Mindfulness, which we can define as giving nonjudgmental attentiveness to each experience as it occurs, has begun to receive a great deal of attention in academic circles. The health benefits of mindfulness are well established. ...
What if we were able to offer academic leaders a small cushion of free time (perhaps every other Friday afternoon) to reflect, dream, and devote their energies to what they want to do, not just ...
When the phone or video interviews are complete and all the applicants’ materials have been screened, the search committee chair will come into the dean’s or chair’s office and say, “I know we’re supposed to ...
There’s a folksy saying that people sometimes cite when they want to talk about the merits of active learning: Tellin’ ain’t teachin’. The idea is that if a teacher simply provides information, students don’t learn ...
The impression one might receive from reading many of the most popular books on leadership or management is that these activities take place in a vacuum. “When situation X occurs, try doing Y. If that’s ...
Most of us start out with few, if any, tools in our leadership toolboxes and add resources only as we mature, gain more experience, receive appropriate training, and learn from our mistakes. In fact, we ...
Make no mistake about it: any job that requires you to say “No” to people from time to time will cause you to meet resistance. Our lives would be far easier if it were possible ...
There are far fewer deans than chairs and only one provost and president per institution. So inevitably many of those dreams aren’t going to be fulfilled. But it’s not as though most administrators are frustrated ...
There’s an expression heard in the movie industry that can be good advice for academic leaders: “We’ll fix it in post.” The idea is that each take doesn’t have to be perfect. There will be ...
Throughout the 1850s, John Henry (Cardinal) Newman published a series of lectures that he grouped under the title The Idea of the University. In this work Newman, despite his own profound faith, argued that a ...