means they have been developed to meet stringent requirements for analyzing the subject matter and the fields of work to which they apply, along with formal psychometric analysis of test items to make sure that exams truly differentiate those who possess the required skills and knowledge to do the related jobs from those who do not.
All the IAPP exams follow the same cost structure, though charges vary by location. In the U.S., each first-time exam costs $550, with a $375 charge for any subsequent retake of the same exam. Those who already hold any IAPP certification pay just $375 for each additional certification exam they take. IAPP certification holders can either pay an annual maintenance fee of $125 to keep their certifications current (and meet continuing education requirements of 20 CPE credits every two years) or they must join the IAPP.
If a person joins, they’ll pay an annual membership fee. Currently, that’s $250 for professional members, $50 for student members, and $100 for all other membership categories (government, higher education, retired and not-for-profit). Those who elect to pay the certification maintenance fee need pay only once a year, no matter how many IAPP certifications they earn.
IAPP exams are available at Kryterion testing centers, which may be identified with its test center locator. Exams consist of 90 question items. Candidates may take up to 150 minutes (2.5 hours) to complete any IAPP exam. Payment is handled through the IAPP website, but Kryterion handles date and time windows for exams at its test centers.
Certified Information Privacy Technologist (CIPT)
This credential is the most likely place for a person working in IT to start their IAPP efforts. The CIPT validates skills and knowledge about the components and technical controls involved in establishing, ensuring and maintaining data privacy. To be more specific, the body of knowledge (BoK) for the CIPT stresses important privacy concepts and practices that impact IT, and makes sure that practitioners understand consumer privacy expectations and responsibilities.
It also addresses how to bake privacy into early stages of IT products or services to control costs and ensure data accuracy and integrity without impacting time to market. CIPTs understand how to establish privacy policies for data collection and transfer, and how to manage privacy on the internet of things. They also know how to factor privacy into data classification, and how it impacts emerging technologies such as biometrics, surveillance and cloud computing. Finally, CIPTs understand how to communicate on privacy issues with other parts of their organizations, including management, development staff, marketing and legal.
Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP)
IAPP describes this certification as just right for “the go-to person for privacy laws, regulations and frameworks” in an organization. This audience may include more senior privacy or security professionals with IT backgrounds, but it may also involve people from management, legal or governance organizations whose responsibilities include data privacy and protection concerns. This goes double for those involved with legal and compliance requirements, information management, data governance, and even human resources (as privacy is a personal matter at its core, involving personal information).
Because managing privacy and protecting private information is often highly regulated and subject to legal systems and frameworks, the IAPP offers versions of the CIPP certification where such content and coverage has been “localized” for prevailing rules, regulations, laws and best practices.
There are five such versions available: Asia (CIPP/A), Canada (CIPP/C), Europe (CIPP/E), U.S. Government (CIPP/G) and U.S. Private Sector (CIPP/US). As of this writing, the CIPP/E perforce offers the most direct and focused coverage of GDPR topics. That said, given that GDPR applies to companies and online presences globally, such material will no doubt soon make its way into other CIPP versions in the next 6-12 months. The U.S.-focused exams are already scheduled for a refresh in August 2018, as per the IAPP website’s certification pages.
For example, the CIPP/US page includes the following materials:
Each of the other regional versions of the CIPP has a similarly large, detailed and helpful collection of resources available to interested readers and would-be certified professionals.
Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM)
The CIPM is a more senior credential in the IAPP collection. It seeks to identify persons who can manage an information privacy program. Thus, the focus is on privacy law and regulations and how those things must guide the formulation of workable and defensible privacy policies, practices and procedures for organizational use. The CIPM BoK covers the following topics:
- Privacy program governance: organizational vision, program definition and creating a privacy team; developing a privacy program framework; implementing a privacy policy framework; and identifying and using metrics to report on privacy for governance, auditing, and regulatory purposes
- Privacy operational lifecycle: assess organizational and third-party partner and processor privacy posture, including physical and business assessments; establish privacy protections over the data lifecycle, following best cybersecurity practices and Privacy by Design; sustain privacy protections by measuring, aligning, auditing and monitoring privacy data; respond to requests for information about personal data; and respond to privacy incidents as they occur
In general, CIPMs play a lead role in defining and maintaining data privacy policies for their organizations. They will usually be responsible for operating the privacy apparatus necessary to demonstrate compliance with all applicable privacy rules, regulations and laws for the organization as well.
