Second in a series on the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum. The following is a direct quote from the letter addressed to me on March 18, 2025, by the State Fire Marshall’s Office (SFMO) regarding the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum. “The SFMO…
First in a series on the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum. The future of the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum is at the forefront of the minds of Texas Panhandle residents and, indeed, anyone who values the history of this remarkable region. This week,…
Seventh in a series. In our fast-paced, technocratic age, the university is under siege, but not from without, from within. The university’s deepest purposes risk being reduced to transactional exchanges and utilitarian calculations. If the modern university is to…
Sixth in a series. In an era marked by polarization and rapid-fire opinion in sound bites, we would do well to remember a tradition that is the foundation of much of Western higher education: the practice of reasoned argument. This…
As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, higher education stands at a crossroads. Our colleges and universities face a convergence of challenges, public expectations, financial uncertainty, political and public scrutiny and rapid technological change. These are not isolated crises…
Third in a series. In American higher education, freedom is often a flag flown high; freedom of inquiry, thought and speech are indispensable to the life of the mind. Yet, as I have seen across decades in the academy, freedom…
While teaching geometry, mechanics and astronomy at the University of Padua, Galileo studied the movements of the Sun and the stars, and through his personal observations, proposed that our universe was heliocentric. His ideas and findings supported Copernicus’s repudiation of…
The American higher education industry is in decline. Enrollment has decreased by nearly three million students over the past decade, public confidence is waning and costs keep rising faster than inflation. But beneath these trends lies a quieter, deeper, more…
Many factors cause elitism in higher education. Prestige is rewarded by exclusivity. National rankings of universities favor high admissions rejection rates, high spending per student and high percentages of alumni giving. These perspectives cause some schools to manage admissions “yield,”…
A knowledgeable friend told me, “Texas is defined by its edges.” Even though the then State Representative Four Price’s comment referred to election results, it has resonated with me. The perimeter of Texas is 4,137 miles long, and the total…
Modified from a reflection written in January 2009. Entitlement is believing you are owed what you have not earned. Social Security is not an entitlement, but an earned benefit based on years of employment and contributions: A contract between citizens…
As schools open nationwide, it is worth reflecting on the impact of a college education. The Free Academy of New York, eventually City College of New York (CCNY) and City University of New York (CUNY) were created to provide a…
As a new academic year kicks off, maybe your first in college, I want to share some advice, whether at a community college, a four-year university or a public or private institution. It is about something which does not always…
Regional public campuses support arts and culture, enriching the lives of students and the surrounding community. These institutions often serve as cultural hubs, hosting galleries, theaters, concerts, lectures and festivals. These events expose students and residents to artistic and cultural…
Civic engagement, individual and collective actions aimed at addressing public opportunities and challenges, is fundamental to constitutional republics in healthy societies and is a key driver of personal, institutional and community growth. Within regional universities, civic engagement becomes a transformative…
All public universities, including regional institutions, play a vital role in workforce development by educating and training millions of professionals who are essential to the economy and the well-being of society. Regional public universities train millions of professionals—teachers, nurses, engineers…
People tend to be increasingly cynical about higher education. Tuition and fees have increased markedly in the last 40 years, more than doubled, according to Bankrate. Equally troubling, many students leave college without a diploma and still have substantial debt.…
Tenth and final in a series on the Texas Triangles. Rural contributions significantly affect a state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), though the impact varies depending on the state’s economic structure and level of urbanization. Rural areas are often the backbone…
Ninth in a series on the Texas Triangles. Texas is two states. The Megaregion Triangle is defined by the area between DFW, Houston and San Antonio, which supports 66% of the population and is home to 53 Fortune 500 companies.…
Eighth in a series on the Texas Triangles. “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money,” said Margaret Thatcher, according to the American Enterprise Institute. With great caution, I would add that a problem…
Seventh in a series on the Texas Triangles. More than a campus, a catalyst. Location plays a significant role in college attendance. Post-secondary educational attainment levels are higher in Tom Green (Angelo State University), Lubbock (Texas Tech University), El Paso…
Sixth in a series on the Texas Triangles. Drawing lines from Dallas to San Antonio to Houston forms the Megaregion Triangle while connecting Amarillo to San Angelo to El Paso creates the Food, Fuel and Fiber Triangle. The two Texas…
The Power of One Triangle Fourth in a series on the Texas Triangles. The Texas Panhandle is rich and complex, shaped by Native American cultures, Spanish explorers, frontier settlers, ranchers and the development of railroads and the oil industry. It…
Second in a series on the Texas Triangles. Water has been crucial in shaping U.S. culture, history and economic progress. Before European colonization, Native Americans relied on rivers, lakes and coastal waters for food, transportation and spiritual practices. Many settlements…
