A recent commentary in the Chronicle of Higher Education, a trade publication for university personnel, says that a ātyranny of metricsā undermines higher education.Ā The thought has enough truth in it to command attention. Yes, a metric focused environment mightā¦
We create false dichotomies. āAll work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.ā āIdle hands are the devilās workshop; idle lips are his mouthpiece,ā from the Book of Proverbs. At 14 years old in 1964, I heard, āIdle handsā¦
In the United States, a significant number of undergraduates continue their education to obtain graduate degrees. Of the 1.8 million undergraduates in 2014, 750,000 pursued and earned masterās degrees and over 50,000 earned PhDs (not including professional doctorates such asā¦
Ā Image from The Prairie News Every spring, countless families from across the nation make determinations about where students will live while attending college. Four-year institutions require one or two years of campus residency for new college students. Exceptions forā¦
Ā Downtown Canyon, Homecoming, From the WT Archives Communities and the universities they host are married to each other. When one partner grows and prospers, so does the other. This has been true for a long time. In European universitiesā¦
Buff Courts under constructionĀ WT Archives Campuses are places. The idea of a campus, and its nature, is central to what a university is. āIn a letter Charles C. Beatty (Graduated 1775) wrote to his brother-in-law Enoch Green (Graduated 1760)ā¦
Final installment in a series on why U.S. Universities are great Considerations beyond standardized test scores and high school GPAs, the rule in many nations, are common in admissions processes at U. S. institutions. Holistic admissions, when properly managed andā¦
Ninth in a series on why U.S. Universities are great āEducation without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.ā — C.S. Lewis U.S. universities, until the time of the Morrill Act ofā¦
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 Publicā¦
Sixth in a series on why U.S. Universities are great Only religious organizations benefit from American philanthropy more than universities. The causes for this are manifold, but the effect is that universities have become excellent because of philanthropy.Ā Generosity ceasesā¦
Fifth in a series on why U.S. Universities are great U.S. universities exist in a highly competitive three-party environment:Ā Public, private not-for-profit and private for-profit universities all share the market. The for-profit sector is not new to the landscape ofā¦
Third in a series on why U.S. Universities are great U.S. universities have traditionally held to the concept of mission differentiation.Ā Clark Kerr, former president of the University of California, cemented this idea into state policy through the 1960 Californiaā¦
Second in a series on why U.S. Universities are great Columbia Universityās 1880 core curricula required a general understanding of the human condition.Ā Coupled with training in specific disciplines it was the Holy Grail for U.S. universities.Ā It may beā¦
Of all the grades given at U. S. universities in 2013 — I know they all canāt be earned, so many must be given:Ā a gift or show of appreciation for the ever escalating tuition and fees?Ā The title saysā¦
Ā Tenth and final in a series on university struggles Human nature is human nature to be sure, but Students of the 21st century are not students of the 20th century.Ā Educational models from 50 to 75 years ago donātā¦
Eighth in a series on university struggles The welfare of the city that hosts a university campus is married to institutional progress.Ā Universities are becoming āgo toā economic development agents based on the number of people hired, the toilet paperā¦
This reflection was originally published on December 15, 2008.Ā It is worth a second look. Christmas memories are personal, deep and important for me. My familyās New York Christmases with the strong, first generational, influence of Western Europe; Cajun Christmasesā¦
American universities are struggling. Rethinking purpose, attention to mission, and refreshed understanding of value are required.Ā Ā Ten forces at work on higher education will be addressed in the coming months. One ā A foolish man builds his house on aā¦
This commentary was published five years ago. Current discussions regarding standardized tests make it worth a second look. It has been tuned up. ACT: For many, these three letters spell something that happens in front of an audience or televisionā¦
The strike and campus closure by faculty at Rock Valley College last week emphasizes the incongruous nature of faculty unions. A contract is a binding agreement between two people or organizations that, when signed, is enforceable by law according toā¦
The doom and gloom of Steven Strahlerās predictions regarding Illinoisā public universities in Crainās is real. Universities in Illinois must change. Politicians, unions, campus leaders, faculty and boards have watched a precipitous decline in effectiveness as they cling to theā¦
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 every corner of the hierarchy. Numerous excusesā¦