Other IAPP certifications
The IAPP also offers two other elements in its certification programs. One is the Privacy Law Specialist, which aims at attorneys or other licensed legal professionals who wish to focus on privacy Topics in a legal context. The other, called the Fellow of Information Privacy (FIP), aims at those at the top of the privacy profession and is available only to those who’ve completed two or more IAPP credentials, including either a CIPM or a CIPT, and one or more of the CIPP credentials. It requires three professional peer referrals and completion of a detailed application form. We won’t discuss these credentials much more in this article, except to note here that the Privacy Law Specialist garnered a surprising 200 hits in our job board search (see below for other details gleaned thereby).
Finally, the IAPP website recommends the combination of CIPP/E and CIPM as the possible credentialing for those wishing to focus on GDPR, shown in this screenshot from its Certify pop-up menu:
IAPP employment: Job board stats and example jobs
We visit four job posting sites to check on demand for specific credentials: Simply Hired, Indeed, LinkedIn and LinkUp. Here’s what we learned.
| Certification | Search string | Simply Hired | Indeed | LinkUp | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIPP | CIPP | 668 | 745 | 1,064 | 401 | 2,878 |
| CIPM | CIPM | 187 | 198 | 260 | 191 | 836 |
| CIPT | CIPT | 146 | 155 | 276 | 210 | 787 |
The breakdown for CIPP fell out like this: CIPP/A 27, CIPP/C 287, CIPP/E 351, CIPP/G 154 and CIPP/US 401. As you’d expect, the U.S. categories combine for a majority, with Europe a surprising second ahead of third-place Canada.
Salary information appears in the next table. We collected low, median and high values for each credential, finding surprisingly little difference between the CIPM and the CIPP. Given that a CIPM is likely to hold a management position, this shows that the CIPP holds considerable value in employers’ estimations. It’s also interesting that the median values show the CIPT and the CIPP are close to one another too. This bodes well for IT professionals interested in pursuing the CIPT.
| Certification |
Low |
Median |
High |
|---|---|---|---|
| CIPP | $33,969 | $66,748 | $131,156 |
| CIPM | $41,069 | $73,936 | $133,106 |
| CIPT | $32,131 | $62,279 | $120,716 |
| Privacy Law Attorney | $46,146 | $89,026 | $171,752 |
Typical positions for privacy professionals are very much one-offs. We found a risk management and compliance manager position at a South Carolina government agency charged with defining and implementing security and privacy policies for the department of corrections. That position paid $120,000 per year and involved security and audit compliance, business continuity and disaster recovery planning, and risk and incident management. By itself, the requested CIPM would not be enough to qualify for that job.
The next position was for a healthcare services director position in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which involved auditing, risk management, and contract and vendor negotiation. Its pay range was $140,000 to $190,000 per year, and it required serious management chops, along with IT governance and risk and compliance experience, with calls for knowledge of tools like Archer and Clearwell. The third position was for a senior data privacy associate at a Washington law firm, which sought a person with a CIPP/E, CIPP/US and CIPT, with pay in the $120K-$150K range.
Thus, it appears there are plenty of opportunities – some with high rates of pay – for those willing to climb the IAPP certification ladder. Both the job boards and the individual postings speak directly to strong and urgent need in the field for qualified privacy professionals at all levels.
Training resources
IAPP courses are available through many channels, including classroom training through the IAPP and its partner network. Online training classes are also available, for lesser charges. The IAPP provides ample references and resources, with authoritative and supplemental texts, websites, legal references and statutes, and more for each of its credentials. There’s also plenty of self-study material for those who prefer that route.
The IAPP also offers practice exams (which it calls demo questions) to help candidates prepare for exams. Surprisingly, there is even something of an aftermarket for IAPP books and materials, as a quick trip to Amazon will attest.
Mission Statement
The Center for Practical and Professional Ethics takes as its overriding mission to foster and enhance the place of ethics in professional and public discourse, and to foster and support ethical practice, both in the University Community and in the broader Sacramento Region. Its mission is, therefore, educative, scholarly and practical.
Objectives
The mission of the Center will be accomplished through the following objectives:
- To provide an educative and scholarly service to the University community, regional educational institutions, the local public, and to the broader Sacramento Region
- To provide resources to enhance the role of ethics education in the curriculum through sponsoring Ethics Across the Curriculum workshops for faculty in all disciplines for which ethics is a concern
- To sponsor a regular colloquium series which brings scholars and community members together to better understand the ethical implications of various public policy initiatives, legislation and ballot measures, as well as to facilitate a greater awareness of ethics in our daily personal and professional lives
- To be available as a community resource and clearinghouse for ethics information, consultancy, and education
- To foster and develop opportunities for faculty research in practical and professional ethics
- To foster and develop opportunities for faculty and student collaboration in research in practical and professional ethics
- To foster and develop opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration in both research and teaching in the areas of practical and professional ethics.
