About
About this site
You will find on this site weekly articles that appear in newspapers in the Texas Panhandle and beyond. I began writing in 2007 and over 600 reflections are posted on this webpage. A few of them are fairly good, I will leave it to you to judge the rest. The early posts were written while on the architecture faculty at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
The columns express ideas and views of the power of higher education and its impact on society. These are intended to comment on how universities work and the value they bring to individuals and the larger community – musings intended to cause reflective thought about our nation’s universities.
Thank you for taking the time to visit.
I share this simple thought:
Governments cannot make universities by enactments of laws: Nor corporations by erections of edifices: The church cannot create them under the authority of heaven: The flattering eulogies of orators cannot adorn them with learning: Newspapers cannot puff them into being. Learned men-scholars- these are the only workmen who can build up universities. Provide charters and endowments- the necessary protection and capital – provide books and apparatus- the necessary tools: Then seek out sufficient scholars, and leave them to their work, as the intellectual engineers who alone are competent to do it.
–Henry P. Tappan (1805-1881) President, University of Michigan 1858, lecture, Christian Library Association 22 June, quoted in Richard Hofstadter and William Smith (eds.) American Higher Education: A Documentary History Volume II 1961, p. 519
Last updated January 2022
Recent Posts
Tenth and final in a series on the Texas Triangles. Rural contributions significantly affect a state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), though the …
Ninth in a series on the Texas Triangles. Texas is two states. The Megaregion Triangle is defined by the area between DFW, …
Eighth in a series on the Texas Triangles. “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money,” …
Seventh in a series on the Texas Triangles. More than a campus, a catalyst. Location plays a significant role in college attendance. …
Sixth in a series on the Texas Triangles. Drawing lines from Dallas to San Antonio to Houston forms the Megaregion Triangle while …
Fifth in a series on the Texas Triangles (Co-Authored by Mark Bivins and Walter V. Wendler). Museums are important to all regions …
The Power of One Triangle Fourth in a series on the Texas Triangles. The Texas Panhandle is rich and complex, shaped by …
Third in a series on the Texas Triangles. Texas faces significant healthcare access disparities between its rural and urban communities. According to …
Second in a series on the Texas Triangles. Water has been crucial in shaping U.S. culture, history and economic progress. Before European …
Originally published in the Dallas Morning News on March 18, 2025. Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law Texas SB17 in 2023, closing …
