Trafford Publishing: The Ask-Back Letters

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The Ask-Back Letters

by Dr. Wright L. Lassiter, Jr.

305 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #04-0817; ISBN 1-4120-2990-2; US$26.00, C$30.50, EUR21.50, £15.00

Wright Lassiter, who has been college president at three institutions, shares his most requested presentations at religious, higher education, arts, public service, community service, military, and African American institutions.

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About the Book About the Author Excerpts Catalogue Information

About the Book

This book, like its predecessors, was written with the same boldness that motivates all writing for publication, all preaching, teaching, and all the fine arts when they are at their best. It is the daring faith that a person has something that should be shared; he has something too good to keep. It is not the belief that this good comes from him, but through him.

Writing such as this is done for the same reasons we read. We write and read so that our minds may enjoy vital contact with their minds. In writing, as in reading, one reaches out and has fellowship with persons he will never see, in homes, churches, colleges and universities and other venues that he will never visit. And in these moments of vital communication the writer happily passes along good that has come his way.

This collection of speeches and sermons derives its title--The Ask-Back Letters--from my exposure to a little footnote in the early history of Tuskegee University that was founded by Dr. Booker T. Washington. The annals of oral history reveal that when teachers and staff members had their employment continued, they would receive a handwritten letter, by one of Dr. Washington's secretaries. As it would take a period of time for the letters to be written and circulated, members of that community would ask their colleagues - "have you received your letter?" The practice of posing that question became somewhat institutionalized, and the question became "have you received your ask-back letter?"

It was my good fortune in my first presidency at Schenectady County Community College, to receive the invitation to serve as the chapel speaker for the George Washington Carver Memorial Service at Tuskegee Institute. To my surprise, I received four subsequent invitations to return to the Tuskegee Chapel and address the students, faculty and staff of the University. On my second visit, the College Chaplain introduced me by indicating that I had received my "ask back letter."

Thus, the term and the history has become a part of my speaker's lexicon. When I reflected on the fact that I had received "ask back letters" from a variety of sources during my career, and had used the term, perhaps I should share those experiences with other audiences.

The eight parts of this book contain a total of fifty-eight presentations before assemblies that represent my keen interest in the spiritual and religious domain, the arts, higher education, and service. Each of the parts, like a bead, has its own shape, size and identity. Yet there is a string upon which all the beads of meaning are strung. Each part has an introduction from either the person who extended the "ask back" invitations, or favored colleagues, or the author's perspective. The series are as follows:

Tuskegee University Chapel Addresses Dallas Business Community for the Arts Texas A&M University Summer Seminar Series "A Baptist Preacher in a Presbyterian Pulpit" National Association of College Auxiliary Services Dallas Baptist University Wayne County Community College District Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Observance Presentations

Using lessons learned in formal educational settings to the "crucible of the podium," the author demonstrates his facility with the art and craft of effective communication through the informed use of words.

About the Author

Wright L. Lassiter, Jr. is president of EI Centro College, where he has served as president since 1986. EI Centro is one of seven colleges of the Dallas County Community College District.

Dr. Lassiter has previously served as president of Bishop College in Dallas, president of Schenectady County Community College in New York, vice president of finance and management at Morgan State University in Baltimore, and business manager of Tuskegee University of Alabama.

He is the chairman of the board of trustees of the African American Museum, immediate past board chair and senior director of the Urban League of Greater Dallas and North Texas, Inc., and serves on several other boards that include the State Fair of Texas, the YMCA Foundation, the Dallas Baptist University Foundation, and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School Foundation. He was nominated by the President and confirmed by the U. S. Senate to serve as a member of the National Advisory Council to the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Dr. Lassiter is a Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Management at Dallas Baptist University and holds an honorary doctor of humanities degree from that institution. He holds a B.S. degree from Alcorn State University, an MBA from Indiana University-Bloomington, and an Ed.D. from Auburn University.

In 1995 the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University/Bloomington elected Dr. Lassiter to the Indiana University Academy of Alumni Fellows. He served a six-year term on the Board of Advisors of the Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University.