Relationship to the University's Mission
The quotations in the text are taken directly from the University's mission statement [CSUS Mission Statement (March 29, 2004) ]. These express the principal values the University seeks to promote through the activities of the institution as a whole.
The principal work of the Center for Practical and Professional Ethics, as an ethics center, demonstrates a commitment to “fostering in all its members a sense of inclusiveness, respect for human differences, and concern for others.” In its normative (practical and applied) sense, ethics is focused on providing the cognitive and intellectual means for living well with others. At the heart of an ethics center's activities and service is this commitment to proving the means – through education, awareness raising, practical training, research support and analysis – for all members of the university and broader professional and public community to live better lives, both personally, professionally and socially.
The Center for Practical and Professional Ethics will affirm the University's mission and demonstrate a dedication to “advancing the many social, economic, political, and scientific issues affecting the region and the state.” The principal function of the Center is to provide an educative and scholarly service to the University community, the local public, and to the broader Capitol region. The Center provides resources to enhance the role of ethics education in the curriculum through sponsoring Ethics Across the Curriculum workshops for faculty in all disciplines for which ethics a concern. The Center also sponsors an annual symposium which brings scholars, professionals and community members together to better understand the ethical implications of public policy initiatives, legislation, ballot measures, as well as to facilitate a greater awareness of ethics in our daily personal and professional lives.
The Center for Practical and Professional Ethics will affirm the University's mission and contribute directly to the “vital connections between pedagogy and learning, research activities and classroom instruction, and co-curricular involvement and civic responsibility.” Among the principal projects of the Center is to support research into ethical issues, as these arise in various sectors of public and professional life. This support extends to faculty, but also includes collaborative activities between faculty and students. As well, all of the public forums which the Center sponsors will be open to all members of the University and Sacramento communities. Students in courses where ethics is taught will especially be invited to participate and attend. Further, it is the project of the center director to secure sufficient funding to hire student research assistants, whose work will contribute to their own ethical and professional development. Finally, the potential for establishing regular partnership programs with area businesses, professionals, and public service organizations will support the Philosophy Department's existing internship program in applied ethics and law.
The Center for Practical and Professional Ethics will affirm the University's mission and contribute directly to the honored CSUS tradition of having our “research centers and much of our individual scholarly efforts remain directed at the enhancement of the quality of life within the region and the state.” The mission and activities of the Center will contribute directly and immediately to this element of the university's mission. One of the principal functions of the Center will be to organize and sponsor forums on public policy matters of importance to the local community. Our location in the state capitol and the number of CSUS alumni (from Philosophy and other departments) who are active in the state legislative process means that the Center is particularly well placed to raise awareness in the University and broader community about pending legislative and other public policy initiatives. This allows the Center to organize timely public discussion of important public policy issues through the hosting of regular forums.
For example, if there is an agricultural, health care, or environmental bill pending before the legislature, the Center will bring together local experts, scholars and community members to discuss the policy and its ethical implications. This function is especially important during election years, since much of California's important public policy comes in the form of public referenda. In this way, the Center offers a unique service by providing the means for public deliberation of the ethical implications of important public policy initiatives.
Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas and affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, Baylor is both the state's oldest institution of higher learning and the world's largest Baptist university. Established to be a servant of the church and of society, Baylor seeks to fulfill its calling through excellence in teaching and research, in scholarship and publication, and in service to the community, both local and global. The vision of its founders and the ongoing commitment of generations of students and scholars are reflected in the motto inscribed on the Baylor seal: Pro Ecclesia, Pro Texana — For Church, For Texas.
Pro Ecclesia.
Baylor is founded on the belief that God's nature is made known through both revealed and discovered truth. Thus, the University derives its understanding of God, humanity and nature from many sources: the person and work of Jesus Christ, the biblical record, and Christian history and tradition, as well as scholarly and artistic endeavors. In its service to the Church, Baylor's pursuit of knowledge is strengthened by the conviction that truth has its ultimate source in God and by a Baptist heritage that champions religious liberty and freedom of conscience. Without imposing religious conformity, Baylor expects the members of its community to support its mission. Affirming the value of intellectually informed faith and religiously informed education, the University seeks to provide an environment that fosters spiritual maturity, strength of character and moral virtue.
Pro Texana.
