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 byā¦
Category Leadership
Student-Athletes
Sixth in a series on the reopening of West Texas A&M University in the midst of COVID-19. Regarding athletics, my goal as a university leader is to support student-athletes, first, and the enterprise of intercollegiate athletics, second. The individual andā¦
Fear and Focus
Fifth in a series on the reopening of West Texas A&M University in the midst of COVID-19. Little is more crippling to an individual or an organization than fear. It petrifies people into indecisiveness. It spawns endless self-doubt that metastasizesā¦
COVID-19 Drives School Choice
Fourth in a series on the reopening of West Texas A&M University in the midst of COVID-19. Itās a shotgun wedding of sortsāfamilies driven to home schooling by a virus. On the planet, 1.5 billion kids are being home-schooled, accordingā¦
Cost/Quality Differentials, Online/On-Campus Study
Third in a series on the reopening of West Texas A&M University in the midst of COVID-19. This reflection represents a collaborative effort with the Executive Vice President and Provost, Dr. Neil Terry, and me to communicate cost and qualityā¦
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 experienceā¦
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 campusāthings such as residential life, classroom and communityā¦
The New Normal
The concept of ānew normalā 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 Westā¦
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 payā¦
The Crisis and Purposeful People
Excellent staff are important at any time in the life of any enterprise. In a crisis, purposeful people, excellent people, allow organizations to thrive. I didnāt say survive because many organizations will whimper out of the COVID-19 doghouse and simplyā¦
Considering College ā McLean, Texas: Institutional Flexibility
Fifteenth in a series on what to look for in college. Charles Spurgeon, the great nineteenth-century preacher and orator rightly observed, āSkillful mariners sail by all winds, and we ought to make progress through all circumstances.ā Like so many communitiesā¦
Considering College – Childress, Texas: Higher Education Is Serious and Personal
Fourteenth in a series on what to look for in college. During the āYour Community, Your Universityā Tours, visits to high schools in the Panhandle and South Plainsādaytime visits while school was in sessionāhad a larger number of students present.ā¦
Considering College ā 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 southā¦
Considering College ā 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, someā¦
Considering College ā Field of Dreams: Gruver, Texas
Eleventh in a series on what to look for in college. Looking for a college? Gruver, Texas, can teach us something. A small but remarkable community in Hansford County, Gruver is home to about 1,200 souls. The community wanted toā¦
Who Are They, and What Do They Want?
This was originally released in September 2014.Ā Given the challenges that universities are facing with the COVID-19 pandemic that may extend well into the future, the times are a barometer of purpose.Ā I walked into a room full ofā¦
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 certainā¦
Agility in Universities
Change in universities, especially those well established and funded through public resources, is a challenge. Yet, as the nature of students changeāand they have changed dramatically, it is incumbent that universities become more flexible, responsive to different types of learners,ā¦
Dual Enrollment ā Is it a good deal?
Dual enrollment, or dual credit, is the process whereby students in high school enroll in college courses that count for both high school and college credit. These programs are heavily subscribed to in various parts of our state and nation.ā¦
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 ofā¦
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 areā¦
Intercollegiate Athletics
No matter the size of the university or college, its mission, its status as public or private, flagship or regional, intercollegiate athletics plays an important role in how the institution is perceived. For almost 150 years, intercollegiate athletics has createdā¦
University Realities for 2020
Universities face issues spawned during the past half-century that will cripple effectiveness if unaddressed. The standing and ranking perception of campuses will always be important. The best campuses will attend to excellence in teaching and scholarly work, affordability and rigorousā¦
Considering College – Pragmatism in the Texas Panhandle and on the South Plains
Ninth in a series on what to look for in college. Seventy percent of college students graduated with debt last yearāon average $30,000. Some will repay that debt with Social Security checks voluntarily or through garnishment. Of Americans over 60,ā¦
Considering College – Geographic Legacy
Eighth in a series on what to look for in college. Borden County School District in Gail, Texas, on the edge of the Caprock Escarpment, is cut in two by the Colorado River. Borden County is the fourth-least populous countyā¦
A New World Order in Higher Education
The Nifty Fifty/Fifty Enrollments at universities around the United States are shrinkingādown 1.7 and 1.8 percent this year and last. Masterās and comprehensive universities, private liberal arts colleges, rural universities and a multitude of others that are not state flagships,ā¦
Considering College ā Politics of People, not Process
Seventh in a series on what to look for in college. Patton Springs ISD in Afton, Texas, had 96 students for the 2017-2018 school year. It is small. It is oldāestablished in 1910, the same year West Texas A&M Universityā¦
