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Family Day ........................................................................... September
Dr. Tobias Winright gestures as he speaks on “Just and Unjust Policing” in April’s Fleer Lecture.
Winright Addresses Policing in Fleer Lecture
Concerned with Theological Approach
BY EMILY KESEL
The 2022 Fleer Lecture at Central Methodist University brought prominent ethicist and author Dr. Tobias Winright to the Fayette campus in April, where he gave a talk on “Just and Unjust Policing: Abolition or Reform?”
Central’s Dr. Kevin Carnahan, professor of philosophy and religion, introduced the featured speaker for the night, calling him “a person with both practical knowledge and theoretical knowledge” on the subject of policing.
“Tobias actually served in uniform. . . which is important because, as opposed to many people in the area of ethics, he actually did the things that he writes about,” said Carnahan.
Indeed, Winright began his talk by describing his background as the only member of his family to go to college, while at the same time becoming a police officer in the same department where his mother also served. Being from a Christian background, he said, he quickly became interested in the issues around policing that persist to this day, such as racism and excessive use of force.
“These were issues I thought hard about,” said Winright, who is now a professor at Saint Louis University. “I saw a lot of things; I experienced a lot of things, and I wrestled with them.”
He went on to earn a master’s degree in theology and ethics at Duke University, then attended Notre Dame for his doctoral studies. Winright said he started at Notre Dame two years after the Rodney King incident and later wrote his dissertation on the subject of the use of force in policing, having been affected by seeing things of the same nature in his time as an officer.
Winright’s talk addressed the relationship between Christian theology and the ethics of policing, saying that violence has always been an important moral issue for Christianity, but rarely have theologists had much to say on policing specifically. He did, however, say that Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis preached about treating criminals with human dignity because humans are all created in the image of God.
“It’s hard to see a murderer. . . in the image of God,” Winright said, but “the image of God is not something that’s earned, and it’s not something that can be lost.”
The professor went on to describe different methods of policing around the world and even within the United States, outlining four models in particular: the crime fighter/military model, the emergency operator model, the social enforcer model, and the social peacekeeper model. Winright called for a move from the military model toward the peacekeeper model in the US, citing the need for a communityoriented approach addressing the root causes of crime.
He wrapped up the lecture by taking questions from the audience in Linn Memorial United Methodist Church.
Winright is Associate Professor of Theological Ethics in the Department of Theological Studies and Associate Professor of Health Care Ethics in the Gnaegi Centre for Health Care Ethics at SLU. His most recent books are the T&T Clark Handbook of Christian Ethics, published in 2021 by Bloomsbury/T&T Clark, and Serve and Protect: Selected Essays on Just Policing, published in 2020 by Cascade Books.
The Fleer Lecture series on values-based education is generously funded by Dr. Gilbert Fleer, ‘55, and his wife, Ruth, ‘58. Fleer was an assistant professor of religion at CMU from 1959-1965. He went on to serve as a United Methodist counselor for many years working with young adults. The Fleers’ strong support of leadership training led them to fund the Gil and Ruth Fleer Fund for Excellence in ValuesBased Education at CMU.
To view Winright’s full lecture, visit https://vimeo.com/698991118
CMU band director Roy “Skip” Vandelicht, ’77, is presented with the MSHSAA Distinguished Service Award, at right.
BY EMILY KESEL
Central Methodist University band director and alumnus Roy “Skip” Vandelicht, ’77, added one more prestigious award to his noteworthy collection this winter, receiving the Distinguished Service Award from the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA).
The award program recognizes individuals who have served MSHSAA “in a manner that is unique and whose contributions have been beyond the ordinary.” Vandelicht was presented with the award at the second general session of the Missouri Music Educators Conference on January 26.
“I was very honored and humbled to receive the MSHSAA Distinguished Award,” said Vandelicht. “I have always been happy to serve the music education profession in any way I can, as I truly love and belive in what being involved in music can do for young people.”
Vandelicht, who has served as CMU’s director of bands since 2008, has certainly made extraordinary contributions over the years, both at the collegiate level and in the Fayette School District. His achievements and leadership have earned him inductions into the Hall of Fame for both the Missouri Bandmasters Association (2013) and the Missouri Music Educators Association (2020).
Vandelicht received his Bachelor of Music Education degree from Central in 1977 and a Master of Education degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1984. The Fayette High School Band earned numerous honors and awards, including playing for the Missouri Music Educators Association Convention four times, under his leadership. Besides his tenure at Fayette, Vandelicht also served as Adjunct Marching Band Director at CMU from 1983-1995.
A native of Fulton, he served from 1992-1994 as Chairman of the Missouri All-State Band for the Missouri Bandmasters Association and from 1994-1996 as President of MBA. Vandelicht is an instrumental music adjudicator trainer for Missouri State High School Activities Association as well as a member of the MSHSAA Prescribed Graded Music List and Sight Reading Committees. He also served MMEA Band Vice-President from 2008-2010 and College/University Vice-President from 2014-2016.
Vandelicht received the Outstanding Young Alumni Award from Central Methodist in 1990, the Bandworld Legion of Honor Award in 2004, and the National Federation of High School Activities “Music Educator of the Year Award for Missouri 2008.” He received a Gold Chalk Award for excellence in teaching in 2013 and the Carolyn and Tad Perry Fellow Award in 2014.
“I have been blessed to live and work in Fayette, a community that values and supports music education in its schools,” he said. “I have had so many wonderful students, parents, colleagues, and administrators who have allowed me the opportunity to do what I love to do in a place that I love to do it for 45 years, and for that I am forever grateful.”
Vandelicht is an active clinician, adjudicator, and conductor for bands in Missouri and surrounding states.
