Leadership – who is a leader, how one becomes a leader, how one learns to be a better leader – is an ongoing topic of discussion at my college, with colleagues, and across higher education. Institutions of higher education only improve through effective leadership. There simply aren’t enough generalized organizing factors that can promote institutional…
Author: David Potash
Does Reading a Good Book Make You Better? Learning From Librarians
James LaRue, librarian and head of the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, gave a short talk at Dominican University recently (the 22nd Annual McCcusker Memorial Lecture). I attended – and as a non-librarian, I was informed and encouraged by the important work that public libraries are doing to secure and strengthen public space…
College and After
Jeffrey Seligno is one of the most well-read and influential journalists of higher education. His first two books, College (Un) bound and MOOC U, were popular and well-reviewed. An editor at the Chronicle of Higher Education for several years, Seligno’s work has appeared in newspapers, magazines, and on television. He is an extremely effective when it…
Numbers Can’t Tell The Whole Story
We’ve all seen a lot about student debt of late: the massive numbers, and the challenges that students and their families face. It’s on television, the web, traditional media and in our collective zeitgeist. Student debt is everywhere – and it is poorly understood. A recent book does a fantastic job shining a light on…
Men of Color and the Community College
When higher education thinks about better and best practices in supporting student completion, the academy knows what moves the needle. High impact practices, such as learning communities and writing-intensive courses, always help. Strong academic and student services supports always make a difference. For students of lesser means, enhanced financial support and wrap-around can aid retention…
The Great Mistake?
Sometimes things don’t work out because they are difficult or complicated. Sometimes they fail because of error or mistakes. And sometimes they don’t succeed because there isn’t interest or support. Christopher Newfield is a professor of English at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a leading scholar of universities. He oversees a really interesting…
Janesville: Tragedy of a Different Sort
Classic tragedy follows a set structure: a hero advances and is then brought to ruin through a tragic flaw. For those of us in the audience, we witness, we engage, and we learn. But when it comes to an economic tragedy, with its heartache, sorrow, and all manner of challenges and conflict, the rules of…