$1 million gift to MSOE helps infuse servant-leadership philosophy campus-wide
| Published: 01/01/2005 |
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With a $1 million gift from a local foundation, Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) has established an endowed chairmanship to promote the concept of "servant-leadership" at the university. The new faculty position, The Pieper Family Endowed Chair for Servant-Leadership, was funded by the S&R Pieper Family Foundation.
The concept and principles of servant-leadership were set forth in a 1970 publication, The Servant as Leader, by Robert K. Greenleaf, a former AT&T executive who founded in 1964 what is now the Robert K. Greenleaf Center in Indianapolis. Servant-leadership seeks to improve the caring and quality of institutions through the creation of effective leadership. This concept emphasizes increased service to others; a holistic approach to work; promoting a sense of community; and, the sharing of power in decision-making."
"The concept is an excellent fit with the university's institutional philosophy as well as the type of students who study here," said MSOE President Hermann Viets, Ph.D. As a private, nonsectarian university, MSOE's official mission statement to ‘provide a sustained interactive educational climate for students to become well-rounded, technologically experienced graduates and highly productive professionals and leaders is complementary to Greenleaf's concept of the servant-leader.
"Engineering, for example, adapts human and natural resources to solve the problems of society and improve the human condition," said Viets. "The current curriculum challenges students to explore the impact their actions or inactions have on humanity, the environment and our global community. Our students, faculty and staff already embrace the philosophy: this chair will formalize and broaden it."
The holder of the new chair, Dr. Samuel Scheibler, will be responsible for helping faculty integrate the concept into current philosophy and ethics courses and develop a new course on the topic. On the student life side, he will help integrate the philosophy throughout the social fabric and culture of the university through extracurricular programs. He will work closely with both the Vice President of Academics and the Vice President for Student Life offices.
"MSOE is focused on outcomes and measured effectiveness and is not afraid of accountability," said Richard R. Pieper Sr. of the S&R Pieper Family Foundation, in discussing why he established the endowed chair. "Robert Greenleaf's ‘best test' of servant-leadership is, do those served grow as persons. Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants. Servant-leadership could become the university's gold standard approach for both students and employers. The attitude is, what does the world need from our students, and how may we best prepare them to serve others?"
Pieper, who is chairman and CEO of PPC Partners Inc. of Milwaukee, a parent company of Pieper Electric, Ideal Plumbing and Heating, and the Joseph Witting Co., always had an entrepreneurial bent. While in grade school he made money by selling plums from his family's yard and selling fat from meat rations back to butchers for resale to soap makers. During high school he learned skills like wiring, masonry and plumbing from a general contractor. He studied industrial engineering at the University of Miami, where he also ran expos, wrote a newsletter and ran a fraternity. He also simultaneously worked as a mate on a yacht, managed a bait shop and ran a driving range. Pieper returned to Milwaukee at age 23 when he bought his father's small electrician's shop, and expanded it to become one of the country's largest electrical contracting firms.
According to Pieper, when he came into the business environment, he was "paying attention to the teachings of the Old Testament and the example of Jesus." When Robert Greenleaf's book came out in the 1970s, he remembers he underlined parts of it and handed out copies of the book to many of his key employees. "I then came back to it when we were researching our employee ownership model and a friend gave me a membership to the Greenleaf Center." The idea for an endowed chair was formed about four years ago, when he was taking care of his estate and his assets.
"I expect the impact of this gift to both grow and deepen with each passing year," said Pieper. "First, there will be signs of people responding, interest in the idea of servant-leadership at MSOE will grow, and it will continue to evolve. The low hanging fruit, picked first by those who are most interested in servant-leadership, will be the easiest to harvest. Other seeds will grow more slowly, with servant-leadership having its impact in unpredictable ways, years into the future. There is already great enthusiasm by MSOE faculty, and there has been excellent student input. This nucleus of servant-leaders at MSOE will increasingly influence others. The best leadership is grounded in meaningful service to others."
Pieper has lent insight and direction to MSOE as a member of the Corporate Board since 1978 and was recently presented an Honorary Doctor of Engineering degree.
Scheibler named first Pieper Family Endowed Chair for Servant-Leadership
After Dr. Samuel Scheibler's son, Jason, graduated from college, the two completed an evaluation to determine the ideal place for them to live. They were ready for a change from Claremont, Calif., where Scheibler was director of religion and culture at Claremont Graduate University. Using 26 criteria and looking at 46 states, they narrowed it to the upper Midwest, then Wisconsin, and, finally, Milwaukee. "We didn't know anyone here," said Scheibler. "We bought a house and moved here last year and haven't regretted it for a moment."
He describes his experience at MSOE like digging in a diamond mine, continuously uncovering great things: "The students here are so wonderful and bright, but they don't even realize how gifted they are." He teaches courses in theater arts, visual arts, interpersonal and intercultural communication, world societies, freshman orientation and professional guidance. While his courses cover a pretty wide swath of subjects, Scheibler's background is up to the task.
Scheibler holds doctoral degrees in cultural anthropology and church history, as well as degrees in theology and communications.
"I made a commitment that no matter what else I did, I would always teach," said Scheibler. He has taught for the last 27 years at the university level in the United States, Belgium and Germany, even when he also was working in the private sector. For 20 years, he's been working with organizations and companies to help cross social and cultural barriers, including the Walt Disney Co., the International Olympic Committee, the World Trade Organization and the United Nations.
His interests are wide ranging, from his yearly travels to Mexico, gardening, reading, serving on the board of Milwaukee Public Theater and even writing plays. He also proudly states that he is an avid fan of the MSOE ice hockey team. He's served in pastoral ministry for more than 20 years and is a fill-in clergyman for his diocese. Scheibler speaks seven languages and works in several dead languages, including Latin, and is a member of United Nations Society of Wisconsin.
Although he's a student of many cultures, German culture is probably closest to his heart. No wonder Milwaukee was an excellent match. Scheibler is currently the vice president of the Milwaukee chapter of the Goethe House and serves on the board and the Culture and Heritage Committee for German Fest. He also is a member of the Hessischer Verein Association, a social and cultural club linking Wisconsin to its German sister-state, Hessen. He even claims he has to travel to Germany at least once a year or he would run out of his favorite mouthwash, available only in that country.
Scheibler said it is a privilege to be named to the first Pieper Family Endowed Chair for Servant-Leadership. He thinks that MSOE's commitment to the pragmatic makes it a fertile ground for servant-leadership.
"We don't want to view it as just an academic theory, we want it to change lives," he said, adding that people can live better if they integrate the basic principles of servant-leadership in their day-to-day lives.