Collective Terms Perpetuate Stereotypes and Biases: Change Begins with Leadership
It was a sweltering July morning when an email from one of my librarians arrived in my inbox, its subject line proclaiming, “THE LIBRARIANS ARE HOT!” I had recently taken over management of library faculty and staff, and this was my first crisis. The library’s air conditioning unit had failed,...
Why Getting It Done Is Often Better Than Getting It Perfect
Although the remark has been attributed to lots of different people, it was Voltaire who first observed (in his Dictionnaire Philosophique, 1764) that “the perfect is the enemy of the good” (Le mieux est l’ennemi du bien). It has become such a common saying that we recite it almost without thinking....
The Research Process and Its Relevance to the Culture of Assessment
This article first appeared in Academic Leader on November 30, 2015. © Magna Publications. All rights reserved. As higher education evolves, so too does the importance of assessing learning. New regulations, financial constraints, and accrediting agencies are stressing that colleges and universities should strengthen assessment organizationally. However, when assessment is discussed in large...
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...
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,...
