You may have come across Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive recently in a bookstore or referenced in the media. It’s a book by Stephanie Land, a first-person account of her experience as a poor single mother trying to get by on manual labor and government assistance. Maid has been…
Category: Deanspeak
Posts about the wide realm of higher education from a deanly perspective
Recipe For Reform
Reform or revolution? I’m thinking ways of making colleges more effective and sustainable, not Rosa Luxemburg and the end of capitalism. Some writers believe that technology or funding changes will reshape the education landscape quickly and dramatically, while others see ongoing change at a more moderate pace. In the latter camp, for an outline for…
Change, Resistance & Change
On good days it seems that we may be moving toward a society that respects all gender and gender choices. Read a newspaper or watch the news – rules, rights and expectations around gender issues are changing and being more inclusive. On other days, less optimism feels appropriate. Reflection reminds us about how slow and…
Community Is Our Middle Name
It was a pleasure to present at the https://www.league.org/League for Innovation at the Community College annual conference with Scott Evenbeck, the president of Guttman Community College, CUNY. If you do not know Guttman, check them out – they are doing really interesting work and have great student outcomes. Our presentation is about civic engagement efforts…
University of Nike: Wrongs and Rights
Joshua Hunt, a young journalist, was sent to Eugene, Oregon in 2014 to do an assignment for the New York Times. A University of Oregon student had alleged a sexual assault by three of college basketball players. The police report was harrowing. Amid growing national concern about student athletes and sexual violence, many media outlets…
Seeing the Whole Elephant
Thinking issues through is hard. It is especially difficult – and all the more necessary – when conclusions do not jibe, when perspectives differ, and when priorities contrast. Two recent reports have catalyzed my thinking about student success. While they do not provide all the answers, they do move the conversation in a good direction.…
Liberal Arts Colleges and Liberal Arts Education
Reading essay collections is a shot in the dark. Some volumes are tightly edited and themed. Those are my favorite, for they offer multiple perspectives on an issue. They are easier to remember them and I feel as though I’ve learned something when I finish the volume. Other collections wander. And while it’s almost always…