TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Gregg Levoy, author of "Callings: Finding and Following an Authentic Life," will present a workshop for students at The University of Alabama on Monday, Jan. 28 from 7-9 p.m. in the Moody Music Concert Hall on “Don’t Just Declare a Major, Follow a Calling.”

Levoy will discuss the spiritual, psychological and practical processes associated with listening and responding to callings.

There will be a second lecture for faculty and staff on “Callings: The Power of Passionate Work” Tuesday, Jan. 29 from 9 a.m.-noon in 33-A&B of the Child Development Resource Center.

Levoy’s presentations are sponsored by the UA Career Center free of charge.

Levoy, a former adjunct professor of journalism at the University of New Mexico, was also a columnist and reporter for the Cincinnati Enquirer and USA Today. He has written about the subject of callings for New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, Omni, Psychology Today, Reader’s Digest and other publications.

The student workshop on Jan. 28 concentrates on choosing a career path based on personal reflection. “We’ll strike up a dialogue with the deep self, and hear what the soul has to say about anything as important as our work life,” Levoy said. “With an eye toward gaining clarity and courage, we’ll explore the psychological, spiritual and practical processes typically encountered in listening and responding to callings, and the questions that arise naturally in their presence.”

Levoy said that such questions include how an individual tells a true calling from a false one, what happens when a person says yes to a calling and what happens when they say no.

The Jan. 29 workshop for faculty and staff will focus on improving service to students and enhancing self-awareness and personal development.

For more information, contact Ellen Pate in the UA Career Center at 205/348-4837 or epate@sa.ua.edu.

The University of Alabama, a student-centered research university, is in the midst of a planned, steady enrollment growth with a goal of reaching 28,000 students by 2010. This growth, which is positively impacting the campus and the state's economy, is in keeping with UA's vision to be the university of choice for the best and brightest students. UA, the state's flagship university, is an academic community united in its commitment to enhancing the quality of life for all Alabamians.