Campus Life
The fourth and final piece from November 2017. A thriving campus is of vital importance at WT, a vision I had when I first arrived and one that is still at the forefront. Every spring, countless families from across the…
Category Campus
Town-Gown Relationships
This is the third piece, published in November 2017, after I arrived in Canyon. Relationships with communities is as important now, as it was then. Communities and the universities they host are married to each other. When one partner grows…
First-Generation College Students
In continuation of sharing the first four reflections published in November 2017, this is the second piece I wrote after my arrival at WT. In 1769, Charles Thompson received financial aid from John Hobbs’s widow to study the ministry at…
WT and a Master Plan
-Buff courts under construction, looking north- In the coming weeks, I will publish the first four reflections posted in November 2017 after arriving at WT. I started this process to share thoughts about WT, our purpose and our passions. I…
Twenty-First Century Intercollegiate Athletics
First in a series on Intercollegiate Athletics. The impact of intercollegiate athletics on universities and colleges around our nation is undeniable. More than 460,000 students compete in intercollegiate athletics, the vast majority using their athletic ability to help fund, in…
The Creation of a Middle Class
Fourth in a series on student educational debt. This column was penned in August 2008—it is slightly modified here. It was a reasonable observation then. It has more weight a decade and a half later as the increasing debt burdens…
Sparks of Liberty
From their earliest inception, universities in the United States have burned bright with fires fueled, thoughtful opportunity fanned into flames, creating a stronger, more robust, free society. These fires were built to recognize that individuals, a collection of self’s, would…
A Plan for One
As seniors in high school contemplate graduation at the end of the school year, their possibilities are nearly endless—no matter a student’s class rank or personal opportunities and challenges faced, are facing or will soon face. Configuring the post-high school…
Cost/Quality Differentials, Online/On-Campus Study
This reflection represents a collaborative effort with the Executive Vice President and Provost, Dr. Neil Terry, and myself to communicate cost and quality differentials for on-campus and online study at West Texas A&M University. It was first published on August…
Student Debt
Originally published December 4, 2017. While some specifics have changed and some data has been updated, the general ideas are more important than they were in 2017 as students prepare to enter college in 2021, a time unlike any other.…
Individuals and Regional Reality
Regions breed individuals with some common traits that generally represent all. People generate an identity, where—subject to environmental conditions, personal predilections, and aspirations of heart and soul, they have a shared experience and perspective. Regions in a state or nation…
Texas’ Most Conservative 21st-Century Public University
Texas’ Most Conservative 21st-Century Public University The Texas Panhandle owns a value system that serves as a benchmark for many of its citizens, even in its imperfection. And this region is WT’s home. Former University President Joseph A. Hill illuminated…
Strength and Value in Regional Universities
Texas SB1295 recognizes the need for financial support and incentives for comprehensive regional universities that meet performance targets. It’s on the way to Governor Abbott’s desk. In all its forms, post-secondary education is a powerful force in improving job opportunities,…
Open Letter to High School Class of 2021
Previously published but updated here. What a year. Old council sometimes retains its value. Dear Graduating Senior, I am begging your pardon for a somber reflection amidst the joy of the near completion of high school – not to be…
Texas’ Regional Universities: Place, People, Purpose, Performance
Walter Wendler, West Texas A&M University President and John Sharp, The Texas A&M University System Chancellor Fourth in a series on Regional Universities. The location of any University, its place, is important for every institution. For a comprehensive regional university…
