Some ideas seem so accessible and “right” that we accept them without much question. They resonate with our assumptions and align with common sense, or at least our common thinking. I don’t know if higher education is more susceptible than other sectors to these kinds of group-think trends, but we know that it happens. Certain…
Category: Deanspeak
Posts about the wide realm of higher education from a deanly perspective
Democracy and Higher Education
Colleges and universities are products of and contributors to our broader civic culture. Higher education reflects the world and often can point to where things are headed. Occasionally it may even influence direction. Untangling what our collective responsibilities are, within academe, to the development of a healthy civic culture, particularly an engaged democracy, is a…
Wise Pivots
Accenture, a global professional services company, is one of my college’s most active and generous business partners. We have learned so much from them through meetings, projects, collaboration, and day-to-day interaction. Consistently collegial and extraordinarily professional, the team at Accenture have helped to strengthen us and our students – and we’re not even their clients.…
Congratulations Graduates, And . . .
At the request of a neighborhood high school principal, I recently gave a short speech at their commencement. I was honored by the request, but to tell the truth, the invitation gave me pause. I’ve been to several high school graduations, including my own, and for the life of me I cannot remember who spoke…
The Grind of Poverty
You may have come across Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive recently in a bookstore or referenced in the media. It’s a book by Stephanie Land, a first-person account of her experience as a poor single mother trying to get by on manual labor and government assistance. Maid has been…
Recipe For Reform
Reform or revolution? I’m thinking ways of making colleges more effective and sustainable, not Rosa Luxemburg and the end of capitalism. Some writers believe that technology or funding changes will reshape the education landscape quickly and dramatically, while others see ongoing change at a more moderate pace. In the latter camp, for an outline for…
Change, Resistance & Change
On good days it seems that we may be moving toward a society that respects all gender and gender choices. Read a newspaper or watch the news – rules, rights and expectations around gender issues are changing and being more inclusive. On other days, less optimism feels appropriate. Reflection reminds us about how slow and…