The season and current events cause me to offer this slightly modified piece originally published on July 11, 2008. The importance and value of voluntary military training in universities cannot be argued, nor can the interdependence in mission of a…
Holiday challenges and faith consternation on university campuses are real and never ending. These challenges and the discourse promoted by them should always be vibrant and alive. Democracy is itself, a religious faith. For some it comes close to being…
Universities are propositions for the long run. Short-term strategies lead to short-term successes. Little is more important to a university than succession planning and it is almost universally overlooked as institutions lurch from one foggy set of leadership goals to…
Clark Kerr, the former chancellor of the University of California, had a good idea. He wanted to make college more affordable for more people, and simultaneously build excellence in higher education for California. He did both. He proposed a three-tiered…
This week you are reading a reflection from Jay Larson on the impact of the campus environment on the university experience. A Murphysboro native and veteran, Jay has a BA and MA from SIUC in history, specializing in China/Asia and taught…
Geraldine Fabricant of The New York Times reports in a November 15th story, “As Donors Retrench, Challenges for Universities”, that university fundraising efforts may be in for tough times. In 2009, donations fell by almost 12% nationally. Most unfortunate in…
The tone and content of messages promulgated by the university during stringent financial times are critical. Mila Kopumpilova reported in the St. Paul Pioneer Press that over $415,000 in bonuses were paid to executives at Minnesota state colleges and universities…
Leadership is primarily a fiduciary action. A fiduciary is charged with giving priority to the interests of others over self in a way that engenders and protects trust. Frequently the idea is associated with fiscal affairs and legal perspectives. Surely…
Halloween marks a number of occasions but none more important than the nailing of Luther’s 95 Theses on the Castle Church door at Wittenberg — the birth of a reformation that transformed the modern world on October 31, 1517. This…
Universities across the nation are rushing to “brand” themselves. There is the “D+” branding idea at Drake, the genius of a high priced expert no doubt. An unfortunate choice for a university identifier. I know. I received a D+ one…
Some corporate mythology: A company that made its fortune selling drill bits was having difficulty with a sinking market. The president called together his leadership team from across the country. He brought in high priced consultants. He inquired of this…
Seventh in a series on teaching excellence Possibly the most important thing that excellent teachers pass on to students is the sense of a prevailing moral fabric resembling what someone gains from a healthy family situation, religious teaching, or association…
Sixth in a series on teaching excellence Great teaching is almost always accompanied by controversy, if not for the teacher, for the student; if not for the student, for the board; if not for the board, for the general public;…
Fifth in a series on teaching excellence It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. — William Ernest Henley One of…
Fourth in a series on teaching excellence Thousands of times during any school day at any university students walk into a classroom, armed with a computer, a cell phone, an iPod, a vision of what they might do for the…
Third in a series on teaching excellence Over the past few years there has been incessant talk about university marketing to increase enrollment. There is more competition to be sure. Research university presidents refer to regional universities and community colleges…
Second in a series on teaching excellence Teaching is leadership. There are many distinctive views of teaching but, in the end, teaching is about leadership. I do not think it possible to find a great leader who is not a…
First in a series on Teaching Excellence The purpose of any university is to help people change the way they think. For example, a student who wants to be an attorney comes to the university and, in effect, says “I…
Fall comes with anticipation. Even the crustiest university people get excited about seeing students return. A shot in the arm of the local economy is always welcome, but the excitement of seeing new faces painted with anticipation, fear, hope, and…
Last in a series of eight on integrity Killing integrity is a slow, predictable process. Here are seven deadly sins. One – Lower standards to increase the perceived desirability of the university and grow enrollment. Treat students as commodities and…
Seven in a series on integrity The fundamental purpose of the university, its reason for being, is to change the way people think. This sounds torturous but it is the root of what universities do. In order to fulfill that…
Sixth in a series on integrity Honesty in teaching and research, clarity in the statement of complex ideas and opinions, a desire to know, share, discuss and debate values, and an understanding of the world and how it works are…
Fifth in a series on Integrity Free inquiry is the basis for university excellence. When a faculty member produces research findings in contrast, at odds, or inconsistent with a position of the university, the board, or a donor, academic integrity…
Fourth in a series on integrity In organizations where merit thrives, and in some universities this is still the case, few things are more important to long-term quality than hiring practices. Lax standards for finding and developing faculty, staff and…
Third in a series on integrity. American Universities have been created in a uniquely American mold; a marketplace of institutions, some public and some private. Non-profit organizations have been the norm in both settings, though the last decade has seen…
Second in a series on integrity. This is not about double dipping as was reported last week in the Seattle Times; lavish trips to distant lands under the guise of recruiting additional students; fancy offices and luxury cars; incessantly increasing…