Originally published in the Dallas Morning News on March 18, 2025. Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Texas SB17 in 2023, closing DEI offices at Texas universities. As colleges continue to adjust, we’ll see a rediscovery of our true calling.…
First in a series on the food, fuel and fiber triangle of Texas. My thoughts in the coming weeks will consider two important triangles in Texas: The “Food, Fuel and Fiber Triangle” defined by Amarillo, San Angelo and El Paso,…
This reflection was originally published on July 8, 2023. It is refreshed and worth another look. Large organizations can exploit size to create an economy of scale. It is, singularly, the best argument for bigness. This may be true when making…
Written on August 13, 2013, slightly revised here. Bureaucracies create and sustain a moral perspective. “If you are going to sin, sin against God, not the bureaucracy. God will forgive you, but the bureaucracy won’t,” quipped Admiral Hyman Rickover regarding the…
Tenth and final in a series on rural universities. According to New Directions for Higher Education, rural universities face unique challenges and opportunities. In 2025, several trends will shape the landscape of colleges and universities in rural areas, and WT…
Ninth in a series on rural universities. Geography and culture in small communities play essential roles in shaping various traditions, practices and ways of life, according to Spatial Post. While culture seems to exist independently of place in some areas,…
Eighth in a series on rural universities. What follows is not intended to be a gloom and doom forecast. Rather, it is an honest analysis of what smaller, often rural, regional universities will face as the reality for those who…
Seventh in a series on rural universities Rural, regional colleges often cost less than metropolitan universities. Cost differences can be attributed to several factors. Rural regions typically have lower living costs than more densely populated metropolitan areas, and lower operational…
Sixth in a series on rural universities. Flexible learning models in universities are evolving to accommodate various student needs, work-life balance and advancements in technology, reports University Business. These models are transforming higher education to be more accessible and…
Fifth in a series on rural universities. Universities should be impacted by location. Check any university website identified by the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities, and you will find focus areas, including urban planning and urban sustainability, economic development in…
Fourth in a series on rural universities. Universities often partner with high schools to enhance educational opportunities, bridge gaps between secondary and higher education and prepare students for future academic challenges. Such partnerships are especially important in rural high schools…
Third in a series on rural universities Many states in our nation, particularly those with strong natural resource and agricultural economies, face a “two-state challenge” with two fundamentally different populations to serve in the state. Pew says the challenge exists…
Second in a series on rural universities Rural higher education faces unique challenges and opportunities. In 2025, several trends will shape the landscape of colleges and universities in rural areas, and in every aspect, WT will be responsive. Rural institutions,…
This reflection was originally published on December 15, 2008. It is refreshed and worth another look. Christmas memories are personal, deep and important to me. My family’s New York Christmases, with their strong, first generational influence of Western Europe; Cajun…
First in a series on Rural Universities. Rural regions of the United States make significant contributions to the economic well-being of the nation. Rural America is the backbone of U.S. agriculture. In 2023, the agriculture, food and related industries contributed…
As we approach the end of the year and the holiday season, I find myself reflecting on both personal challenges and the growth we see on our campus. While the world focuses on larger shifts, what matters is the progress…
WT will be updating the long-range plan WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World. The origins of the plan began in the fall of 2016 upon my arrival with the goal to cast a vision for what West Texas…
Originally posted a few years ago. When confronted with challenging times like ours, it is easy to lose heart, appreciation, gratefulness and admiration—in a word, thanksgiving—for the people and places we call home. Our University has been fortunate to have…
Penned a decade ago, modified slightly here. Too many universities accept unprepared students. Regardless of status — public, private non-profit or for-profit — motivation is suspect and results debilitating. Institutions know it, but bureaucracies need to be fed. Federally insured loans…
This essay was written on June 9, 2014, and is modified here. Universities and lenders must be more transparent regarding costs, opportunities and likelihoods of success for students. John Hutton, of the British Labor Party made this observation: “Greater personal choice,…
Penned a decade ago, still relevant, slightly modified here. Threats to higher education primarily come not from shady lenders, crass bankers and bureaucrats focused on turning government-subsidized, student-borrowed dollars into operating capital, nor from elected officials who seek to use…
This essay was written a decade ago and is modified here. The thoughts still have value in helping students plot productive futures. The higher education marketplace is special and unique and provides something unlike any other enterprise. But, it…
Good leaders act as lightning rods, attracting both criticism and praise otherwise directed toward their organizations or members of their team. Leaders absorb pressure, good and bad, guiding and protecting while exercising responsibility and transparency. Actions and decisions draw scrutiny…
Predatory gambling occurs when corporate gambling interests, sometimes coupled with government, exploit citizens and their communities. Universities are communities, and students are their primary citizens. Universities and the people that populate them recognize the deleterious impact of predatory gambling on…
