Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow is an important book, well deserving of its Wikipedia page. Kahneman, along with his late partner Amos Tversky, won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences even though the pair are psychologists. They have a genius for creative experimentation. The book is a high-level summation of their research, along with…
Category: Deanspeak
Posts about the wide realm of higher education from a deanly perspective
Heroism One Tap at a Time
Retired Major General John L. Borling of the USAF gave an address at Wright College last night. A long-time resident of Chicago, General Borling talked about his extraordinary life with students, faculty, staff and members of the community through the lens of his book, Taps on the Wall: Poems from the Hanoi Hilton. It was…
More Advice for Presidents
Looking for an early stocking stuffer for a new community college president? Or maybe you are interested in building out your library of books for college presidents? As I prepared for my transition to a community college presidency I read widely, though not necessarily wisely. It is difficult to know in advance which advice might…
High Expectations for Higher Education
The opening night of the Time Summit on Higher Education featured a lively discussion, moderated by foreign policy expert Fareed Zakaria. Norman Augustine (former chair of Lockheed Martin), Mitch Daniels (former governor of Indiana and current president of Purdue University), John Holdren (Assistant to the President for Science and Technology), and Condoleeza Rice (former Secretary…
Prep for Community College Presidents
This July I joined Wilbur Wright College as its president. Never having been a college president before, I did what all academics do when starting a new task: head to a library for resources to study the literature. Scores of books are published every year on college leadership and presidencies, and an increasing number focus…
Recasting Remedial Education
Contemporary discussions about remedial education are often cast in the rhetoric of crisis, high cost, and failure. Remedial education, the courses and programs that help students with the basic mathematics, writing, and reading skills necessary to be college ready, is a long-standing component of many community college students’ lives. In fact, more than half of…
College Presidency and an Early Thanksgiving
Since the end of July I have a new position: president of Wilbur Wright College, one of the seven community colleges in the City Colleges of Chicago system. Diverse, dynamic, committed to serving its students and community, Wright College is similar to the thousand other public community colleges in the United States. We are an…