Regional Universities – Our Students
Walter Wendler, West Texas A&M University President and John Sharp, The Texas A&M University System Chancellor Third in a series on Regional Universities. Comprehensive Regional Universities (CRU) are the quiet centerpiece of the Texas higher education constellation. Often founded as…
Regional Empowerment
Walter Wendler, West Texas A&M University President and John Sharp, The Texas A&M University System Chancellor Second in a series on Regional Universities. Borrowing from a working paper, “A Regional Research University” West Texas A&M University’s commitment is to serve…
Regional Universities – System Membership
Walter Wendler, West Texas A&M University President and John Sharp, The Texas A&M University System Chancellor First in a Series on Regional Universities Regional universities in the U.S. educate 70% of the nearly 17 million students pursuing an undergraduate degree…
The Cultural Foundation of the Texas Panhandle
Eighth and final in a series on the Heart and Soul of the Texas Panhandle Over the past seven weeks, various intersecting aspects of the Texas Panhandle and West Texas A&M University have been communicated in the ‘Heart and Soul…
Big Ideas in the Texas Panhandle
Seventh in a series on the Heart and Soul of the Texas Panhandle West Texas A&M University is focused on big ideas. Communities of the Texas Panhandle sharpen this focus. The Panhandle is a big place, with challenges and opportunities…
Texas Panhandle Loyalty
Sixth in a series on the Heart and Soul of the Texas Panhandle In traveling the Texas Panhandle, I sensed in many communities a genuine, thoughtful loyalty to people and place. I am not naïve and know that in towns,…
Texas Panhandle Faith
Fifth in a series on the Heart and Soul of the Texas Panhandle It is difficult to separate the faith of people in the Texas Panhandle from daily life, the way of American frontiers for centuries. The lives of early…
Public and Private Space in the Texas Panhandle
Fourth in a series on the Heart and Soul of the Texas Panhandle When people think about public space in and around cities and towns, notable parks in metropolises come to mind. Some examples include Griffith Park in Los Angeles,…
Rural Students
Reading the Chronicle of Higher Education on January 6, 2021, I came across an advertising banner that gave me pause. It read, “A College Lifeline: Higher Education for incarcerated and rural students – and why it matters.” I downloaded this…
Purpose and Place
Sixth in a series on COVID-19 and studying in Spring 2021 Originally published on September 29, 2018, slightly modified here The roots of higher education in the United States are knotted into purpose and place. From a functional standpoint, almost all…
A Personal Reflection for the Season
Fourth in a series on COVID-19 and studying in spring 2021 Originally published on December 15, 2008, and a few times since then—it may have value as we look forward to the spring of 2021, a spring like no other…
The Anatomy of a Complex Decision
West Texas A&M University will host a virtual graduation in December — a decision reached only after much discussion and heartfelt deliberations. Details regarding the event will be released soon. I know that many faculty, staff, students and families will…
Pragmatism
Third in a series of how universities can help build character. WT values the practical framing of intellectual work. Being pragmatic does not mean big ideas or the big picture are avoided. When carried out faithfully, being pragmatic is a…
Service
Second core value in a series regarding character Service presents itself in many ways at public universities. Members of university communities understand the three-legged stool of responsible teaching, scholarly work and service. I recently reflected on the power of customer…
Character
First in a series of how universities can help build character. Critical thinking skills, long held to be the nucleus of a strong liberal arts curriculum, are essential. A number of institutions receive acclaim for their ability to teach critical…
New World. New Way. Always WT.
