The only result of whining is to push people with purpose from addressing real problems. The tendency to whining and complaining may be taken as the surest sign symptom of little souls and inferior intellects. Lord Jeffrey ___________________________________________________________________ Recently theā¦
Universities need to change over time.Ā Change comes from leadership, as organizations resist it by nature. Interim Chancellor Robert Easter, who oversees the Urbana-Champaign campus, praised the program’s “long and prestigious history as a leader in aviation education” but saidā¦
The words of the popular early twentieth century song Iām Forever Blowing Bubbles may reflect the spirit of the challenges in the housing and education sectors of the U.S. economy better than most twenty-first century economists – I’m dreaming dreams,ā¦
University leaders who politicize intention and talk about public benefit and public purpose as primary mission show a complete lack of understanding of institutions and learning in a free market.Ā We exist to tirelessly serve students. Here is an inconvenientā¦
Geraldine Fabricant of The New York Times reports in a November 15th story, āAs Donors Retrench, Challenges for Universitiesā, that university fundraising efforts may be in for tough times. In 2009, donations fell by almost 12% nationally.Ā Most unfortunate inā¦
Leadership is primarily a fiduciary action. A fiduciary is charged with giving priority to the interests of others over self in a way that engenders and protects trust. Frequently the idea is associated with fiscal affairs and legal perspectives.Ā Surelyā¦
People donāt like the concept of downsizing.Ā A few years ago management experts were talking about āright-sizingā as an alternative concept. Organizations always serve best when they serve most efficiently. One way to create efficiency is to make sure thatā¦
Not one stone will remain unturned in a nationwide effort to reduce operating costs, tuition and fees over the next few years for all public and private universities.Ā American ingenuity coupled with a deep, abiding pragmatism suggests this crisis ofā¦
In any organization, when times are tough, there is a natural tendency for people to find someone, or something, to blame.Ā I used to work with a fellow who taught juniors in the program.Ā He always complained about the qualityā¦
Universities across the nation are facing some of the toughest times imaginable. In Atlanta, Georgia Tech is talking about cutting research according to Jim Kirk, the budget director.Ā Cut research at Georgia Tech?Ā The place may be losing its way.Ā ā¦
For all of the bad news about Illinois politicians and their appointees, pay for play, rigged bidding and contract decision making, favoritism, patronage, back room dealing, sinecure, influence peddling, and plain old back scratching, I have become very fond ofā¦
As the eternal optimist, I have pondered the lessons available from watching the national response to the economic challenges that we face, and how some instruction or, should providence smile on us, some wisdom might be valuable for our university.Ā ā¦
I have previously commented on the various ways that families can reduce the cost of attending university.Ā In my own case, I attended a community college and completed my AAS degree earning 70 hoursā¦ almost all of which transferred toā¦
It is that season of the year, when the smell of turkey and Christmas tress is in the air.Ā It is that time of year when finals occur.Ā I really have never liked to think of final exams as final.Ā ā¦
When Mary and I go out to eat we always decide where we are going before we leave.Ā Sometimes we even talk about it on the phone before I get to the house.Ā In other words, this is not aā¦
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¦
You may have heard the old adage; the value of real estate is determined by three factors, location, location, and location. Here is a twist as we think about our university; the quality of the university is determined by threeā¦
The greatest example of a beneficial public-private partnership in our nation is public higher education.Ā Any student of history knows the key to glory in our republic is the balance between the private lives of citizens and their support ofā¦
Everywhere you look you hear about the high cost of college. You see it in this newspaper, the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, and the Houston Chronicle. Costs are going up at a rate that exceeds inflation here andā¦