Universities impact regional economies. In rural areas where economic diversity is scant, the impact is greatest.Ā Economic growth follows four forces. A Labor Force Universities require workers of every stripe, and the jobs needed are one aspect of economic development.ā¦
Illinois State Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, started a discussion with SB1565 that could return the prestige of the higher education enterprise to one of the best in the nation. The not-ready-for-prime-time proposal calls for a conversion of universities to aā¦
The crust of the biscuit, the place where the rubber hits the road, the lick log in learning, is the exercise of free will that breeds personal responsibility.Ā Ā And nurturing responsibility in its manifold dimensions is the purpose of aā¦
Last week at UCLA, a student government committee disturbingly attempted to bar a student from a spot on the Judicial Board.Ā Her transgression?Ā She is a Jew, which might create a conflict of interest.Ā The Daily Bruin got it right:Ā ā¦
“Students from high-income families are considerably more likely than students from low income families to earn a college degree.”Ā So says a Higher Education Equity report. That’s not my bias, but an incontrovertible fact.Ā My bias is that crime andā¦
An old friend of mine asked me the other day, āWhat portion of the accumulated student debt was for educational endeavors?ā Ā He worked on a campus for a long time, not as a faculty or administrator but as a publicā¦
Given renewed interest in federal performance measures (ratings) for universities evidenced byĀ last week’sĀ announcements, this reflection of August 21, 2012 is worth a second look.Ā So are the Department of Educationās pronouncements:Ā No two universities are the same. No universityā¦
Inspired by a recent visit to Seoul National University and Yonsei University in South Korea. In order for a university to create positive economic and social value it must serve the community and region where it is located.Ā However, whenā¦
Seventh and final in the IMTE series A reflection on October 6, āIām Mad, too, Eddie,ā (IMTE) claimed that minority points of view are swept under the rug and labeled as intolerant.Ā Mayor Michael Bloomberg, speaking at Harvardās commencement, wasā¦
Fifth in the IMTE series My reflection on October 6, āIām Mad, too, Eddie,ā (IMTE) suggested that admissions offices accept students without basic skills or diminish standards and dole out scholarships to enhance enrollment. Last week Rose ā Hulman Instituteā¦
Fourth in the IMTE series My reflection on October 6, āIām Mad, too, Eddie,ā (IMTE) suggested that university leadership appears to react slowly or not at all to athletics problems. The nearly 400,000 students that participate in intercollegiate athletics programsā¦
Third in the IMTE seriesĀ My reflection on October 6, āIām Mad, too, Eddie,ā (IMTE) suggested that university leadership appears to operate without a moral compass. Of course it does appear to be so, because, too frequently, it is so.ā¦
SecondĀ in the IMTE seriesĀ I have a friend, an attorney, who, in response to my column last week, āI’m Mad, too, Eddie,ā (IMTE) said, āComplaining is the easy part but the solutions, now that’s another matter, and never easy.ā Iā¦
I am a sap. I like college football. I believe football and other team sports create reasonable rivalries and help bind people together who are committed to being members of a campus community. When my band plays my school songā¦
I know I will be accused of being old fashioned and out of touch with reality and if so I admit it, but here it is.Ā The position of a university regarding sexual crimes, a growing campus concern, should beā¦
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.Ā No bureaucracy in public service or private enterprise ever starts out as anything but a step towards fairness and excellence.Ā Yet, time and power jointly contrive to pollute legitimate ordering principles.Ā ā¦
Retirement systems that devalue the contribution of people, or constrain meaningful participation in post retirement work are dysfunctional, costly, and shortsighted.Ā In universities, it is essential that valuable experience be put to best use for as long as possible toā¦
Good universities provide economic growth by pursuing their primary purpose: Universities must cultivate the human spirit and, simultaneously, build the capacity of the mind with a challenging academic environment.Ā Positive growth always follows. āOnly when the human spirit is allowedā¦
Fifth in a series on Corporate Cultureā¦ Where we work shapes us, our work, and those we work with. Ā Places create culture. āI like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to seeā¦
Standardized measures never capture the essence of anything, although they provide dimensions: length, width, and depth ā descriptions — but not essence.Ā Tests, grades, and performance measures devoid of dreams and desires are gibberish. Measures are frail rhetoric and detrimentalā¦
Increasing college costs and decreasing employment opportunity have produced an avalanche of studies regarding the value of college degrees. Sometimes more information is not better. A āback to basicsā understanding would be valuable to all. āNowadays people know the priceā¦