Originally penned on February 19, 2020, but is possibly more valuable now than it was then. One of the greatest challenges for leadership is to get people, in all parts of any organization, to tell the truth about how things…
Originally published in the Dallas Morning News on August 28, 2024. College debt is suffocating. Students take on lifelong commitments too burdensome for degrees that may not have substantial value. That, in turn, diminishes the integrity and worth of the…
This was originally written nine years ago and was tuned up as a new school year begins. I am reminded of how important these fundamentals are and the value of new students reflecting on them as the school year gets…
A benefit of being involved with universities as a faculty member and administrator for nearly a half-century is the opportunity to work with generations of students. I began teaching baby boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, characterized by popular…
A predicted “enrollment cliff” is on the horizon for higher education. The national birthrate is the lowest in recorded history. Fewer college-ready high school graduates are being produced, and fewer of those are enrolling. Reality coupled with skepticism regarding the…
Originally posted a decade ago. Worth another look. Leadership in any organization implies and requires transformation. Change in purposeful groups of people, large and small, creates discomfort. Organizational discomfort sometimes matures into a labyrinth of processes that stymie evolution in…
Written almost 15 years ago these points are still relevant. National economic growth requires education beyond high school. College, in the conventional sense, is not always the answer to a stronger economy. Neither the traditional 20th-century view of higher education from the…
Originally penned on July 8, 2015 this reflection reminds us of the impact that universities have on local economies. Little has changed since that time regarding these insights. Universities impact regional economies. In rural areas where economic diversity is scant,…
I frequently challenge public higher education. I am occasionally cynical. Even critical. Not today. The impact of public universities on economic progress varies widely by the specific institution, and the economic sector being considered. But, almost every university contributes to…
What follows is extracted from testimony provided to the 1836 Project Advisory Committee at the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum on July 1, 2024. The 1836 Advisory Committee was established by HB No. 2497 in May 2021 and signed into law by…
Originally posted on December 18, 2009, but given the nature of the times, it’s worth a look. Knife edges are the places where greatness lives in organizations. The sides of a knife don’t cut, but the well-whetted edge of a knife…
This was written on December 4, 2009, as one of a series of thoughts regarding the intersection of faith and reason in university life. I was reminded of the durability of this thought as we recently celebrated the beautifully renovated…
Originally posted on June 10, 2015. Worth thinking about in our contemporary circumstances. Modified slightly here. Too many public organizations gravitate towards performance at the lowest common denominator. Private organizations do too, but mediocrity’s poison is more prevalent in public settings. There…
Originally published nearly a decade ago, on March 30, 2015, it has a ring of interest for current students and students of current events. Slightly modified here. Overwhelmingly, the 7,400 state lawmakers nationwide attended and graduated from public universities. Again, overwhelmingly, these…
Originally written on August 21, 2012, with continued interest in the value equation for higher education this is worth looking at again. No two universities are the same. No university was the same last year as it will be next…
Written a decade ago, current events suggest a second look is valuable and is presented here slightly modified. Communities of every type, near and far — social, geographic, political and professional — have legitimate expectations about the universities they are…
This was originally penned on February 27, 2009. It is, by contemporary definition, old hat. It’s worth another look and appears here slightly modified. The most powerful stimulus ever invented, used for good and evil since the beginning of time,…
In 1959, when Vince Lombardi had his first team meeting with the Green Bay Packers as their new head coach, he said, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” A culture of excellence is…
Thoughts from a Principled Conservative Outpost—Tenth and last in a series on the aspects of Panhandle conservativism. First, a principled conservative outpost values free thought. Free thought is not an intellectual straight-jacket of conforming to laws, rules, ideas, concepts or traditions without…
Thoughts from a Principled Conservative Outpost—Ninth in a series on the aspects of Panhandle conservativism. Some of what follows is post commentary found in The Hill Institute. Joseph A. Hill advocated for what has been called a “performance culture” within…
Thoughts from a Principled Conservative Outpost—Eighth in a series on the aspects of Panhandle conservativism. The place where people live makes an indelible impact on how and what people think. To borrow a line from Winston Churchill, “We shape our…
Thoughts from a Principled Conservative Outpost—Seventh in a series on the aspects of Panhandle conservativism. Patriotism is a feeling of love, devotion and a sense of attachment to a nation or homeland. The foundation of patriotism is citizenship. It may…
Thoughts from a Principled Conservative Outpost—Sixth in a series on the aspects of Panhandle conservativism. In free societies, and constitutional republics, individual identity and merit, plus the equality of all in the pursuit of life’s aspirations, must be recognized as…
Thoughts from a Principled Conservative Outpost—Fifth in a series on the aspects of Panhandle conservativism. “Whiteface, Texas, is a small community located in Cochran County (sharing a border with New Mexico). Its neighbor, Sundown, Texas, is located in Hockley County.…