Integrity presents itself in many forms in university life. In the coming weeks, I will address various aspects of integrity, for the chilling impact its absence has on the fundamental nature of the university, and how one works. Institutions owe…
People don’t like the concept of downsizing. A few years ago management experts were talking about “right-sizing” as an alternative concept. Organizations always serve best when they serve most efficiently. One way to create efficiency is to make sure that…
The Bologna Process is an ongoing effort of the European Higher Education Area to “tune” universities from 47 countries so that more predictable outcomes and consistency across national and institutional boundaries, leading to transparency in expectations, employment preparedness and certification,…
There is an old Madison Avenue adage suggesting that interviewees make sure the heals of their shoes are shined as that is the last thing the interviewer will see when they leave the office. Good point, but first impressions may…
Merit is a concept that is uncomfortable to many on university campuses. Years of service are seen as the golden coin, but longevity and excellence are not always cousins. Confusion between meritorious performance and meeting performance expectations kills the recognition…
Knowing the character of any organization requires multiple perspectives. One powerful way to gauge the character of a university is to see it through the eyes of those who leave it. As I participated in graduation exercises this week, I…
The world is unfair. People without resources are denied access to higher education. No matter how low tuition is, it is still out of reach for some. Inside Higher Ed ran a story recently about a program at Tulsa Community…
The suspension of disbelief was a literary device first identified by Samuel Taylor Coleridge to refer to the challenges that readers faced in accepting the assertions of an author to make a story work. The same concept is now demanded…
Abraham Lincoln said, “Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing”. Any university with strong character and commitment to academic excellence will have…
Community colleges and dual enrollment high school programs are seen as the ticket to reducing costs in higher education. Carefully used they are a means to reduce cost, but they are not round-trip tickets. Cost comparisons for credit hours attained…
Students in classes at all universities are lied to, cheated and stolen from every day through grade inflation. Recently at Louisiana State University, a faculty member who refused to lie, cheat or steal was removed from her class of biology…
University leaders decry the idea that universities are becoming more like private enterprises, seeking increased fees, grant support, philanthropic dollars, and auxiliary incomes to make up for the relentless loss of state funding over the past few decades. Even more…
Not one stone will remain unturned in a nationwide effort to reduce operating costs, tuition and fees over the next few years for all public and private universities. American ingenuity coupled with a deep, abiding pragmatism suggests this crisis of…
In any organization, when times are tough, there is a natural tendency for people to find someone, or something, to blame. I used to work with a fellow who taught juniors in the program. He always complained about the quality…
Universities across the nation are facing some of the toughest times imaginable. In Atlanta, Georgia Tech is talking about cutting research according to Jim Kirk, the budget director. Cut research at Georgia Tech? The place may be losing its way. …
In a study from the early part of this century, Learning and Earning: Working in College by Orszag and others, it was found that students who work a reasonable number of hours per week while enrolled in college, say 8…
A measure of university success in “rankings exercises” such as U.S. News and World Reports, Kiplinger’s, and others has appropriately been the rate at which a student completes college. If a student spends a few years at a university and…
Underestimating the value of excellent faculty and students is impossible. They are the substance of the university and what separates the good institutions from the average ones. Otherwise what is excellent is ordinary and that is impossible by definition. Likewise,…
One of the greatest challenges for leadership is to get people, in all parts of the organization, to tell the truth about how things are. It is not that they actively lie, but that they never want to be bearers…
If B.F. Skinner was a university leader who wanted to foster excellence in teaching, research, and service, as do all intelligent university leaders, he would have come up with a dynamic suggestion, one that many inside and outside of the…
There are hundreds of institutions in the United States recognized today as universities that were called “teachers colleges” a half century ago. As these institutions grew and developed diverse areas of study the title “university” was deemed more appropriate. No…
Faculty members should spend 51 percent of their time serving the state and students, and 49 percent of their time serving themselves in personal intellectual development. Faculty work is unique. Imagine any employment setting where leadership says split your time…
In order to achieve excellence in such aspects of university life as teaching, scholarly and creative work and service to the professions and community, a vision and plan are essential. Accrediting agencies seek to understand the university’s vision and plan. …
At our University, over a thousand times a day, a teacher walks into a lecture hall with 500 students or a classroom with 50 students, or a laboratory, studio or practice room with five students, or a research laboratory or…
If you pay any attention to anything regarding higher education, things are getting tough. No news here. They have been since nearly the turn of this century when the state stopped increasing support of higher education. Oh, there are increases…
