... the dean of religious life

I began my day with Deborah Blanks, associate dean of Religious Life, expecting a less interesting version of a "Take-Your-Daughter-to-Work Day." I even brought a significant amount of catchup reading that I expected to get done during the guaranteed down time in Blanks' day. After all, it's not like I had facebook.com to distract me! By the end of the day, I had only read one paragraph. And this is why:

10:19 a.m.: Blanks meets with Rev. Frederick Borsch and Rev. Paul Raushenbush, deans of the Religious Life and of the Chapel.

10:43 a.m.: I am excused for reasons of confidentiality.

11:10 a.m.: Meeting with the deans ends, and Blanks returns to her office.

11:17 a.m.: Blanks meets with Natasha Morales '04 and Joseph Robinson '05, who plan to be married in the University Chapel this April. Blanks asks about their plans for kids, graduate school, a permanent church and possible sacrifices each spouse might have to make. Blanks expresses surprise when I ask for a photo. She takes a comb out and brushes her hair before I snap the picture.

12:06 p.m.: Meeting with couple ends.

12:33 p.m.: Blanks meets with Wei Liu GS and Shuyan Pan GS about the next day's memorial service for the Xiaoyan Ma, who earned her masters in astrophysics in September 2006 and was found dead in her home in February. Beforehand, Dean Blanks takes several moments to learn the pronunciation of the graduate students' names. "I want to get it right," she said.

12:56 p.m.: She makes a call about setting up the program for the memorial service.

1:00 p.m.: The meeting shifts from Blanks' sitting area to her computer to work on the program. She jokes with students that they need to come back and teach her Chinese.

1:14 p.m.: Director of International Studies Paula Chow arrives to help with the memorial service.

1:48 p.m.: Nedra McLaughlin '07, president of the Hallelujah worship committee, comes into Blanks' office. We talk while she waits for Blanks to become available.

2:13 p.m.: Blanks escorts grad students downstairs to talk with someone about the setup of the room for the memorial service.

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2:14 p.m.: Meeting with McLaughlin continues. They discuss a walk-a-thon for poverty and hunger, Hallelujah retreats and a possible seminarian for next year. Blanks encourages me to participate in the walk-a-thon so that I can "exercise" for a good cause.

2:32 p.m.: Meeting with McLaughlin ends, and Blanks goes downstairs.

2:36 p.m.: Blanks returns to her office because the grad student left. She expresses confusion about why the graduate student left. She makes a phone call, standing up and appearing frustrated.

2:53 p.m.: Blanks answers another phone call about the memorial service.

3:03 p.m.: She leaves her office, stopping on the way to talk to the director of Princeton Evangelical Fellowship and the assistant director of Manna.

3:09 p.m.: Blanks arrives at Panera, where she orders the two-for-$6.49 deal, choosing a Tuscan chicken sandwich and a Fandango salad.

3:36 p.m.: Back in her office, Blanks makes another phone call about the memorial service.

4:15 p.m.: David Brown, director of the Student Volunteers Council and Community Action, comes into her office. The two chat about a possible membership on a community service organization's board.

5:18 p.m.: Blanks arrives at Frist, where she attends "The Great Divide: Examining the intersection of Race, Sexuality and Religion," an event cosponsored by the Office of Religious Life.

5:56 p.m.: She motions to me that she is ready to go, and we quietly leave the lecture to go to another meeting.

6:00 p.m.: Blanks arrives downstairs in Frist for a Hallelujah worship committee meeting, where they discuss a walk-a-thon, a possible pre-frosh event, and the men's and women's retreats, in addition to conducting an interview of a possible seminarian for next year.

7:18 p.m.: The meeting ends. Blanks gives me a hug and tells me to keep in touch. She will continue to work at home.