Dr. John D. Basie appointed affiliated scholar with Philadelphia-based American leadership center

Contact: Jeff Bone, The John Jay Institute, 215-987-3000

PHILADELPHIA, March 4, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- The John Jay Institute today announced that Dr. John D. Basie has been appointed as an affiliated scholar. Dr. Basie's academic and professional expertise is in citizenship theory and leadership development. He is particularly interested in the classical and Christian virtues and how they are inculcated through the education process. Dr. Basie's academic background in psychology, philosophy, theology and politics and his integrated study of these disciplines have led him to grapple with the necessary educational context for the cultivation of the character virtues and citizenship values necessary for sustaining democratic institutions.

Not limited to theoretical studies, Dr. Basie has been involved in pioneering para-academic leadership programs that are focused on character development and worldview formation, namely the Witherspoon Fellowship in Washington, D.C. and most recently the Lifeshape Foundation's IMPACT 360 program.

"I have long-admired the work of the John Jay Institute in forming leaders of character for public service," said Dr. Basie. "It's a special privilege to be a part of this organization and all that it's doing for the future of American leadership."

"John Basie is a leadership and citizenship theorist as well as an educational practitioner of cutting-edge programming," said Alan Crippen, President. "All of us at the Institute are enriched to have him as a colleague and co-laborer in forming talented young men and women for principled public leadership."

Currently Dr. Basie is the Director at IMPACT 360, an academic gap-year program of the Lifeshape Foundation, founded by John and Trudy Cathy White and affiliated with the Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A, Inc. The program emphasizes character-based leadership and worldview education for college freshmen. He also serves as Visiting Professor of Philosophy at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. Dr. Basie has authored articles on higher education in The Associate Reformed Presbyterian and SALVO magazine. He holds membership in the Evangelical Theological Society and the Society of Christian Philosophers. Dr. Basie was graduated from Erskine College with a bachelor's degree in psychology and Christian education. He earned a master's degree in philosophy and ethics at the Talbot School of Theology at Biola University and a doctor's degree in church-state studies with an emphasis in religion and politics at Baylor University.

The John Jay Institute is the only faith-based, intercollegiate organization in America that is exclusively dedicated to developing principled leaders for public life. The Institute has recently relocated from Colorado to Greater Philadelphia and operates its educational programming in Bala-Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.

The John Jay Institute
P.O. Box 28221
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19131
(215) 987-3000
www.johnjayinstitute.org