Tenth and final in a series on the reopening of West Texas A&M University in the midst of COVID-19. Universities propel students, families and communities toward economic prosperity and intellectual liberty. WT has pursued this mission since 1910; training teachers…
“Home, Home on the Range”
Ninth in a series on the reopening of West Texas A&M University in the midst of COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified college cost discussions as unemployment has increased, family financial security decreased and college costs with accumulated debt have…
Culture and Energy on Campus
Seventh in a series on the reopening of West Texas A&M University in the midst of COVID-19 Written a number of years ago and updated for its value as we return to campus. A culture is created and sustained by…
Life on Campus
Second in a series on the reopening of West Texas A&M University in the midst of COVID-19. A valuable part of attending a university for many college students, particularly those in their late teens or early 20s, is the experience…
Strength of Working Together Overcomes Fear
First in a series on the reopening of West Texas A&M University in the midst of COVID-19. In the coming weeks, I will address a number of issues regarding our return to campus—things such as residential life, classroom and community…
The New Normal
The concept of “new normal” is wearisome. Enterprises of every kind falter assuming there was an old normal. Normalcy is an innovation-robbing concept. In February, I reflected on demographics and their impact on shaping a regional research university like West…
Customer Service
People working in higher education, whether in the classroom, research lab, dance studio, library, and various business support offices or even maintaining buildings and grounds, are all involved in customer service. Many resist seeing students as customers; however, students pay…
A Well Knitted University
West Texas A&M University is becoming a regional research university. Defined in WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World, it means in part, ”Our focus will be on community life, schools in rural settings, enriched enterprise, beef, rural health…
Considering College and COVID-19
The 24-hour news circuitry is alive with concerns about COVID-19, its impact on people and the economic crater left in its wake. No segment of the American economy or enterprise, the faith life of Americans, or any other aspect of…
Considering College – Canyon, Texas: Truthfulness and Transparency
Sixteenth in a series on what to look for in college. On February 2, 2017, I visited Canyon High School. A group of 600 students attended. Canyon ISD covers over 700 square miles of ground. With the onslaught of the…
Considering College – Childress, Texas: Higher Education Is Serious and Personal
Fourteenth in a series on what to look for in college. During the ‘Your Community, Your University’ Tours, visits to high schools in the Panhandle and South Plains—daytime visits while school was in session—had a larger number of students present.…
Considering College – Booker, Texas: A Frontier Outpost
Thirteenth in a series on what to look for in college. At 37 degrees 27 minutes 12 seconds north latitude, Booker is the northernmost municipality in Texas. Booker used to be in La Kemp, Oklahoma, but in 1917 moved south…
Considering College – Pampa, Texas: A City That Knows Determination
Twelfth in a series on what to look for in college. Pampa, Texas, is the county seat of Gray County in the heart of the Texas Panhandle. Its population of just under 18,000 people is supported by agriculture, ranching, some…
The Middle Class Stretched Thin
In January 2019 the median household income in the United States was $63,688, a 0.3% increase over the December 2018 estimate. The growth rate of the median household income is substantial; however, according to Seeking Alpha, purchasing power for certain…
Demographics Shape Universities
The U.S. birth rate is at its lowest recorded level. Since the 2008 economic recession, fertility rates have decreased by nearly 20%. The population of students for universities to draw from is shrinking. At the same time, the age of…
Why do students go to college?
I will not pretend to know the answer to this question for every individual; however, two ideas are repeatedly reinforced to me. First, students are interested in getting a job. A university that neglects this will falter. Second, students are…
A New World Order in Higher Education
The Nifty Fifty/Fifty Enrollments at universities around the United States are shrinking—down 1.7 and 1.8 percent this year and last. Master’s and comprehensive universities, private liberal arts colleges, rural universities and a multitude of others that are not state flagships,…
Student Parents
“Johnny, have you seen my backpack?” “Mom, I told you to keep track of your school stuff.” My junior year in college, there were approximately one hundred students studying architecture in my class. I remember two of those students were…
Local Universities, Broad Value
There are more than 4,000 postsecondary institutions of higher education in the United States. Of those, more than 400 are regional universities. Regional universities, West Texas A&M University for example, contribute to local economies, cultural and civic life in…
Organizational Trust
[Third in a series written about WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.] Trust is confidence—the reliance on the integrity, strength, ability and security of a person or thing. It enables and creates expectations and hope. Universities that don’t…