Tradition and business-as-usual are flywheels that dampen irregularity and reduce āvibrationā in decision-making and organizational action. However, too much of a good thing can smother innovation, risk taking, responsiveness, and agility. “Progress is a nice word. But change is itsā¦
Finding the right college to fit individual needs is critical, and one size does not fit all. Only thoughtful personal consideration should guide decision making. However, some issues cannot be overlooked. “The college search doesn’t have to begin and endā¦
Tenth in the series, Follow the money From Boston to Austin and Oxford, Mississippi, to West Lafayette, Indiana, big and small, prosperous or starving, universities are married to communities, for better or worse. When one hurts, both do. āThe relationshipā¦
Seventh in the series, Follow the money A campus is more than buildings, but nothing without them. An Internet address? Maybe. Campus buildings, monuments, stadiums, digs and castles, are worth little without collected cultural, scientific and artistic insight and aā¦
University systems are political organizations. Universities are academic organizations. The two coexist symbiotically only with determined leadership. In a speech opening the legislative session, House Speaker Dean Cannon said Floridaās public university system is āracing toward the middle,ā a hodgepodgeā¦
Universities are defined by their traditions. They can take many forms, some positive, and some negative, but all communities have traditions shaped by citizens who reside there, and a university is a community. Traditions cannot be regulated or imposed, butā¦
Competition for ideas is unlike competition for anything else.Ā If we compete to harvest the most gold, we find a limited supply.Ā Fastest person, physiology sets in.Ā Universities should compete for ideas, and those ideas will generate new resources. Weā¦
Well-meaning faculty members, university leaders, and groups of students and parents have always found that the most navigable and widely paved path to address increasing costs leads straight to the state house. That mindless āhair-of-the-dogā economic thinking is antiquated. And,ā¦
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 theā¦
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 firstā¦
Each personās 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 toā¦
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.ā¦
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 givesā¦
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.Ā James Clerk Maxwell, the 19th century Scottishā¦
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.Ā And while a few million dollars is a pittance to a large researchā¦
Universities have a duty to help create a more effective republic.Ā 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.Ā Inā¦
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 retainā¦
Second in a series on who our students are and how they perform. Great universities help people come into their own.Ā Intellectual, spiritual, emotional, and moral development is always a personal matter but good learning environments are catalysts for theā¦
The season and current events cause me to offer this slightly modified piece originally published on July 11, 2008.Ā The importance and value of voluntary military training in universities cannot be argued, nor can the interdependence in mission of aā¦
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.Ā Democracy is itself, a religious faith. For some it comes close to beingā¦
Universities across the nation are rushing to ābrandā themselves.Ā There is the āD+ā branding idea at Drake, the genius of a high priced expert no doubt.Ā An unfortunate choice for a university identifier. I know. Ā I received a D+ oneā¦
Seven in a series on integrity The fundamental purpose of the university, its reason for being, is to change the way people think.Ā This sounds torturous but it is the root of what universities do.Ā In order to fulfill thatā¦
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.Ā Good point, but first impressions mayā¦
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.Ā Even moreā¦
There are hundreds of institutions in the United States recognized today as universities that were called āteachers collegesā a half century ago. Ā As these institutions grew and developed diverse areas of study the title āuniversityā was deemed more appropriate. Noā¦
Third in a series of thoughts regarding the intersection of faith and reason in university life. Knife edges are the places where greatness lives in organizations.Ā The sides of a knife donāt cut, but the well whetted edge of aā¦
Second in a series of thoughts regarding the intersection of faith and reason in university life. The expression of a faith perspective is critical to moral and intellectual development of students, yet adherence to one particular view at a publicā¦
First in a series of thoughts regarding the intersection of faith and reason in university life. I am a Christian.Ā I hold faith, founded on principles laid out in the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible, which Iā¦