Integral to its commitment to God and to the church is Baylor's commitment to society. Whereas that society in the mid 1800s was limited to Texas, today Baylor's sphere of influence is indeed the world. The University remains dedicated to the traditional responsibilities of higher education — dissemination of knowledge, transmission of culture, search for new knowledge, and application of knowledge — while recognizing the global proportions these responsibilities have assumed. Moreover, within the context of an ethnically and culturally diverse community, Baylor strives to develop responsible citizens, educated leaders, dedicated scholars and skilled professionals who are sensitive to the needs of a pluralistic society. To those ends, Baylor provides expanded opportunities for civic education and for church and community service at home and abroad.
Pro Ecclesia, Pro Texana.
Baylor University is committed to excellence at the undergraduate, graduate and professional levels. Within the undergraduate programs, the University seeks to familiarize students with the principal bodies of knowledge, cultural viewpoints, belief systems and aesthetic perspectives that affect the world in which they live. Within the graduate and the professional programs, the University provides advanced educational opportunities to develop ethical and capable scholars and practitioners who contribute to their academic disciplines, professional fields and society. Baylor encourages all of its students to cultivate their capacity to think critically, to assess information from a Christian perspective, to arrive at informed and reasoned conclusions, and to become lifelong learners. Beyond the intellectual life, the University pursues the social, physical, ethical and spiritual development of each student.
Aware of its responsibility as the largest Baptist educational institution in the world and as a member of the international community of higher learning, Baylor promotes exemplary teaching, encourages innovative and original research, and supports professional excellence in various specialized disciplines. Advancing the frontiers of knowledge while cultivating a Christian world-view, Baylor holds fast to its original commitment — to build a university that is Pro Ecclesia, Pro Texana.
LPGA VALUES:
L - Leadership
We lead by example through our sportsmanship, integrity and respect for the game. We lead by demonstrating the highest performance standards for others to follow. We lead by being role models in golf, in business and in life.
P - Passion
We love golf. We believe in our vision and mission. We are determined to grow everyday. We are proud and positive about what we do. We embrace our passion and share it with others.
G - Giving
We care. We know we are very fortunate. We believe it is important to give back to the game. We embody the spirit of those who came before us; we uphold their standards of excellence. We know that a life worth living encompasses a life that's giving.
A - Approachability
We embrace our fans, sponsors and students. We recognize the value of interacting with them. We strive to always exceed their expectations. This is what sets us apart from others in the world of sports.
The Division of Mission and Identity at Saint Louis University is charged with furthering the understanding of Saint Louis University's Mission as a Jesuit and Catholic University.
The Division of Mission and Identity works to ensure the mission and core values of Saint Louis University are integrated into operations, structures, programs and practices. Through its programs and in collaboration with the colleges, schools, and departments of the university, the Division of Mission and Identity seeks to promote and encourage a deeper understanding of SLU’s foundation as a work of the Society of Jesus, and a ministry of the Catholic Church.
The academic life of the University reflects this mission as an integral part of its intellectual commitment to research and teaching excellence. The mission formation of students, faculty, staff, administration and board members is also a work of the Division of Mission and Identity.
A Jesuit education aims to form the whole person. As a Jesuit, Catholic university, Saint Louis University offers students a distinctive educational experience. Built on a spiritual, intellectual and social tradition almost five centuries old, SLU provides opportunities and an environment that encourages the full flourishing of our students in every aspect of their humanity.
The Society of Jesus, (the Jesuits) in response to the needs of the Church, and to seek the universal good and the greater glory of God have put forth Universal Apostolic Preferences to direct the Society’s work in the current decade. Saint Louis University joins the Society of Jesus in accepting the Universal Apostolic Preferences as part of our mission to contribute to the transformation of society in the spirit of the Gospels.
- To show the way to God through the Spiritual Exercises and discernment
- To walk with the poor, the outcasts of the world, those whose dignity has been violated, in a mission of reconciliation and justice
- To accompany young people in the creation of a hope-filled future
- To collaborate in the care of our common home
It is the mission of the College to engage students of uncommon promise in an intense full-time education of their minds, exploration of their creative faculties, and development of their social and leadership abilities in a four-year course of study and residence that concludes with a baccalaureate degree in the liberal arts.
Two guiding ideas suffuse Bowdoin’s mission. The first, from the College of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, defines education in terms of a social vision. “Literary institutions are founded and endowed for the common good, and not for the private advantage of those who resort to them . . . but that their mental powers may be cultivated and improved for the benefit of society” (President Joseph McKeen’s inaugural address, 1802); “To lose yourself in generous enthusiasms and cooperate with others for common ends . . . ; this is the offer of the College” (President William DeWitt Hyde, 1903). The second idea stresses the formation of a complete individual for a world in flux: there is an intrinsic value in a liberal arts education of breadth and depth, beyond the acquisition of specific knowledge, that will enable a thinking person “to be at home in all lands and all ages” (President Hyde).
