Abstract
I. The Purpose of the Interdisciplinary Summit In the summer of 1997, the leadership of the Minnesota State Bar Association formed a planning committee with members from a number of professions to organize an interdisciplinary summit of the professions. 1 West Publishing agreed to host the summit on April 24-25, 1998, and the William Mitchell Law Review agreed to publish a report and call to action as well as essays submitted by participants. The planning committee adopted the following statement of purpose: The professions have long traditions of responsibility and public service that have defined the disciplines. One manifestation has been the collective effort of the professions to promote the public good and to meet changing societal needs. A second manifestation is the measure of voluntary public service contributed by individuals within the professions. "The Future of Callings" summit will bring together thought leaders in several professions to discuss the public duties of their professions, changing values, and changing reputations affecting their profession, and whether the time-honored traditions of collective and voluntary public service are a viable means to serve society in the future. The invited participants come from the fields of law, medicine, nursing, dentistry, law enforcement, accounting, architecture, engineering, journalism, and the clergy from North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Missouri. The ideas and energies of the interdisciplinary participants will form the basis of a report and a call to action. Participants will be challenged to carry the themes and conclusions to ...