Thoughts from a Principled Conservative Outpost—Fourth in a series on the aspects of Panhandle conservativism. Society functions best when individuals have the freedom to pursue, without undue coercion, their interests within the bounds of law, ethics and morality determined by…
Thoughts from a Principled Conservative Outpost—Third in a series on the aspects of Panhandle conservativism. “Patton Springs ISD in Afton, Texas, had 96 students for the 2017-2018 school year. It is small. It is old—established in 1910, the same year…
Thoughts from a Principled Conservative Outpost—Second in a series on the aspects of Panhandle conservativism. “Early morning on September 24, 2019, in New Home, Texas, I watched with deep appreciation the order and discipline of students exiting a bus. Most…
Over the next few weeks, I will address aspects of Panhandle conservativism. Simpleminded definitions or broad abstractions fail and are devoid of context. Thought applied to action creates results: life lived with purpose and independence. First in a series on…
Sixth in a series on the culture of engagement. According to Gallup, a work environment that fosters personal responsibility requires a combination of strategies, cultural norms and structural elements. Rewarding and retaining people, a strong sense of personal responsibility, independence…
Fifth in a series on the culture of engagement. Encouraging people in any enterprise, public or private, profit or nonprofit, volunteer or professional, to maintain a healthy balance between their work engagements and personal lives leads to lower stress levels…
Fourth in a series on the culture of engagement. Acknowledging and rewarding the hard work, contributions and achievements of all associated with any enterprise is essential, according to Mike Robbins. Recognition can be in various forms, from verbal praise and…
Third in a series on the culture of engagement. A work environment where people feel respected and valued regardless of who they are, where they come from, their role or their viewpoints is important to create an engaged workplace culture.…
Creating a positive engaged working culture is crucial for the success and well-being of any organization. Trust and transparency should imbue all human interaction and both require open communication, honesty, integrity and a tolerance for risk-taking. People should feel confident…
Any organization that attempts to serve people in any way—A hospital, an automotive service center, a mom-and-pop candy shop or a big box behemoth, a family-owned bank, a public library, a doctor’s office, an automotive manufacturing facility like GM, a…
Students and parents have varied expectations of higher education. Some are brand new, others haven’t changed. Debt: There will continue to be increased emphasis on student indebtedness and over-borrowing for higher education. When combined, 44 million students are on the…
Revised remarks from December 9, 2023, commencement speech at West Texas A&M University. At the height of the Great Depression, James Trustlow Adams first used the term “American Dream.” He said, among other things, in “The Epic of America,” that…
The Hechinger Report recently published a piece regarding rural college students feeling “overwhelmed on big campuses.” California State University, Chico is targeting rural students and working diligently to address their needs. A worthy and noble effort to be sure, but…
Flyover Country is where I live. This term is commonly used in the United States to refer to the central parts of our nation, especially the rural areas between the East and West coasts, you know, where all the “rednecks”…
Changes instituted by leadership often cause stress within organizations. Change is unsettling and creates uncertainty, making people feel insecure about roles, responsibilities and the organization’s future. There may be concerns about new processes, technologies or structures that could alter job…
The relevance of any curriculum at any university in the context of rapid technical and cultural changes is a pressing concern for all: educators, students, parents and employers alike. A traditional curriculum typically refers to a structured and prescribed course…
Penned over a decade ago, but an element of truth persists. Expectations, encouragement of them and their management are seeds of excellence. In a New York Times piece on February 18, 2009, by Max Roosevelt entitled Student Expectations Seen as Causing…
The term “alma mater” is used by thousands of graduates from universities worldwide to refer to the college or school they attended. Its meaning, derived from Latin, is translated as “nourishing mother.” The University of Bologna, founded over one millennium…
In a recent book from Harvard Education Press, former faculty member, dean, provost and president Brian Rosenberg summed up his thinking clearly in the title: “Whatever It Is, I’m Against It”: Resistance to Change in Higher Education.” Rosenberg says universities…
As students and families begin the annual search for universities next fall, I offer suggestions about what they might look for. Is the university accredited? What is its reputation? What programs and courses are offered? What is the cost, and…
Ivan Ilitch, a former Roman Catholic priest and philosopher, questioned technology’s benefits. His text, Tools for Conviviality, published in 1973, discussed the appropriate use of technology. One of his concerns was that technology might replace our ability to exercise free…
Since its inception, the GI Bill has disbursed multiplied billions of dollars in education benefits to millions of veterans and their families. Some elected leaders consider it the most important piece of federal legislation ever produced. After being signed by…
In the last 70 years, educators have gone from expressing a keen interest in teaching values to little interest, if any. I am not sure what makes this discussion so difficult, but I do know that students, even in graduate…
Over the past decade, several concerns have caused people to question the value of a college education. A New America study in 2022 revealed there are “lots of well-paying, stable jobs that people can find with only a high school…