At the root of this mission is selection. First, and regardless of their wealth, Bowdoin selects students of varied gifts; diverse social, geographic, and racial backgrounds; and exceptional qualities of mind and character. Developed in association with one another, these gifts will enable them to become leaders in many fields of endeavor. Second, it recruits faculty members of high intellectual ability and scholarly accomplishment who have a passion for education, both of undergraduates and of themselves, as lifelong creators and pursuers of knowledge.
The College pursues its mission in five domains:
1. Intellectual and Academic
The great mission of the College is to instill in students the love, the ways, and the habit of learning.
- General education in the liberal arts. The academic disciplines are specialized modes of inquiry through which human beings perceive and intellectually engage the world. Both their power and their limits have led the College to make a long-standing commitment to general education. Specialist faculty cause non-specialist students to become critically acquainted with the perspectives and methods of disciplines in three general divisions of learning: the natural sciences, the humanities and the arts, and the social sciences. The College also sustains programs of interdisciplinary study to reveal complicated realities not disclosed by any single discipline. It requires study outside the perspectives of Europe and the West; and it encourages study abroad to foster students’ international awareness and linguistic mastery.
- The major field of study and independent work. Bowdoin places particular emphasis on the academic major, a concentrated engagement with the method and content of an academic discipline, in which advanced students take increasing intellectual responsibility for their own education. The College provides opportunities for honors projects and independent study, enabling students to engage in research and writing under the guidance of faculty mentors. The arrangement of teaching responsibilities of Bowdoin faculty presupposes professional duties not only of original scholarship and creative work but also of supervision of advanced student projects.
- Essential skills. The unevenness of American secondary education, the diversity of student backgrounds, and the demands of college-level work and effective citizenship all require that the College enable students to master essential quantitative and writing skills and skills of oral communication, with the guidance of faculty, other professionals, and qualified student peers.
The College believes that technology is not education, but that it is changing both education and society; and that it must be embraced by pedagogy and research and made easily and dependably available to students, faculty, and staff.
2. Social and Residential
Bowdoin students are selected from a large pool of applicants for their intellectual ability, seriousness of purpose, and personal qualities. By design, they differ widely in their backgrounds and talents—be they artistic, athletic, scientific, or otherwise. To enable such students to learn from each other, and to make lasting friendships, the College is dedicated to creating a rewarding and congenial residence life, open to all students, which, with communal dining, is at the core of the mission of a residential college. Bowdoin’s system is based on residence halls linked to restored, medium-sized, self-governing College Houses.
The College devotes the talent of staff and faculty, and of students themselves, to the creation of opportunities for student growth and leadership in these residential contexts, reinforced by many volunteer programs and activities, student-run campus organizations, and opportunities to plan careers.
3. Athletic
Intercollegiate athletic competition against colleges with shared academic values, and other non-varsity sports, can foster self-control, poise, leadership, good health, and good humor. Bowdoin encourages student participation in professionally coached varsity and club programs, as well as intramural sports, and in an outing club program that enables students to explore and test themselves in Maine’s rivers and forests and on its seacoast and islands.
4. Esthetic and Environmental
The College is dedicated to constructing and preserving buildings and campus spaces of the highest quality, believing that their beauty and serenity shape campus intellectual and esthetic life and inform the sensibilities of students who as graduates will influence the quality of spaces and buildings in their towns, businesses, and homes. A quadrangle of oaks and pines, ringed with historic architecture, and containing two museums with major collections of art and Arctic craft, deepens a Bowdoin student’s sense of place, history, and civilization.
As a liberal arts college in Maine, Bowdoin assumes a particular responsibility to use nature as a resource for teaching and engaging students—notably to help them obtain a broad sense of the natural environment, local and global, and the effects and the role of human beings regarding it.
5. Ethical
Implicit in and explicit to its mission is the College’s commitment to creating a moral environment, free of fear and intimidation, and where differences can flourish. Faculty and students require honesty in academic work. Coaches instruct that fatigue and frustration are no excuse for personal fouls. Deans and proctors set standards of probity and decency and enforce them, with student participation, in College procedures. Yet, recognizing that life will present graduates with ambiguities that call for certainty less than for balance and judgment, Bowdoin makes few decisions for students, academically or socially—perhaps fewer than do many other residential colleges. It does so believing that students grow morally and sharpen personal identity by exercising free individual choice among varied alternatives, curricular and social. But the College also causes these decisions to occur in a context of density and variety—of ideas, artistic expression, and exposure to other cultures and other races—so that personal identity will not become an illusion of centrality.
