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Blog Posts
Seven Big Ideas for Academic Leaders: How You Lead Matters!
This article first appeared in Academic Leader on May 2, 2018 © Magna Publications. All rights reserved. During my time as a dean, I’ve learned a lot about budgets, fundraising, strategy, recruitment, retention, and personnel matters, but I’ve also discovered seven big ideas about how my outlook and approach influence my leadership....
Work-Life Balance: Managing Your Koyaanisqatsi
This article first appeared in Academic Leader on June 2, 2018 © Magna Publications. All rights reserved. A recent search prospectus for a provost position at a mid-sized institution listed a number of qualities and qualifications desired in potential candidates. The categories were typical for this type of cabinet-level post: “leadership,” “relationship...
Mind Your Ps and Qs: A Guide for New Administrators
This article first appeared in Academic Leader on August 1, 2019 © Magna Publications. All rights reserved. Have you ever been told to mind your Ps and Qs? The expression is often used to admonish children to be on their best behavior, to be polite. Thus, some say the P stands for...
Finding Your Unicorns: Creating a Data-Informed Culture
This article first appeared in Academic Leader on January 1, 2018 © Magna Publications. All rights reserved. A recent article, “Higher Education’s Data Experts Face a Crossroads,” in the Chronicle of Higher Education examines the changing profile of institutional researchers. Akin to the characters in the movie Ghostbusters, historically, they were the people you called...
Becoming a Mindful Leader
This article first appeared in Academic Leader on April 30, 2015 © Magna Publications. All rights reserved. We live in a world of distraction. Technology bombards us with new information every second of the day, making it hard to focus on any one thing. Yet one of the most critical leadership skills...
Listening to (and Appreciating) the Voices on the Front Lines
This article first appeared in Academic Leader on April 1, 2018 © Magna Publications. All rights reserved. In 1979, the Women Employed Institute released a national study of clerical workers in the United States titled “The Women of the Office: The Economic Status of Clerical Workers.” The research noted that clerical workers,...
Lesson Learned—Lesson Shared: Give It a Dignified 24 Hours
This article first appeared in Academic Leader on June 22, 2017© Magna Publications. All rights reserved. Recently, I was in an informal conversation with a group of faculty members and chairpersons. We were discussing challenges frequently encountered in our daily work. One faculty member noted that he is often unsure of how...
Making Diversity, Equity and Inclusion a Mission, Not Just an Initiative
This article first appeared in Academic Leader on February 3, 2020 © Magna Publications. All rights reserved. When I was appointed Central Michigan University’s (CMU’s) first chief diversity officer in April 2018, I was charged with making the campus a more inclusive environment for students, faculty, and staff. At CMU, diversity, equity,...
