When my mother died in 1997, I found in her possessions, a letter I had written to her in 1963, when I was a college student. In it, I promised I would make some contribution in my life to the integration of science and spirituality... 

When my mother died in 1997, I found in her possessions, a letter I had written to her in 1963, when I was a college student. In it, I promised I would make some contribution in my life to the integration of science and spirituality, creating context which allows both to exist without dichotomy. I had long since forgotten that letter and was surprised and deeply moved that my mother had saved it. On reflection, in school I always found science both joyous and easy and my parents were deeply religious and deeply committed to serving society. My life journey leads me full circle to that promise: an environmental engineer helping to bring technological solutions to environmental problems especially those associated with energy and a leader working to acknowledge and enhance the spiritual intelligence in the public sector.

I consider my greatest accomplishment as the Chancellor of the UMKC to be the framework I provided to the University’s stakeholders—a university engaged in enhancing social progress, economic development, and the quality of life in the region as it contributes to corporations, businesses, government, non-profits, minority groups, and parents and citizen. I consider my greatest life accomplishment to be the character and social contributions that my children are making and the parenting toward “doing social good” in which they are engaged with my grandchildren. “The purpose of life is to become” (author unknown); that is my commitment.