Bowdoin College seeks to be a fair, encouraging employer of all those who serve the institution, providing opportunities for professional development, promotion, and personal growth and recognizing the value of each individual’s contribution to its educational mission.
From its history of more than two hundred and twenty-five years and its inheritance of buildings and endowment that are the gifts of Bowdoin alumni there derives a corollary. If the College is to pursue its educational purposes in perpetuity, its mission is also a provident and prudential one. Succeeding generations of members of the College must carry the costs of their own enjoyment of its benefits; as alumni they remain a part of Bowdoin, assuming responsibility for renewing the endowments, programs, and buildings that will keep Bowdoin a vital, growing educational force for future generations of students and faculty.
Finally, Bowdoin’s intellectual mission is informed by the humbling and cautionary lesson of the twentieth century: that intellect and cultivation, unless informed by a basic sense of decency, of tolerance and mercy, are ultimately destructive of both the person and society. The purpose of a Bowdoin education—the mission of the College—is therefore to assist a student to deepen and broaden intellectual capacities that are also attributes of maturity and wisdom: self-knowledge, intellectual honesty, clarity of thought, depth of knowledge, an independent capacity to learn, mental courage, self-discipline, tolerance of and interest in differences of culture and belief, and a willingness to serve the common good and subordinate self to higher goals.
Environmental Mission Statement
The Bowdoin College community—being mindful of our use of the earth's natural resources, our impact on the environment of coastal Maine, and our responsibilities as members of a leading liberal arts college dedicated to serving the common good—recommit ourselves to environmental awareness and responsibility, and to actions that promote sustainability on campus and in the lives of our graduates.
This reaffirmation by the College of long-held principles comes at a time when the consequences of inaction are no longer abstract or shrouded in uncertainty. Although study and deliberation must continue, our accumulated knowledge about the effects of climate change demands the identification and implementation of effective solutions that will protect the environment while advancing economic development and security here and abroad. It is clear that we must conduct ourselves in a manner that meets our needs today without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their own.
Bowdoin's ongoing efforts on behalf of sustainability and environmental stewardship take place in our classrooms, on campus, in our coastal research facilities, and in the community.
- As an educational institution that has long derived great benefit and much of its identity from the natural beauty of Maine, Bowdoin has a special obligation to challenge its students and faculty to examine, discuss, and debate issues of ecological preservation, social justice, economic viability, and global responsibility. Accordingly, the College will continue to incorporate environmental awareness into the daily lives of students, and will ensure that Bowdoin graduates have the ability, knowledge, and intellectual flexibility to confront these complex issues through effective analysis and the application of creative thought, sound judgment, and ethical action.
- In its daily operations, the College will continue to reduce waste and pollution through conservation, recycling, and other sustainability practices. These efforts will continue to include the investigation and implementation of new technologies and methods aimed at reducing Bowdoin's impact on the environment.
- Bowdoin will also maintain its leadership role in the community by applying research and volunteer effort toward identifying and helping to solve the environmental challenges of Brunswick and Maine.
It is clear that actions taken or dismissed today will define the future condition of our world and society. As educators, scholars, and citizens long dedicated to the common good and privileged to "count Nature a familiar acquaintance," we, the members of the Bowdoin community, pledge ourselves and our efforts to this cause and to a just and sustainable future.
A 16-year-old boy in San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic, had never breathed through his nose.
His grandmother thinking day and night that a moment would arrive when she wouldn’t be there – despite risking exhaustion – to rouse her grandson when he might stop breathing. The obstructions in his nasal passage were a real threat.
In Fort Wayne, getting a procedure to eliminate those obstructions would be relatively simple. But that’s not the reality for people in areas lacking access to routine health care.
However, short-term medical missions that some Fort Wayne health care professionals are participating in are changing the quality of life for patients globally.
In November, Dr. Mohan Rao of ENT Associates accompanied six medical professionals to San Juan de la Maguana for a long week of surgical procedures, organized by Solid Rock International, a Christian nonprofit. Rao’s Fort Wayne team included a pre-op nurse, an anesthesiologist, a surgical tech, an operating room nurse and two recovery room nurses.
Team members packed their equipment and supplies into 12 suitcases. Upon arriving at the airport in Santo Domingo, Rao’s team split into small groups to avoid drawing attention at customs, which could bring about mission-threatening confiscations. From there they took a three-hour bus ride to San Juan, one hour east of the Haitian border.
