We are not a private business, of course, but we can learn things from the business world that are helpful to the School. There is a feature called Corner Office in the Sunday business section of the New York Times. It consists of a short interview with the head of a company—last week the interview […]
Read MoreCommmencement II: President Obama and Arizona State
President Obama gave the commencement address last week at Arizona State University. It was preceded by controversy because ASU had decided not to give him an honorary degree. Why? “It’s normally awarded to someone who has been in their field for some time,” according to an ASU spokeswoman. “Considering that the president is at the […]
Read MoreSteve Jobs, Commencement and Effective Presentations
This is commencement season, which means that graduates all across the country are being tortured with mediocre speeches. It is part of the rite of passage. I thought that Archbishop Tutu’s speech on Sunday was better than average, mostly because of his sense of humor and the simplicity of his message. The commencement address is a […]
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Justice Souter's Home
Justice Souter on Serious Reading
Linda Greenhouse recently wrote a nice piece in the New York Times about Justice David Souter. It is easy to focus on his eccentricities, which have tended to draw more attention than his court opinions. He lives the life of an ascetic in the same New Hampshire farmhouse that was home to his parents and […]
Read MoreReport from University Public Service Organizations
The Southern Consortium of University Public Service Organizations (SCUPSO) held its annual meeting in early April. We are a member, but I did not attend this year due to budget constraints. SCUPSO includes many different kinds of public service centers and institutes—Georgia and Tennessee have large operations, but others consist of only two or three people. Most of them are in the South, but they also are located in Ohio, Delaware, and New Mexico. SCUPSO lacked focus early in its history, when its motto was “No Mission, No Purpose, Proud of It.” Now it has organizational support from the Southern Growth Policies Board and we have collaborated on successful substantive projects. This year’s meeting focused mostly on internal issues for the units, including ideas about managing in tough economic times. Here’s a sample of what our colleagues are doing from the meeting summary.
Read MoreDigital Scholarship
In recent years there have been questions about whether new forms of digital communication count for promotion and tenure. What about blogs? Websites? Databases? Videos? A draft report of the UNC Task Force on Future Promotion and Tenure Policies and Practices (Report) recommends that “the university, in all its academic units, should demonstrate an openness to new forms of scholarly communication and to a diversity of activities and styles.” The report recognizes that the forms for disseminating our work will continue to evolve and multiply. Carolina’s promotion process should “encourage innovative and ambitious work, not place roadblocks in its way.” According to the Task Force, “[e]ach unit should amend tenure and promotion procedures to make such openness a fact in faculty evaluation.”
Read MoreTapping Your Genius
This is the first entry for my new blog, which over time will offer my thoughts on any number of issues affecting the School. I will not post something every day, but I hope to have a couple of entries each week. I am especially interested in your thoughts and reactions, so please feel free to make comments. The blog will cover more than strategic planning, but this entry is about our planning process because it is on my mind.
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