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 whoā¦
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 theā¦
Ā 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 inā¦
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 renovatedā¦
The Hechinger Report recently published a piece regarding rural college students feeling āoverwhelmed on big campuses.ā California State University, Chico is targeting rural students and working diligently to address their needs. A worthy and noble effort to be sure, butā¦
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 Itā: Resistance to Change in Higher Education.ā Rosenberg says universitiesā¦
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 byā¦
The following reflection is one of six focusing on the importance of university research initially posted a decade ago. The following, modified modestly here, appeared on December 18, 2012. Fifth in a Series on Research Research and scholarly work atā¦
Above, speaking to students at Randall High School.Ā I will resume the reflections on university research next week. University leaders are required to make bold and innovative decisions. Never has innovation in higher education been needed more. However, ideas areā¦
The following reflection is the second of six pieces focusing on the importance of university research. This series was initially posted a decade ago. The following, modified modestly here, appeared on November 27, 2012. Second in a Series on Researchā¦
Rural folks produce the food, fuel and fiber that powers our state and nation. Texas dwarfs all other states in the nation in the number of beef cows produced, with over 4.6 million. Texas ranks fourth nationally in milk production,ā¦
Sixth in a series of reflections on student life at West Texas A&M University. Historically, leadership was naturally developed in the home. Families had a built-in leadership structure. As the family structures have broken down, natural leadership factories have alsoā¦
First in a series of reflections on student life at West Texas A&M University. The core function of any University is to satisfy student aspirations for a rewarding professional and personal life. As University leaders, we recognize there is noā¦
Ā 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 growsā¦
Fourth in a series on student educational debt. This column was penned in August 2008āit is slightly modified here. It was a reasonable observation then. It has more weight a decade and a half later as the increasing debt burdensā¦
Third in a series on student educational debt. While indebtedness for a college education can be debilitating for many, it can be especially crippling to single parents. For instance, one 48-year-old single mom has a cumulative debt of $430,000 forā¦
Originally published December 11, 2011, in the Chicago Tribuneāslight modifications have been made. As we start the school year, amid a storm of moral relativism, fear and doubt, this may be as appropriate for the autumn and the start ofā¦
Previously published but updated here as the council is still worthwhile.Ā High School Graduates 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 providedā¦
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 ā not to beā¦
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 Soulā¦
As the impact of COVID-19 grows with corresponding actions that limited or halted face-to-face instruction in public schools across the nation and world, many parents opted into homeschooling. Homeschooling is not a new phenomenon in America, but the trend acceleratedā¦
West Texas A&M University will host a virtual graduation in December ā 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 willā¦
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¦
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¦
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¦
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 ofā¦
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¦
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¦
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¦
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¦
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¦
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¦
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¦
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¦
There are multiple views of the university and its purpose. Uncle Johnny remembers fraternity parties, the āgentlemanās Cā and leisurely student life as the be-all and end-all. Aunt Susie reminisces of working 40 or 50 hours a week on topā¦
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¦
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¦
If five people go into the same Ford dealership and buy an F150, each will pay a different price. The cost of the new vehicle will be determined by the buyerās ability to negotiate, the salesperson, color, options, trade-in, interestā¦
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¦
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¦
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¦
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¦
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¦
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¦
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¦
The ability of our university to reach full potential and to engender in students a concentrated and powerful academic experience rests with the nature of the campus as a place to live, as well as a place to study. Ideally,ā¦
Campus evokes strong memories for graduates. The word was first used in the United States to describe the ground Princeton University occupied. In a letter Charles C. Beatty 1775 wrote to his brother-in-law Enoch Green 1760 on January 31, 1774:ā¦
Creating a strong sense of community for students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends is crucial to building a strong university. There are many avenues through which communities are built, but one that is undeniably powerful for public research universities isā¦
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 academicā¦
Universities are a particular type of thread in a neighborhood fabric. In cities, neighborhood is a highly local concept, comprising maybeĀ a few blocks, but not so with Southern, nestled between two rivers, and twice that many cultures. Our universityā¦
I came to work one morning last week and noticed a policeman raising a flag. For those of you who donāt know our campus, this was a surprise because Robert Reid raised and lowered the campus flags every day. Anā¦
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