At the Solid Rock clinical facilities, more than 70 potential patients were waiting. Given time constraints, the team could provide only 41 children surgical care.
The teenage boy whose examination identified nasal polyps was one of the patients whose life was forever changed, Rao said. After surgery, the 16-year-old breathed through his nose for the first time he could remember, and Rao said his wide smile provided a permanent memory for the surgical team. The boy’s grandmother would now be able to sleep through the night, too.
Short-term medical missions, or STMMs, have grown significantly since their modest beginnings in the early 1960s, especially in the last two decades. U.S. professionals engage in the most international missions, followed by Canada, the U.K. and Australia, according to a study in BMC Health Services Research, a peer-reviewed journal.
Though there is no universal tracking, the BMC survey of web data put the number of international mission organizations at nearly 600 with about 6,000 mission trips from the U.S. to foreign countries. The largest mission organizations include Mercy Hope, Orbis International, Operation Smile and Orthopedics Overseas, but the majority are smaller groups, the study said.
Despite extending access to health care, STMMs remain largely unregulated. That means some physicians participating in the missions may have little or no familiarity with local cultures, languages and customs. Other concerns, according to those familiar with the missions, include inadequate informed consent, inadequate follow-up care for complications and trainee surgeons not receiving senior supervision. Medical personnel are not required to be licensed in the mission country, leaving it to local authorities to rule on the qualifications of visiting physicians.
Positive results include free, direct medical care, First World surgical procedures and preventive health services. Other benefits are professional and patient education in locations without access to modern health care.
Over the past 25 years, Dr. Eric Purdy, Fort Wayne ophthalmologist, has led more than 70 missions to Central and South America, Southeast Asia and South Asia. Globally, the World Health Organization estimates at least 2.2 billion people have a vision impairment. Medical providers participating in mission trips can provide cataract surgery, treatment for glaucoma and care for various eye injuries and afflictions.
Purdy is a leading expert on planning and executing international missions. He has lectured at the American Academy of Ophthalmology and trained at the Mayo Clinic. His work with the University of Cincinnati has resulted in mission trips being incorporated into the residency requirements at that medical school, a trend evident in the growing participation in STMMs by U.S. residency programs.
Missions can take six months to a year to plan and have become more complex over the years. An early mission originating in Fort Wayne during the late 1980s involved a group of octogenarian WWII and Korean War veterans. The volunteers loaded a caravan of buses, trucks and even a decommissioned fire truck to drive supplies and medications to Central America.
Today, delivering equipment for major missions can involve containers with more than $1 million worth of equipment and supplies, requiring formal shipping arrangements. The increase in bureaucracy, added customs fees and border documentation for supplies and personnel make attention to detail a necessary part of trip planning, Purdy said in a December interview.
Not all medical missions are the same, of course.
In the late 1990s, Dr. Jerry Cooper, an orthopedic surgeon, said he discovered a “personal calling” after a first mission to Kenya where he worked with the University of Nairobi’s department of orthopedics. After returning for more than 20 years, Cooper has two generations of colleagues among the doctors in Nairobi. His wife, Alex Cooper, a registered nurse, also participates in the trips. The legacy of these missions has left behind not only the transfer of expertise but donated equipment and permanent installations.
In-country facilities have been built up into sterile environments with state-of-the-art surgical equipment.
Cooper’s work with Orthopedics Overseas, a group of 650 surgeons dedicated to improving orthopedic education in 12 countries, has further integrated the University of Nairobi Orthopedic into a multinational network of support.
The Coopers and partners have also established a permanent primary school in Kampala, Uganda, which houses 300 students and is funded by donations.
These medical missions can develop into long-term commitments.
In 1998 after her residency, Dr. Jane Weaver spent six months in San Lorenzo, Ecuador. Afterward she returned to private practice in Fort Wayne and “prayed to see what would happen.” In 2001, Weaver, a general surgeon, returned to Ecuador for a two-year mission at the end of which she was offered the directorship of the mission organization. In 2007, she bought the clinic with her partners. Her half-year residency turned into 22 years and counting in San Lorenzo. According to Dr. Cesar Vargas, a Fort Wayne anesthesiologist who volunteers at her clinic, “Dr. Weaver is the Mother Theresa of Ecuador.”
The San Lorenzo clinic derives its revenues from surgery with financial help from Latin American Missions, a Christian Mission organization in Valdosta, Georgia, as well as from individual donors. Patients are charged based on ability to pay.