He is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, the most recent being his election in the inaugural class of inductees into the African American Educators Hall of Fame in Dallas, Texas. The Hall of Fame is a joint project of the African American Museum and the national Association of Black School Educators Archives and History Program.

Excerpts

Belief, faith, inner strength, confidence -- these are the ingredients that the author affirms can provide the way to victory, success, and spiritual overcoming. And it is in this context that these exhortations in "Voices of Victory - Visions from the Valley, that minister to the "valley souls." Those being persons who struggle with the darkness of despair, the demise of hope, even the "failure" of relying on "worldly success."

* * * *

The author reminds the reader that quite often life's adversities become the catalysts for positive reaction and purposeful action. Love begets justice and opposes the forces of evil on the plane of the international, while on the lesser plane of individual life, love does minister in the name of Christ to "the man at the side of the road."

* * * *

Dr. Lassiter places before the audience (reader) the essence of the greatness of our nation. "You are growing closer to the root cause of America's greatness . . . a combination of three factors -- personal goodness combined with personal initiative, and personal participation. When the three are combined, you are taking personal responsibility for the quality of our lives . . . The quality of a culture and the quality of the arts are inextricably interlocked . . . The arts are not a frill, they are what makes us truly human.

* * * *

Since 1967 the Texas A&M University College of Education had sponsored a Summer Seminar on Academic Administration. During this period, the Seminar has trained more than 900 aspiring administrators representing over 100 institutions. For the last third of the years of the life of the Seminar, Dr. Wright Lassiter has been a key presenter offering the Seminar participants keen insight into higher education administration and, more importantly, into building the relationships to nurture the success of the academic enterprise.

His "ask back" letters to present at the Seminar have come easily as year after year the Seminar participants have unequivocally rated Dr. Lassiter's time with them as significantly adding to their professional development and understanding of higher education.

In some years, Dr. Lassiter has keynoted the Seminar and provided the participants with an exceptional introduction and challenge for the rest of the Seminar. In other years, Dr. Lassiter has been the closing speaker offering critical insights into the role, responsibilities and rewards of the academic administrator.

* * * *

Born out of the desire to promote close association and mutual support among a small, but growing number of auxiliary service professionals, the National Association of College Auxiliary Services has stood in the vanguard of service and leadership development for twenty years. Thanks largely to its visionary founder (Dr. Wright L. Lassiter, Jr.) and dedicated early leaders; this association has become one of the most significant professional associations for college business officers in our nation.

* * * *

The Christian message has a wonderful appeal. It is not first a demand with which we must comply. Do this! Do that! It is not a series of divine don'ts. It is God's generous offer of love, forgiveness, family and the father's smile. He takes the initiative in seeking to embrace us in His love. Sometimes almost against our will and surely beyond our deserving.

* * * *

It is seldom that high-caliber public speakers are invited back to an organization to address the same audiences and much less speak on a myriad of topics. Anyone that has heard Dr. Wright L. Lassiter speak, met him personally, or who has had the extraordinary opportunity to work for him and with him would indubitably indicate that he is one of the most ingenious and talented college presidents in the nation.

He is a profound writer, a prolific speaker, and a veritable humanitarian. In this section of his fifth published work, Dr. Lassiter extrapolates from over 45 years of experience of higher education and elucidates upon the central issues facing leaders. Moreover, he recommends an array of plausible solutions for individuals who work within the realm of education.

* * * *

The legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. challenges each of us to use the power of politics and public offer to pursue equal justice, due process of law, and true liberation for all Americans. It challenges us to believe -- as he did -- that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" and that "we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality tied in a single garment of destiny."

* * * *

Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. gave focus and leadership to black American's struggle for political empowerment. The cause may have been education, eradication of hunger, job, or the right to eat at a restaurant, or take a seat on a bus, but the objective was always the same: to achieve equality and justice; to be heard; to be taken seriously; to be respected; to sit in the legislation and executive chambers; and to take part in the decisions on who gets what, when and how in our society.

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