Confessions of a Community College Dean
In which a veteran of cultural studies seminars in the 1990s moves into academic administration and finds himself a married suburban father of two. Foucault, plus lawn care.
In which a veteran of cultural studies seminars in the 1990s moves into academic administration and finds himself a married suburban father of two. Foucault, plus lawn care.
March 6, 2011 - 10:22pm
In a recent discussion with a very highly-placed political figure, I heard something disturbing. We were talking about the series of cuts that public higher ed has taken over the last few years, and why it seems like the legislature keeps coming back for more. He mentioned that he has had some candid discussions with legislators, and this is what they told him:
Comments
March 3, 2011 - 10:21pm
A new correspondent writes with a doozy:
March 2, 2011 - 11:03pm
Having entirely too much plane time to think it over, a couple of ideas from the League conference have stuck in my craw.
They're both examples of basically good ideas – or at least well-intended ones – gone horribly wrong. The snowballing process is remarkably hard to stop.
The first is the gradual accretion of levels of remediation at community colleges. I'll address that one in a subsequent post of its own.
The second is rampant “reserves” growth at California community colleges.
March 1, 2011 - 10:02pm
The theme today seemed to be generational change, but in a good way; instead of the hand-wringing about leadership crises that I heard two years ago, this time there was much more of a sense of embracing new possibilities. Granted, those possibilities are emerging against a crippling economic backdrop, but hell, we Gen X’ers know all about that. If anyone can handle it, we can.
Day 3 highlights:
March 1, 2011 - 4:39am
Dear reader, I attended six presentations at the League for Innovation conference yesterday, so you didn’t have to. The highlight reel:
-- Abstract flow charts have to go. I honestly don’t understand what people think they achieve. “Culture” arrow to “Behavior” arrow to “Beliefs” arrow to “Culture.” To me, it just looks like a flashing neon sign that says I HAVE NOTHING TO SAY.
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