Opinion

A new correspondent writes: "Is there any hope for getting my university to expand its commitment to my admittedly esoteric discipline? My classes are popular and pique students' curiosity, but they have to go to another institution to study it more. Is there an appropriate way to bring that popularity to the administration's attention?"

Our ed tech community should offer our full support to both Chuck Severance and Blackboard on his ascension to Blackboard's Sakai Strategist. In his role at Blackboard, Chuck will maintain his faculty appointment at the University of Michigan as a Clinical Associate Professor of Information in the School of Information. Blackboard will support his consulting, research, and summer salary - but my understanding of the relationship is that Chuck will retain a high degree of autonomy and discretion.

My Grandma Katie used to send out weekly postcards to my family. She would type them on her typewriter and tell us about her week. When dial-up internet became available, my Grandma, then in her mid-70s was able to get online via the slowest computer I have ever had the pleasure of using. She would send out regular emails to her grandchildren. Her connection was as slow as her computer, but she thoroughly loved being able to connect using what was at the time -- super fast, super new technology.

Marketing is everywhere and everyone is a marketer. Each encounter with others – the way people answer the phone, the tone of your website, what the school tweets, the ease of doing business with the registrar’s office, how faculty interact with students, how you speak with the press, or how the institution hosts a reunion -- is a marketing encounter. And every encounter is an opportunity to reinforce what the institution stands for.

According to a recent study by the city of Copenhagen, Denmark, if you ride your bike for a mile you contribute about 42 cents to the overall economy. By contrast, each mile you drive your car costs society about 20 cents. Combine the two, and driving has a net social cost of about 62 cents per mile compared to bicycling.

Chief of staff and executive vice president positions can help presidents -- or separate them from the people and information they need, writes Patrick Sanaghan.

A new correspondent writes: "I work at a comprehensive community college. The president has announced his retirement and a search committee is being formed. Several of the faculty and staff have mentioned nominating a candidate who might be a great fit for the position, but he has no graduate degree and limited direct experience in higher education."