Dr. Lisa DeFrank-Cole, Director of Leadership Studies at WVU, shares her insights on the question: Are great leaders good?

What makes a great leader?  Who are some great leaders?  Is it possible to be a great leader without being a good person?  What makes a person a good person?   

Are you stressed about final exams and papers? Are you stressed about the upcoming holidays? Are you a faculty member who is worried that you won't be able to figure out Digital Measures in time for your end of the year report? Are you stressed out about the state of the world? Join the club! THE QUESTION sat down with Jared Callahan, Valerie Slone, and Suhil Zia, three inspirational yogis from Power Yoga Morgantown, to learn more about the power of yoga to help us live more mindfully, authentically, and purposefully.  

What is mindfulness? Dr. Alex Snow, WVU Teaching Assistant Professor in Religious Studies, provides us with an understanding of mindfulness and its ancient roots in Buddhism.  

Chelsea Fuller, Senior Communication Associate for Youth Criminalization for the Advancement Project and WVU alumnus, addresses three main themes from Bryan Stevenson's impactful book, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption.  Fuller is focused on the issues of race, justice, and punishment.  

This issue continues our collaboration with WVU's Campus Read, discussing issues raised in Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption (2014, Random House). Professor Amy Cyphert, Director of WVU ASPIRE, and adjunct professor of law and philosophy, poses questions about the purpose of criminal punishment and who is supposed to benefit from such punishment. Please share your own ideas and questions in the blog below.  If you do not have a Disqus account, you can just post as "guest."  Please follow us on Facebook to stay up to date: https://www.facebook.com/wvuthequestion/

In several upcoming issues, we will focus on Bryan Stevenson's important book, Just Mercy.  (Stevenson will be speaking in the Mountainlair Ballrooms at 7:30pm on Monday, November 7th.)  We begin this series with Dr. Jessica Wolfendale, a professor in WVU's Philosophy Department.  She asks us to think carefully about some big questions connected to Just Mercy. Are modern methods of execution painless and humane, as purported, or are they cruel and violent?  What is the moral cost of creating institutions and training executioners to kill other human beings? Please respond to Dr. Wolfendale's ideas or pose your own ideas and questions in the blog.  (If you don't have a Disqus account, you can post as "Guest.")  You can follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wvuthequestion/

When are we morally innocent bystanders and when are we immoral accomplices?  THE QUESTION is going to raise several scenarios to provoke your moral intuitions.  In this edition, we will focus on our behavior as mere listeners and consumers of music with degrading, violent, and hateful lyrics.  Many of us listen to such music, purchase such music, and even sing along.  Are we part of the problem or are we innocent bystanders?  Share your thoughts in this blog or on our Facebook page.

Dr. Erin McHenry-Sorber, a professor of higher education at West Virginia University, leads our second edition of the free college question.  

College is an expensive investment for many people. A democracy works best when its citizens are well educated. Should a college education be provided to all Americans, free of charge?  Who would/should pay for it? Is the current system broken?  What do you think? Please share your ideas in the comments section.  To add a comment, please click read full article, scroll down to the bottom of the page, and type in the designated area.