“The clinic isn’t fancy,” Weaver said. She is proud though to provide first-class surgical care to the people in her region who are largely “forgotten and forced to scrounge for a living.”
Weaver has invited various certified to her clinic, including Dr. Geoff Randolph, a retired reconstructive surgeon who specializes in cleft palate surgery.
In the U.S., Randolph performs surgery on children up to 3 years old. On missions, he performs the corrective surgery on older children up to teenagers. In addition to Ecuador, Randolph has worked in Vietnam, China, Dominican Republic and South Africa. He has also worked with Operation Smile, a global organization with 6,000 volunteers from 60 countries.
“Each mission incorporates lectures to physicians through interpreters. In the Dominican Republic, post-trip communication continues to inform post-op care through a nucleus of in-country staff,” said Randolph, who practiced at Lutheran Hospital and IU Health before his retirement.
One of Randolph’s most memorable patients was at Weaver’s clinic in Ecuador. A 2-year-old girl had suffered burns across her arms and chest from an accident with boiling water. The resulting scars had fixed the girl’s elbow to her chest. After surgeries and post-op physical therapy the girl now has full use of her arms, Randolph said.
More than half the world’s population lacks access to essential health care, according to a WHO and World Bank study – a far greater need than current missions can fulfill.
“Transferring expertise through teaching missions, lectures, and sub-specialty training is the future and the most effective leverage of input,” Purdy said.
Our Mission at the LPGA is to be a recognized worldwide leader in sport by providing women professionals the opportunity to pursue their dreams in the game of golf.
Our Values at the LPGA are deeply engrained principles serving as the foundation which drives our LPGA decisions, behaviors and actions. The LPGA Family Values are: For Women of Golf, Play it Forward, An Open Book, Act Like a Founder and Role Reversal.
Our Plan at the LPGA is to continue to transform the LPGA from a US tournament and dues association, to a global media property that further expands our member benefits and fan following through key strategic partnerships, expanded worldwide opportunities and broader connections with women in the game.
In the world reflects our understanding of a rapidly changing, dynamic environment, and the fact that many of the world’s most challenging issues will require a global perspective. Moreover, it involves embracing the view that the world desperately needs more leaders to address its most urgent and challenging problems, and that virtually none of these problems can be addressed without business leaders playing a vital role.
And, of course, the first component of the mission is educating, which we do in many ways—through our educational programs, through the ideas our faculty produce and disseminate, and through the influence we achieve by being close to leaders of all types, and of organizations all across the world. Here, I would encourage us to recognize that the impact of what we do extends far beyond the people who come to our campus. Although we can touch only a few thousand directly each year, we can indirectly influence many more by remaining the most trusted and admired leader in business education.
© PGA Photo Michael Block, the Head Golf Pro at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club, wins PGA Pro Player of the Year for 2022.
MISSION VIEJO, CA — Michael Block, PGA, Head Golf Professional at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo, has won the 2022 PGA of America Professional Player of the Year.
Block is the second Southern California PGA Member to receive the prestigious honor. Golf Professional Jeff Freeman was named PGA of America Professional Player of the Year in 1999.
The first Professional Player of the Year was named in 1984, honoring the PGA Professional who accumulates the most nationwide points from January 1 through December 31.
"Block, who not only was a fixture atop the leaderboards in Southern California, also took his game across the country and amassed 1007.5 points to sit atop this year's points list and win the award over the best competitive PGA Professionals," a spokesperson for the PGA said.
Block spoke about the honor as being part of his "bucket list."
"This was one of my last bucket list dreams. That's why I made it a priority to make it to Florida to seal it up," he said. "Once I did have the lead, I didn't want to lose it again as I had in the past by not playing in the Tournament Series events."
Block attributes his success to his management at the Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club and to his family.
"There's no way I could have done this and been gone as much as I am from home if I didn't have my wife and kids' support as well," he said.
Block has joined a long list of talented PGA Professionals to win the prestigious award and adds to his trophy case on the year.
Among his other accolades, Block was recently named the 2022 Rolex Southern California PGA Player of the Year for the ninth time in his career and fifth straight. He claimed the 2022 Section Championship, his third time winning the Southern California PGA Professional Championship.
In September of 2022, Block played on the U.S. team at the 30th PGA Cup, contested at FoxHills Club & Resort in Surrey, England. There, he rallied from a four-hole deficit in the opening singles match on the final day to earn a crucial point and help the U.S. team win its first overseas PGA Cup since 2009.
The article Mission Viejo Golf Pro Named PGA Professional Player Of The Year appeared first on Mission Viejo Patch.
