Conference focuses on Christian leadership in software development

On Saturday, April 30, 2011, Calvin's computer science department will host the
second-ever Dynamic Link Conference. This year's theme is "A Christian Focus on
Leadership in Software Development."

The conference is free, and it gives Calvin students an opportunity to
interface with software development professionals to see how professed
Christians integrate their faith in their work.

"Our goal is to provide students an opportunity to benefit from the experience
of those in the industry who have had to deal with some very difficult issues
through questions and discussion," said Pat Bailey, computer science professor
at Calvin. "Also, as part of our commitment to exploring issues of faith in our
curriculum, we encourage participants to bring the Christian perspective to the
table," he added.

The one-day conference, which runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., features two guest
speakers, Bill Noakes and Paul Jorgensen.

Noakes is the president of the Noakes Group, a private consulting company
providing services and advice to "C"-level executives. Noakes has also served
in leadership roles at Meijer, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and
General Motors.

Jorgensen is a professor of computer science at Grand Valley State University.
He has authored text books in software testing and software behavior modeling,
which are widely used in the industry. Prior to his academic career, Jorgensen
served as a manager of software testing for some of GTE's most significant
projects.

The conference also includes a breakout into smaller discussion groups and a
free lunch for those who commit to participating for the full day. Bailey noted
that throughout the semester students will be researching specific topics for
each discussion group. The students will provide an overview for their research
and then explore questions, reactions and recommendations with the group. The
conference ends with a summary of each discussion group.

One of the software professionals who attended the first-ever Dynamic Link
Conference in 2009 noted the value of the conference:

"The conference (…) confirmed what we already knew-that Calvin does an
admirable job of interweaving Christian values into education and the
workplace. I found myself thinking that nothing like this conference would ever
happen where I went to school in the 'public' sector."

For more information, contact Pat Bailey at 616-526-7543.

-end-
Received on Fri Feb 11 15:37:45 2011