Considering College – Families First
Sixth in a series on what to look for in college. Abernathy, Texas, is a small town just west of I-27, an old stop on the Santa Fe when it was the way to get from Lubbock to Amarillo. Itsā¦
Considering College – Where the Hand Meets the Mind
Fifth in a series on what to look for in college. According to The History of the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity to the Present Time, Rabbi Judah said, “He whoĀ teachethĀ not his son aĀ trade,Ā does asĀ ifĀ heĀ taught himĀ to be aĀ thief.ā This proverbialā¦
Considering College – The Centers of the Universe
Fourth in a series on what to look for in college. Cotton Center, one of the smallest independent school districts in the Texas Panhandle or the South Plains, has a total enrollment from pre-k through grade 12 of 100 students.ā¦
Considering College – Clean Restrooms
Second in a series on what to look for in college. Tahoka, Texas, the county seat of Lynn County, is a small town of 3,000 souls. In spirit, it is bigger than the South Plains skies that crown it. Maybeā¦
Considering College – New Home
First in a series on what to look for in a college.Ā Ā What should students and families look for as they consider college? In the coming weeks, insights from the South Plains of Texas will be shared. New Home, Texas,ā¦
A Tale of Two Cities and One University
Buffalo Stadium on the campus of West Texas A&M University SirĀ William HerschelĀ wrote in 1802, āIf, on the contrary, two stars should really be situated very near each other, and at the same time so far insulated as not to beā¦
Summer Graduation 2.0
Posted last year on the occasion of summer graduation. The advice is still sound. West Texas A&M University had its summer graduation last week, as did many universities around the nation. People are always willing to give advice to recentā¦
Student Parents
āJohnny, have you seen my backpack?ā āMom, I told you to keep track of your school stuff.ā My junior year in college, there were approximately one hundred students studying architecture in my class. I remember two of those students wereā¦
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 inā¦
Trouble in Paradise
Corporations, public and private; bureaucracies, large and small; and families, whether two or 100 members, rise and fall based on mission acuity. A few things irrevocably impede mission attainment, and fear of change tops the list. Unwillingness to change –ā¦
Keeping Graduates Close
[Fourth in a series about WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.] Universities desire to keep alumni close by. Graduates are a testimony to an institutionās progress and effectivenessāor not. More Harvard graduates live in Boston than any otherā¦
The Real Problem with Student Debt
While West Texas A&M University and its generational plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World, are the basis for these reflections, the thoughts have value in many settings. Healthy organizations thrive on integrity and transparency. Since the Whiteā¦
WTAMU 2019āA Look Ahead
WTAMU was busy last year, and we look ahead in 2019 with great anticipation. In order to understand our future, it is worthwhile to reflect on our past. The Agricultural Sciences Complex opened on campus, consisting of the Happy Stateā¦
A University and a Way Forward
Universities, like all human organizations, need a passion for purpose coupled to a plan for the future. Without such a commitment, reactionary leadership and management follows. Such passion for purpose and a future grows from an institutionās people, its purposeā¦
Changing Times
As we begin 2019 anyone involved in higher education, student or family member, spouse or friend, high school principal or daycare worker, instructor or president, knows things are changing at universities. Whether a public or private, for-profit or not-for-profit, onlineā¦
Love
Jesus Christ responded to a question from a student regarding the greatest commandment in the Law: āAnd he said to him, āYou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with allā¦
Looking for a University? Four Suggestions
As the new year begins, scores of students and their families will make choices about where to study next fall. Affordability, location and degree offerings should be serious considerations. No one should ever say, āIt is worth it no matterā¦
Why U.S. Universities Are Good
Photo: Paul Engler College of AgricultureĀ and NaturalĀ Sciences WTAMU This reflection was originally published on April 10, 2016. I believe it is worth a second look, and it appears here with only a few modest updates.Ā WVW American universities are theā¦
Teaching First
Originally published on November 30, 2015.Ā As we begin this season of reflection, āTeaching Firstā is worthy of another look as we focus on the first purpose of the university and the importance of staying true to our roots. Forwardā¦
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 partā¦
Scholarships and Student Support
As the cost of college attendance continues to escalate, private support through both need- and merit-based scholarships is more important than ever. The sources for private giving available to students continue to multiply. Last year, in federal grant money alone,ā¦
College Readiness
When colleges are confronted regarding low six-year graduation rates (52% in Texas) and low persistence ratesāthe rate at which freshman continue into the second year of college (about 73% nationally), the immediate response of too many in leadership positions isā¦
Public Confidence in Higher Education
