Previously published but updated here as the council is still worthwhile. High School Graduates — In a few months, millions of people like you, full of hope and anticipation, will transition from high school to college. Privilege may have provided…
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 – not to be…
As we begin the holiday season, a time of thanksgiving for many, even in the midst of trepidation and gloom, thoughtful people will look ahead. Choices regarding college attendance in the spring are more important than ever before. A few…
We create false dichotomies. “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop; idle lips are his mouthpiece,” from the Book of Proverbs. At 14 years old in 1964, I heard, “Idle hands…
This reflection was originally published on December 15, 2008. It is worth a second look. Christmas memories are personal, deep and important for me. My family’s New York Christmases with the strong, first generational, influence of Western Europe; Cajun Christmases…
In the best cases, technical education is not just training. In the worst cases, training in literature, history, and mathematics is not always education. Oversimplifications do injustice to both pursuits. “If you want to teach people a new way of…
Dear Graduating Senior, I must beg your pardon for a somber reflection amidst the joy of your accomplishment: not to be a wet rag on the festivities of graduation, but to shine a light on the realities of post-secondary education.…
People are concerned about community colleges. Faculty and administrators at some universities see the two-year institutions as competition. Others look down their noses at transfer students. But we better quit grousing about it and address the real issue. Students enrolled…
Well-meaning faculty members, university leaders, and groups of students and parents have always found that the most navigable and widely paved path to address increasing costs leads straight to the state house. That mindless “hair-of-the-dog” economic thinking is antiquated. And,…
Third in a series on state funding for higher education Addressing how the Monetary Assistance Program (MAP) is affecting the students of Illinois, the IBHE Task Force observed: The first issue is the increasing demand for financial aid. More students…
A shared vision for a university energizes people. Students must be partners in that vision casting process because theirs is the most fundamental experience that defines whether we have succeeded as an educational institution, and, more importantly to institutions in…
Sixth in a series of who our students are and how they perform. Quality transfer students can bring positive characteristics to the university, not the least of which is a willingness to work. Avril Thorne, Professor of Psychology at U.C.…
