11 years ago, past Albion College President Mauri Ditzler spoke at the first ever What Matters and Why Dinner. On Wednesday, President Wayne Webster followed in his footsteps.
According to Director of the Career and Internship Center (CIC) Troy Kase, the event returned this year after not running in-person for several years during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of the dinner, according to Kase, is to “explore what matters to us, explore our passions, what’s important to us.”
In an email sent to students, faculty and staff on Oct. 24, the CIC invited anyone to attend and discuss what matters to Webster, “and to you!” One such student, Albion sophomore Alex Kotas, said he decided to attend the event because he “really values President Webster’s opinion.”
“I think he’s put the college in a great direction, and I think being able to hear what matters to him, not necessarily about the college, is cool to see why he does what he does,” Kotas said.
Kase said the biannual event began in 2014 after he and a few other faculty and staff members observed Elizabethtown College’s version of the event. After seeing the success of the dinner there, Kase said Albion adopted the format, supported by a grant from the Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education.
“This is one of those things that has just been a hit every time we do it,” Kase said in an interview before the event. “We’ve really had some cool conversations, we’ve all met new people we would not have met otherwise.”
After hearing Kase’s introduction, attendees were encouraged to serve themselves dinner, followed by Webster’s address and conversations facilitated between attendees at each table.
During his talk, Webster spoke about his upbringing and family, showing photos in a slideshow. On one slide, Webster introduced his pets: Asher, a cat who “pretty much runs the house,” and Brinkley, a goldendoodle who “does not love Asher.”
Webster also spoke about the values his experiences have left him with.
“People who hurt others are actually hurting themselves, so I try to give people some grace,” Webster said. “To understand and have empathy for others is important.”
One of the lessons Webster said he thinks is “important” to learn is that “the small things are actually the big things,” adding that the most memorable parts of his education are the relationships he made.
“When I think about college, there’s a couple of faculty I think about, a couple of coaches I think about; I don’t really think about assignments,” Webster said. “Take this with a grain of salt, you have to do your homework.”
According to Webster, he met the talk’s inaugural speaker while earning his Ph.D. in higher education.
“One of the reasons I came to Albion College was because one of my mentors and someone who actually helped me with my dissertation was Mauri Ditzler,” Webster said.
After his remarks, Webster opened the floor to questions from the audience. One attendee asked: “What’s one thing you don’t like about Albion and how are you working to fix that?”
After initially answering that he wished there was a Buffalo Wild Wings on campus, Webster said he wished Albion had more “resources.” He added that most of his travel this year has been in the effort to accrue gift funds for the college.
“This winter break, we didn’t really announce this yet, all the meeting rooms on the top floor of (Baldwin) are getting renovated thanks to our partnership with Metz,” Webster said.
In closing his talk, Webster thanked the audience for listening, and CIC for organizing the event.
“Hopefully this has given you some things to talk about, to think about, to reflect on,” Webster said.
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