There is a shifting public perception regarding the value of universities both to society in general as a public good, and to individuals as a private good, according to a recent Gallop study. It is sad for me. I haveā¦
Rural Kids in College
Contrary to predispositions, some rural kids do very well in universities. A recent Opportunity Insights Ā study reports that rural students from many areas of the country are as upwardly mobile as their contemporaries from urban or suburban communities. However,ā¦
You, You, You, not Me, Me, Me
An effective leader must do everything within his or her power to create a strong organizational culture. Teamwork, knowledge of process, values shared by all workers, a clear understanding of organizational purpose, and a shared goal of attaining that purposeā¦
New Student Success – Discipline
Photo Credit:Ā In Texas 52.2% of the college students initially enrolled in 2009 had graduated with a bachelorās degree by the year 2015, according to the most recent data available at the Ā Ā National Center for Higher Education Management Systemsā¦
New Student Success – Discipline
In Texas 52.2% of the college students initially enrolled in 2009 had graduated with a bachelorās degree by the year 2015, according to the most recent data available at theĀ National Center for Higher Education Management Systems Information Center. I betā¦
Summer Graduation
West Texas A&M University had its summer graduation last week, as did many universities around the nation. People are always willing to give advice to recent graduates, and I am no exception. Hold on to your hat. Donāt delay payingā¦
Serving Students First
For universities job one is serving students one at a time, but they are not customers.Ā Patients maybe, clients perhaps, hopefully subscribers, but there is no fixed product or performance guarantee. Only hope, and servicing hope requires several basic understandings.ā¦
Treasure Trust, Transparency and Truth
Universities have lost the public trust. Pew, Gallop, and a number of other assemblers of public opinion have studied and reported findings that suggest public trust in Higher Education is eroding. University of Oregon president Michael Schill in a Universityā¦
āā¦Gently Rapping, Rapping at My Chamber Door.ā
This was originally posted March 20, 2016.Ā It is the last summer rerun… The changing student demographics and accompanying changes in expectation from higher education come with no āgentle rapping.āĀ Rather a thunderous pounding that is wished away by manyā¦
How I Spent My Summer Vacation
GraduatesĀ ā In a few months, millions of people like you, full of hope and anticipation, will transition from high school to college. Privilege may have provided engaged deliberative parenting and quality primary and secondary educational opportunities, and you may haveā¦
Universities and Citizenship
A Continued reflection on citizenship from last week. There are significant relationships between education and citizenship. I am, before anything else, a professorāa teacher. I work to provide students the opportunity to learn. For me, this relationship between opportunity asā¦
Veterans as Students
Americaās 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 andā¦
Radical Individualization
On the very best days, the very best universities treat each student distinctively. Universities are in the business of creating, developing and nurturing human capital. This is true when faculty and staff are hired for their unique skill sets toā¦
OJT
Thatās what they used to call it: on-the-job training. In the professional discipline of architecture, it was common for people to become architects by being an apprentice in an architectural office. After 12 years of apprenticeship, a candidate couldā¦
Measures of ExcellenceĀ
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¦
Online or On-Campus?
pinterest.com cdfd802216040079fc70c1e3cb899f3a–young-frankenstein-mad-scientists Every high school and college student, every working professional engaged in continuing education and every educational leader and faculty member will address this question every day: āWhat is the correct mix of face-to-face and online instruction?ā According toā¦
Student Debt:Ā Hard-Nosed Suggestions for Students
Student debt for college is a twisted labyrinth of complexities. Clarity is hard to find. In 2015, two of three student loan balances were less than $25,000. That sounds bearable. The chillingly high debt loads of $100,000 occur in onlyā¦
Higher Education – Turning the Corner on a New Year
āThe American Dream ā¦ is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which theyā¦
The Core of Any College Curriculum
image from The Market of Ideas www.college.columbia.edu. The center of every university experience worth its salt is a grounding in the fundamentals of the human condition. For full and lasting impact on students, it should also be rigorous and challenging.ā¦
Resource Flows – Higher Education
Ā from www.businessinsider.com State funding to universities over the past 50 years has decreased. As one example of this state and national trend, West Texas A&M University received 49% of its total budget from the state treasury in 1968. By 2017,ā¦
Student Debt
image from o-MONEY-facebook.jpg-photos Universities endeavor to transfer the burden of blame to bankers and politicians. Sallie Mae holds almost $200 billion dollars of the debt. Like the housing bubble, much of the student debt problem involves politically driven, unsecured, uncheckedā¦
Moral and Spiritual Growth
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¦
Campus Competition
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¦
No Two Alike
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¦
