Among the little truly predictable—or at least those rare things I’ve been able to successfully predict—I would suggest these three truths.
First is the inevitability of recessions. Whether the result of human folly or business cycles, the economy will contract—probably about once every decade, give or take, and probably in direct proportion to the degree to which we lived beyond our me...
He was bored and restless by age 42. He had vertically integrated a major media business, insofar as he owned his own publishing company, newspaper and book series, and even aspects of the postal system. He was an acclaimed author and civic leader. He decided to retire early to pursue his true passion and curiosity: his interest in science. His inquisitiveness in how things worked wasn’t the...
June 2009 is seen by many as the end of the Great Recession. Strong growth in GDP following massive monetary and fiscal responses to the collapse in housing and financial markets meant that the economy was on the mend. Yet a year later, 1.1 million fewer people are working, and the unemployment rate is stuck at 9.5%. Worse still, more than one million individuals have left the job market since Apr...
Secularism is controversial in today’s political debates, championed by some and vilified by others. So when Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., opened a center for the study of secularism in September 2005, some people worried that it could become a source of friction on campus—yet another battleground in the culture wars that are wreaking havoc in higher education.
The reality has been fa...
The U.S. once had the world’s highest percentage of adults with a college degree, but has now dropped to 10th, according to the OECD. In an attempt to reverse this slide, a number of policymakers and foundations have sought to make increased degree attainment a national priority. President Obama has articulated the goal that America will regain the world’s highest rate of degree attain...
In the past two years, the global financial crisis has wreaked havoc on businesses in America and abroad. But the gloom and doom seems to have had the opposite effect on business schools. The reason is that a recession often signals the perfect time for proactive students to sharpen their skill sets, shift their career goals (whether toward a different industry or role) and place themselves in a p...
Ways to build momentum for college completionAmong policymakers at the federal and state levels, as well as within the philanthropic community, there is an overdue awareness that the U.S. and its constituent states need a more highly educated citizenry and workforce. The country is already well behind several other countries in the proportion of its young adult population that has attained a colle...
We have a habit of taking international comparisons of various aspects of higher education that are produced in—to put it gently—dubious ways, and delighting in our terrible and/or falling position. It’s time to cease and desist this self-flaggelatory habit. Even rhetorically, as a goad to improve, the statements have been uttered so often that they have lost all meaning and effe...
This is my first experience writing about something I understood far better in high school than throughout college and career. Not only do I suspect I am not alone, but I believe this is symptomatic of the very point I plan to make. Unlike so many other fields, the sciences tend to sort us early in our lives between insiders and everyone else. Those excluded early—or who eventually drift awa...
The Texas Transfer Success Conference, held at eight sites across Texas in May 2009, drew more than 1,000 attendees from Texas and international colleges and universities. The purpose of the conference was to discuss strategies and principles for increasing the effectiveness of inter-institutional transfer for students. In Texas, some 80% of bachelor degree holders will earn credits from more than...
Among the little truly predictable—or at least those rare things I’ve been able to successfully predict—I would suggest these three truths.
First is the inevitability of recessions. Whether the result of human folly or business cycles, the economy will contract—probably about once every decade, give or take, and probably in direct proportion to the degree to which we lived beyond our me... 
Secularism is controversial in today’s political debates, championed by some and vilified by others. So when Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., opened a center for the study of secularism in September 2005, some people worried that it could become a source of friction on campus—yet another battleground in the culture wars that are wreaking havoc in higher education.
The reality has been fa...