Adjacencies in architecture are those relationships between the various parts of building that are critical to its success.Ā For example, the living and dining rooms in typical home design have a high degree of adjacency. Ā The rooms support each otherā¦
My friend goes to Jamaica for vacation every few years.Ā Jamaica is a poor island nation, the third most populous nation in North America after the United States and Canada.Ā Bob Marley may be its most famous native son. Whenā¦
All universities have histories.Ā Some aspects of those collected histories are powerful while some are minor nuances of institutional life.Ā Look at the impact of the shootings at the University of Texas on August 1, 1966, at Kent State onā¦
I was reading a piece about the āBig Danceā and how important it is to a university.Ā For the uninitiated few, the Big Dance is the annual NCAA basketball tournament that some feel will boost college enrollments, solve fiscal problems,ā¦
Ā Clarion-calls for rights of every stripe fill the air on our university campuses across the nation.Ā This is as it should be.Ā There are those demanding the rights for the pregnant mother, and rights for the unborn, rights forā¦
There is a cloister of monks that makes wooden bowls from green, uncured lumber.Ā The bowls are very beautiful but they immediately begin to crack as the wood dries out and shrinks as wood is prone to do.Ā This isā¦
I know I am trouble already with that title, but hear me out.Ā For all the discourse about universities being like businesses, they are not run in a business-like fashion. Great businesses run on the nexus of merit, productivity andā¦
The concept of āthe Ivory Towerā is used in a negative sense when referring to universities to indicate a separation from reality and the practical concerns of the world. āIvory Towerā first appears in the Song of Solomon 7:4, butā¦
In the study of architecture at any university there are always a few courses on professional practice.Ā They are required by accrediting agencies, but that burden is of little consequence.Ā Ā Practitioners want the discipline to flourish; therefore standards of behaviorā¦
The struggles of a university are not the subject of these thoughts. That would be too easy. The struggles are many, not unique, frequently self-inflicted, and reflective of the environment. Universities are members of a family of similar institutions.Ā Theā¦
Diversity is a catalyst for strength.Ā There is a great deal of discussion at our university, as there is on other campuses, about diversity and its importance to the campus culture.Ā This dialog is usually viewed through the lens ofā¦
Distinctiveness is the strength of any organization.Ā True at any time, in any place, its importance is magnified when the competitive climate intensifies.Ā We own geographic distinctiveness.Ā The location above, the front steps of the recently renovated Morris Library, isā¦
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.Ā Reach comes from quality.Ā Quality comes from knowledge and insight.Ā Knowledge and insight areā¦
Barbara Bush acknowledged a number of years ago, possibly when First Lady, what she believed was the most pressing problem in America. āGreed.ā We have heard a great deal about greed on Wall Street.Ā Bankers who want to makeā¦
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.Ā He had a cardiac arrest.Ā It was serious business, hisā¦
The greatest challenge of any university is building a community.Ā 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 thingsā¦
Calcification is what happens to soft tissue when it is taken over by calcium.Ā It gets hard. It is no longer resilient.Ā It becomes immobile. And eventually, it cannot work or act the way it was intended to.Ā While Iā¦
Ā Ā St. Paul was a brave man.Ā He summed up the purpose of the Christian Church in ten words uttered to the Church at Corinth: Ā āBe imitators of me, as I also am of Christ.ā Ā The simplicityā¦
Any good university is concerned first and foremost, now and always, with academic excellence.Ā That is our purpose. 128 university presidents signed onto The Amethyst Initiative, a recent effort suggesting the drinking age should be lowered to 18. The primaryā¦
I recently had the opportunity to spend time in Vietnam.Ā For veterans who served “in countryā Vietnam is a different place today.Ā It is teeming with free enterprise, the entrepreneurial spirit.Ā New business start-ups are everywhere and there is aā¦
Universities are affected by many forces at work in the environment.Ā 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 asā¦
Ā Ā 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.Ā The construct is remarkably similar toā¦
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 helpingā¦
There are many perspectives that you can take of our university, ways to see it, ways to engage it, ways to experience it. I have had, over the years, a number of opportunities to talk with parents of students. Theyā¦
In a great universityā¦ this could probably be said for any great organizationā¦ 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 purposeā¦
