Blogs

For a while now, I've been struggling with the concept of sustainability. (That's not good, since moving the campus and the institution in a sustainable direction is what Greenback U is paying me to do.) When I first got started in this job, I had a clear idea of what sustainability entailed. The problem was global warming/climate change. The solution was greenhouse gas reduction. The job was to move Greenback towards lower and lower GHG emissions, so that it (and hundreds of its closest friends) could serve as models for the rest of Western Civilization. But over the past five years or so, I've qualified and modified that understanding to the point that, at present, it seems to me that GHG emissions are but one aspect of the sustainability mess we're in, and probably not the one to emphasize.

There is strong desire for more information, transparency, and especially nuanced analysis about the emerging landscape of global higher education and research. If we just ‘do’ then we miss opportunities to learn along the way, and help educated ourselves and interested others.

Almost two hundred people watch my poetry lectures now. It's a very global group.

What can we learn about innovation in higher ed from the electric car?

We had the honor of hosting an A-list panel of education entrepreneurs as part of our Strategy and Competition in Higher Education class last week to discuss new entrants to the higher education industry. We had a lively discussion, bookended by two questions, one present and one future: what have been the biggest industry changes? And what ought traditional institutions be wary of in the future?

What if we only worked 40 hours a week in higher education?

Professional service is one of the many elements of becoming a professional that many graduate students don't consider to be an important component of graduate school. It often slides under the radar, somewhere well below writing, research, and teaching. While almost all students understand the importance of joining professional organizations, attending conferences, and presenting at those conferences, few take their involvement beyond that step. However, there are many different ways to be involved in your professional organization, and a number of important reasons to do so. Many graduate students don't know how to become involved, or what options for student involvement exist. And, like anything else, taking on service responsibilities has its drawbacks.

The Big Bang Theory and the Republican Primary have more in common than one might think. The comedy follows a Caltech particle physicist’s pathetic attempts to deal with the irrational world around him. The fictional physicist, Sheldon Cooper, is pure. He wishes only to understand the physical order of the universe without the messy passions that pollute other people’s lives.