It is spring and that means it is time for graduation! I wrote a short piece for the State College paper, The Centre Daily Times, on preparing for transitions. Change happens, we cannot stop it, but how we cope with these transitions can shape and mold our lives. So be aware that the change is coming (not just the festivities that surround it), embrace it and your loved ones, and live into the new reality […]
Essays
The following is an essay I wrote this fall for publication on PublicUniversityHonors.com. The editor of that site reviews honors colleges and programs and the SHC was one of only seven to receive a five mortarboard rating in A Review of Fifty Public University Honors Programs. Time has passed so I am now happy to be able to post it on our blog! “Honors programs and colleges are each as distinctive and unique as the […]
I was invited to contribute an essay for our local NPR station’s “This I Believe.” This essay is apart of a yearlong project on grieving called “Learning to Live: What’s Your Story?” The audio can be found here and the essay is below. We all believe many different things over the course of our lives and our beliefs shift; much as the relentless waves alter the contours of the shore, new experiences cause us to grow and adapt. […]
Over the last year as our college and university engaged in developing our next strategic plan I have thought a lot about what it means to be a “land-grant university” in today’s world. Then I was invited to provide the keynote address to the annual meeting of the National Agricultural Alumni and Development Association. The theme of their conference was “Creativity Starts Here.” This essay has grown out of my remarks that evening and as such has particular reference to agriculture and its concerns. […]
TL;DR: Traveling and study abroad is a life changing experience. My freshman roommate and I were not that different, on the surface. Both white males from suburban school districts (he Chicago-land, I DC Metro) and living in a typical first year residence. I quickly realized we had little in common in terms of social lives and mores. I spent my summers coaching swimming and managing a pool while he followed the Grateful Dead around the […]
HERU 2013 – Keynote Address Welcome to the inaugural Honors Education at Research University conference! It is a great pleasure to have you all here at Penn State. Gathered are nearly 100 representatives of 28 schools from around the nation and the world, including our colleagues from the Netherlands and the universities of Radboud and Utrecht. I would be remiss if I did not begin our event by thanking those who have made this possible. […]
This weekend an article came out in the Chronicle of Higher Education about academics and academic units with multiple online “identities.” I was interviewed along with several others, but for some reason I was the only one of whom they took silly pictures. It is a very good article on a topic that really is a challenge for everyone, not just institutions. Everyone needs to ask themselves, what does my facebook/twitter/blog say about myself. If […]