How to Instill a Love of Learning in Students
I spent nearly every Saturday lunchtime in March and April with a bunch of strangers on Zoom. There were about 12 of us—a young man from Madrid, a middle-aged woman with a cat, a mother with a child who sometimes made an appearance in her home office. I couldn’t tell you how they made a […]
Jewish Studies Weighs How to Move Forward Post–Oct. 7
The University of Denver’s Center for Judaic Studies has long wanted to hire a Holocaust studies professor to support its decades-old Holocaust education programming. Now it’s getting one—a new endowed professorship in Holocaust and antisemitism awareness. The new role, linking Holocaust and antisemitism studies, was born out of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on […]
How to Prepare for a Teaching-Track Interview (opinion)
Last year, one of us, Peter, was applying for teaching positions. I was at the end of a three-year teaching postdoc at the University of British Columbia and was searching for my next step. The previous year, I’d applied to three teaching roles and secured interviews for two of them but unfortunately didn’t make the […]
How to Prevent University Trustee Overreach
A new report argues the while increasing politicization of university governing boards has contributed to the erosion of academic freedom in recent years, boards also have the potential to adopt frameworks focused on protecting institutional autonomy. “Decisions that were once guided by academic standards and institutional autonomy have become arenas for political influence and ideological […]
How One College is Encouraging Students to Fail Better
Reducing failure rates in higher education is typically a mark of student success. But Hamilton College is flipping the narrative this academic year with a new campaign that teaches students to fail and bounce back. The “failing better” campaign, led by the university’s student success division, ALEX, provides resources and support for staff to push […]
Why Students Tune Out and How to Change That
A recent report from a Harvard College Faculty of Arts and Sciences committee calls attention to two major campus concerns: First, that students frequently self-censor on controversial topics, and second, that many prioritize extracurricular commitments over academics, treating coursework as secondary. Drawing on surveys and listening sessions with students, faculty and alumni, the report found […]
How to Ensure You’ll Never Be a Chair Again (opinion/humor)
“First rule of leadership: Everything is your fault.” –from A Bug’s Life Congratulations! You have been elected or appointed or duped into serving as department chair, the role that everyone says is the hardest job on campus. Maybe that’s what attracted you to the position—you enjoy working days, nights and weekends on thorny issues that […]
How to prepare proactively for a postdoc (opinion)
During my five years working in postdoctoral affairs at two higher education institutions, current postdoctoral associates have often shared their frustrations with me. Some feel they aren’t getting the credit they deserve in their research group. Others share they feel pressured to work long hours. And in terms of relationships with their mentors, some sense […]
How to send thoughtful guest speaker invitations (opinion)
bortonia/DigitalVisionVectors/Getty Images Speaking events, such as lectures and workshops, are a mainstay of ongoing education and professional development for most workplaces. Speakers are invited to share their expertise, fill knowledge gaps and inspire an audience. Much of the guidance around these events is centered around skill development for the speaker: preparing a topic, use of […]
How Oct. 7 changed higher ed—and how to move forward now
In retrospect, perhaps it was inevitable that the horrifying Hamas attack on Israel last Oct. 7—and the escalation of horrors that ensued when Israel invaded Gaza—would light a spark on many U.S. campuses. But few could have predicted the breadth of the repercussions that would ripple out across the world of higher education. As the vigils […]