The YMCA Center for Civic Engagement honored High School History Department Chair Mackey Luffman with its Mike Buhl Award on Saturday, Aug. 17.
By Juanita I.C. Traughber, Communications Director
The YMCA Center for Civic Engagement honored High School History Department Chair Mackey Luffman with its Mike Buhl Award on Saturday, Aug. 17.
“It’s an honor that humbles my work as a teacher of civics and government,” Luffman said while accepting the award at the Tennessee State Capitol. “It’s especially hard to relate since Mike Buhl was such a bigger-than-life and complex man. … Mike and Iris accepted the challenge of engaging the life of a vibrant and diverse city. Their commitment to that engagement is a kind of leadership too often overlooked.”
Luffman encouraged listeners to find the many places the Buhl showed their philanthropy as well as to look for the center’s alumni Mike Buhl touched now working in businesses, schools, religious communities, nonprofits, advocacy organizations, civil services, political parties, and elected offices across the state.
“All of them will remember what Mike did for them. Such a legacy is truly inspiring and is another worthy reminder of how Mike wove himself into the fabric of the state of Tennessee,” he added.
The YMCA Center for Civic Engagement is a statewide leadership development & civics program designed to allow middle and high schools to experience the processes of government in a hands-on way. Its award honors the intellectual vitality of the late Arthur H. “Mike” Buhl, an esteemed USN faculty member who was committed to a life of civic responsibility and to inspire intellectual discourse among students. Alumnus Rob Pinson ’94 presented Luffman with the award and read a reflection by Henry Standard ’18.
Luffman, who teaches World Civilizations to freshmen, has been involved with the Center for Civic Engagement since coming to USN in 2002 as the Model UN and Youth In Government advisor. In addition to attending conferences with USN students, he trains officers at the center’s other conferences and troubleshoots parliamentary processes. He also revised the center’s rule book for conference parliamentary procedures and serves as its parliamentarian.
University of Virginia selected Margot Ross '24 to be a Jefferson Scholar. The highly selective scholarship includes the full cost of attending UVA for four years of study as well as numerous enrichment opportunities. It has been 16 years since a University School of Nashville senior last became a Jefferson Scholar.
USN Mission: University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.