As we move past the shortest day of the year, my thoughts turn to the eventual return of languid summer days. This column about how universities could make better use of their facilities and faculty during the summer months first…
Each person’s head and heart, the twin seats or our identity, lie just eighteen inches apart, about a cubit. The connection between them is being stretched to the breaking point by universities and other institutions that have tried desperately to…
The separation of private beliefs and public expression of those may be acceptable in many settings (though I am not convinced that is the case) but it is absolutely unacceptable for university leadership. University leadership is private morality expressed publically.…
Universities must change if we are to continue serving our students. Evermore frequently, universities will be called to meet the specific needs of each student in a unique fashion. If it is properly integrated into the curriculum, distance education gives…
Museums bridge the gap between study and reality and, as in universities, the relationship between communities and the meaning of the things they have produced can both be confused and confusing at times. James Clerk Maxwell, the 19th century Scottish…
First in a series on state funding for higher education A fear held by many is that decreasing state support will lead effectively to privatizing state universities. And while a few million dollars is a pittance to a large research…
Universities have a duty to help create a more effective republic. While this purpose has remained constant over the centuries, the means and methods necessary to accomplish that purpose must continually evolve to keep up with an advancing society. In…
Third in a series on who our students are and how they perform. International students are a reliable predictor of U.S. institutional success in a global market for higher education. I am not confident that American postsecondary institutions will retain…
Second in a series on who our students are and how they perform. Great universities help people come into their own. Intellectual, spiritual, emotional, and moral development is always a personal matter but good learning environments are catalysts for the…
