Christine Chadwick

Webster's College of Arts & Sciences is fortunate to have such a soul at its service in Advisory Board member Christine Chadwick, known in the St. Louis community as one of the region's "most active volunteers."

As founding executive director of the nonprofit FOCUS St. Louis, Chadwick helps develop and promote service throughout the region by developing leaders, influencing policy, and promoting connections among those in the community driven to serve.

But beyond her role with FOCUS, Chadwick lends her hand to numerous groups, having served on more than 25 boards of community organizations such as the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Women of Achievement, and the National Conference for Community and Justice of Metropolitan St. Louis.

A passion for her work and "tons of energy" help Chadwick juggle all these roles. "The energy, I was born with," she says. "But my mother taught me the importance of multi-tasking—she raised six kids."

"It's race and poverty. Peel away the layers of any
problem and it always comes down to that."

Among her activities with FOCUS is directing its flagship Leadership St. Louis program, a highly respected leadership development program begun in 1976. Based on the premise that regions—just like businesses—need strong leadership to grow, the program brings a "class" of area leaders together in a nine-month curriculum in which they hone their leadership skills and explore critical regional issues.

Race and Poverty

Another prominent FOCUS program is the award-winning Bridges Across Racial Polarization initiative, which enrolls groups of eight to 12 people from a mix of racial and ethnic backgrounds who meet on a regular social basis to examine racial and cultural issues. The participants' long-term interaction boosts their understanding and creates a sounding board for these and other challenging or divisive issues.

And that, Chadwick says, gets at the heart of most issues facing the region. "If I can go really big picture," she says, when asked about St. Louis' biggest challenge, "It's race and poverty. Peel away the layers of any problem and it always comes down to that. People tend to say, 'It's not a sexy topic, just let it go.' But it is there, it is always there. And it can be really overwhelming and cause people to throw up their hands and give up."

Naturally, such despair springs Chadwick into action.

"People know FOCUS will take on these issues," she says. "And they know we'll collaborate on them and use resources well. We just want the work to get done."

A mission to simply get things done is one that meshes well with Webster University. Chadwick literally sees Webster every day now, thanks to FOCUS St. Louis' recent move to the Old Post Office, where Webster's downtown St. Louis campus resides.

"Every day I come to work and revel in this beautiful facility," she says, "And I think, 'Thank goodness Webster did this and took the initiative.' Without them who knows if this historic building would be 100 percent leased today."

One of the organizations on whose national board Chadwick serves, the Alliance for Regional Stewardship, also reminds her of Webster because of its local and global perspective. "That's what I like about Webster," she says. "It's a global institution that has tentacles everywhere."

Chadwick also teaches Leadership and Management at Webster as an adjunct, and she previously served a term on the School of Business & Technology's advisory board. She came into contact with the College of Arts & Sciences when Dean David Carl Wilson enrolled in the Leadership St. Louis program.

"I was immediately impressed by David's vision for the College and its board," she recalls. "He is someone I want to support in anyway I can."

Currently, Chadwick has been consulting the College's Women's Studies Committee members about their vision for the program. "That's really exciting," she says. "They have talked about growing the program, drawing people to campus and possibly developing an internship program."

Just another outlet for service and leadership, which explains what keeps Chadwick going.

"I guess it stems from passion," she says. "I usually don't take on something if I don't really believe in it. And doing this also involves continued learning and making great new friends, so it's easy to enjoy."

Learn more about the College of Arts & Sciences Advisory Board members at the College's Web site.

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