Effective Bachelorās Degrees
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¦
AAAAABBBBCCDF
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¦
Trump U and You Too
Trump University, not conceived as an educational institution, paid no attention to the sincere aspirations of students.Ā Trump treated it like a real estate venture without real property.Ā He may have thought, āThis is too good to be true.āĀ Heā¦
A Respite
I returned to teaching in SIUās School of Architecture at the conclusion of a six-year contract as Chancellor on July 1, 2007.Ā I began writing columns and posting them to in November 2007.Ā The experience as chancellor prepared meā¦
Teaching ā The Genesis of Reputation
Marc Edwards, MacArthur Fellow, and Charles P. Lunsford Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech, created consternation regarding the polluted water supply of Flint, Michigan by telling the truth.Ā His water research and expertise predicted the lead ladenā¦
A Job
Some colleges and universities show indifference to employment prospects for their graduates, almost callousness, as hoards of students receive degrees, accompanied by too many promissory notes and too few job prospects. Ā Students almost unanimously choose to pursue a particular careerā¦
Students and Institutions Struggle through Change
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¦
A Personal Reflection for the Season
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¦
Standards, Favoritism, and Cronyism
Seventh in a series on university struggles University leadership often genuflects toward personal and institutional survival tolerating the push and pull of āspecial interestsā and cronyism. Putting anything ahead of academic purpose undermines effectiveness and consequently causes universities toā¦
Study Value, Value Study
Sixth Ā in a series on university struggles Study value. In universities, all should speak the truth to one another in spite of political and university leadership relentlessly peddling the idea that any university degree has value. It is clear byā¦
Teaching First
Fifth in a series on university struggles Forward focus is essential.Ā Over the past four decades, many faculty and university leaders have begun to believe that research and scholarly activity are more important than teaching.Ā Graduate assistants, adjunct, and non-tenure-trackā¦
Unprepared: Be Prepared!
Fourth in a series on university struggles Students should work hard, study, and accept responsibility for results.Ā Too many are not prepared. While this is true regarding critical thinking skills, basic mathematical abilities, and reading comprehension, these deficiencies are notā¦
Counting the Costs
Second in a series on university struggles American universities are struggling. Many U.S. universities, public and private, are built on a faulty financial footing. Nearly 50% of U.S. universities are in danger of insolvency without dramatic changes to how theyā¦
Higher Education in America – Struggling
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¦
Leading Learning Laboratory
Organizations train leaders, for better or worse. Various enterprises are hotbeds for positive leadership training: manufacturing, public service, retail, professional services, and universities provide examples. Effective leadership causes people to change their perspective, to do what they otherwise wouldnāt orā¦
Bend or Break
Ā Free community college, whether completely free or only low-cost, is a powerful way for students to reduce the price of a bachelorās degree or expedite entry into the workforce. Governor Bill Haslamās Tennessee Promise has created an enrollment surgeā¦
A Ton of Coal, a Steel Ingot and a V-8
Ā These three disparate items have a common characteristic. They are all produced by people to create profit.Ā If production is halted by a strike corporate profit is diminished.Ā In addition, strikers withholding sweat, and therefore product, may evenā¦
Community College: A Place to Start
College costs and student debt burdens are on the rise.Ā Ā The cost effectiveness of all post secondary education is being scrutinized. President Obama’s plan for free community college is a politically tempting, fiscally irresponsible overreaction to that scrutiny and theā¦
Four Rough Cās
Student life on university campuses should be challenging and rewarding. The honing of the student mind into a unique and individually tailored instrument of thought is a noble aim. That result helps create educated human beings who enhance personal andā¦
Unholy Matrimony
As another school year starts, the flow of resources into universities in support of educational opportunities for students deserves careful assessment. The shuttering of for-profit universities — witness Corinthian Colleges and Anthem Education; the staggering $1.2 trillion in student debt;ā¦
The Big Puzzle
Clinton’s āNew College Compactā a ten-year, $350 billion federal commitment to higher education is appealing to people in universities. It is a detailed plan with many moving parts. To Clintonās credit itās a big picture approach, to solve a bigā¦
Five Not So Easy Pieces
Significant challenges face public higher education and corrective actions are not easy to see. The Republican primary debate last week revealed a few concerns and fewer solutions. Five pieces of the puzzle were evidenced. One — Senator Marco Rubio remindedā¦
Reputation Matters and is Earned Never Given
University reputation determines whether or not students want to study there. The Independent of the United Kingdom conducted a survey of college graduates in Europe, and 62% said it was important for a university to be well-known to create betterā¦
