In recent Bulldog Breaks, we sat down with Truman’s newest deans. Dr. Rashmi Prasad and Dr. Steven Parsons are well into their first semester at Truman, joining the School of Business and the School of Arts and Letters, respectively. The Bulldog Break gave the chance for both new deans to tell about their personal and professional background and how they plan to apply their experience to their new roles at Truman. Alumni also got a chance to know a bit more about each in our Five Questions Segment. You can view the full discussion with both Dr. Prasad and Dr. Parsons here.
Five Questions with Dr. Rashmi Prasad 
What fictional character would you most like to meet?
Elzeard Bouffier – a character from the book The Man Who Planted Trees; Gandalf – Lord of the Rings; Hanuman – the monkey god and Red Beard – the title character of a book that features a doctor in Medieval Japan.
What book are you reading right now?
Academia Next by David J. Staley ; Deaths of Despair by Case and Deaton; The Great Convergence by Richard Baldwin; Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein
If you could ask five questions of anyone around the world across the course of human history, who would that be?
Buddha, Jesus, Rama Krishna – the great prophets. The fourth would be a scientist – Niels Bohr. Quantum mechanics is so mysterious. More than Einstein, Neils Bohr was a visionary and one of the great minds of all history.
What do you do to relieve stress?
Regulated breathing, meditation, physical exercise and studying philosophy. Practicing regulated breathing helps you slow down. My parents taught me the importance of medication from an early age. Understanding philosophy helps bring our day to day dilemmas into focus.
What is the most fascinating place you’ve visited?
India and Alaska – Going back to India as an adult who’s lived away from there most of my life, it’s mysterious and fascinating. Alaska is a beguiling place where you can experience nature as it once was all around the world
Five Questions with Dr. Steven Parsons
What are you reading right now?
Reframing Academic Leadership and Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. I’m a big fan of biographies, particularly presidential biographies. I hope to read the big Truman biography soon.
Would you rather lose the ability to read or the ability to speak?
That’s easy, the ability to speak.
What do you do to relieve stress?
I’m a musician and still attempting to be a performing musician. That might be stressful for others, but for me, I find it relaxing because it’s something I know how to do and can access a different part of my brain. Lately, I’ve also been involved in a lot of home repair both with getting my home in Illinois ready to sell and painting our new home in Kirksville. I can think about other things while I paint a wall. Another thing I really enjoy is spending time with grandkids.
What is the worst purchase you’ve ever made.
In my first year of marriage, I bought a car without talking to my wife about it first. If you’re newlywed or engaged – don’t do it. Not a good thing to do.
What is the most fascinating place you have ever visited?
During my time in the army, I got to go a lot of really interesting places. I suppose the most interesting place was India. I got to spend 10 days in northern India. I got spend time in Delhi and Agra to visit the Taj Mahal. If you ever get to take a bus ride between Delhi and Agra, do it.