Reaching a Region on Handshakes
The majority of college recruiting in the United States is focused on urban and suburban high schools. On the surface, given that approximately 80% of the U.S. population resides in metropolitan regions, it seems a plausible approach. However, the 20%…
The Integration of Military Service and Personal Study
In 1783, New York Governor George Clinton, proposed that in every state at least one public college should train people for entry into military service. In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed into law the Morrill Act that said in part…
Veterans as Students
America’s universities are the best in the world. This is so for many reasons, but primary among them is that we live in a free and open society. Two and one-half centuries of freedom and individual independence have allowed and…
Micromanagement
Originally published March 26, 2013. Slightly updated and worth a second look. Real leadership liberates, never limits: it unleashes people to work with passion. Effective universities recognize that strength in academic programs exists on the ground, with engaged faculty,…
Education and Progress
Eighth in a series on why U.S. Universities are great Pragmatism in U.S. higher education calls for faculty and students to address real problems. Paul Simon, former Illinois Senator and presidential candidate, told me he viewed the Paul Simon Public…
Campus Competition
Fifth in a series on why U.S. Universities are great U.S. universities exist in a highly competitive three-party environment: Public, private not-for-profit and private for-profit universities all share the market. The for-profit sector is not new to the landscape of…
A Personal Reflection for the Season
This reflection was originally published on December 15, 2008. It is worth a second look. Christmas memories are personal, deep and important for me. My family’s New York Christmases with the strong, first generational, influence of Western Europe; Cajun Christmases…
Our Universities: Sowing and Reaping
The best ideas confront common sense with a baseball bat. They defy logic because we cannot see beyond overly simplistic views of how things work. If you give something away it must have little or no value. Right? Wake the…
Our University – 21st Century Institutions
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…
Our University: Reserve Officers’ Training Corps
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…
Our University – 37°42’55.85”N, 89°13’16.01”W, 444.00’
Distinctiveness is the strength of any organization. True at any time, in any place, its importance is magnified when the competitive climate intensifies. We own geographic distinctiveness. The location above, the front steps of the recently renovated Morris Library, is…
Our University- Reach
Reach is the ability of an institution; a family, a university, a seat of commerce, a government to generate impact beyond its home or geographic boundaries. Reach comes from quality. Quality comes from knowledge and insight. Knowledge and insight are…
Our University – Concern and Compassion
Bill and Jan, our friends from Murphysboro, were at the Saluki football game on Saturday last week. Somewhere along the way the excitement and workings of time got to Bill. He had a cardiac arrest. It was serious business, his…
Our University – Building Community
The greatest challenge of any university is building a community. This probably could be said for any enterprise, including towns in Southern Illinois that so many of us call home. Individuals sometimes get things done, communities almost always get things…
Our University and the Creation of a Middle Class
I recently had the opportunity to spend time in Vietnam. For veterans who served “in country” Vietnam is a different place today. It is teeming with free enterprise, the entrepreneurial spirit. New business start-ups are everywhere and there is a…
Our University – Dr. Seymour Bryson
Universities are affected by many forces at work in the environment. Location, student population, faculty composition and a multitude of other factors shape what a university is. On occasion, an individual will come along and join a university, sometimes as…
Our University: Reserve Officers’ Training Corps
The idea of coupling military training and university education originated in 1783. New York Governor George Clinton proposed that civilian colleges, one in each state of the union, offer military training to students. The construct is remarkably similar to…
Our University – Lay Leadership
In places of worship we often think about the importance of lay leadership. No matter how powerful the spiritual leader, how driven by God, how adroit at understanding the business of the organization, how gifted in dealing with people helping…
Our University and the Idea of Accountability
In a great university… this could probably be said for any great organization… individuals must feel responsibility for the future, that it rests on their actions and decisions. This creates a powerful kind of accountability, a deep sense of purpose…
Quality is Our First Job
Wanting our university to grow in stature and importance, because it will be a better friend to our region, is an appropriate and powerful aspiration. There is only one way to do it. Seeking quality, defined and heralded as academic…
Our University – Our Neighborhood
Universities are a particular type of thread in a neighborhood fabric. In cities, neighborhood is a highly local concept, comprising maybe a few blocks, but not so with Southern, nestled between two rivers, and twice that many cultures. Our university…
