I intend to run for 30 minutes today. But it is hot and I stop at 25. I pick up the latest issue of The Economist, drink deeply of an article on Mandela’s legacy, marvel at a stimulating reconsideration of Ozymandias, enjoy a pointed editorial welcoming Bulgarians to the UK. And then I flip aggressively […]
Responding to emails, calls, and more re @macaulayhonors #CUNY and the first day of our Professor #Petraeus seminar.
September 13, 2013 by
Monday, Sept 9 2013 was a great day for learning. Millions of NYC school children returned to their classrooms. New Yorkers were preparing to exercise their right to vote. And in one classroom at Macaulay Honors College, Dr. David Petraeus, visiting professor of public policy at Macaulay Honors College for the 2013-14 academic year, taught […]
What’s a university good for….and other mysteries.
September 11, 2013 by
Our university is a place where complex issues and points of view across the political and cultural spectrum are considered and debated in the hopes that we might offer solutions to the problems in our world. In order to advance reasoned debate on such issues, it is important that multiple points of view be heard. Great […]
Dr. Petraeus teaching at Macaulay for $1, no typo there, just good will. Wonder if you know it when you see it?
July 15, 2013 by
Macaulay has been much in the news lately. So here is an update: Dr. David Petraeus, our Visiting Professor of Public Policy for 2013-2014, will be teaching his honors seminar, “Are We on the Threshold of the (North) American Decade?” for an annual salary of $1 per year. This was his decision, and it speaks to […]
That Earp Curse! I hope it didn’t follow me to Santa Barbara.
May 31, 2013 by
Leaving beautiful Santa Barbara this morning. Never thought of it as setting for one of my favorite dystopia films, though Day One: Saw the wild fires as soon as we landed, those beautiful mountains wreathed in black smoke. By the time I arrived at the hotel, the staff was busily sweeping ash off the outdoor […]
Why Matisse repeated himself, and other stimulating questions at the Metropolitan Museum.
December 2, 2012 by
First Saturday night of the year for us at the Metropolitan Museum, great combo of the new Matisse exhibition and dinner upstairs, where I always sort of like being among the younger crowd in the room. Sometimes, thematic exhibitions seem like smart ways to disguise the fact that you’re exploring not the master’s greatest hits, […]
@CShirkey had the right idea about stimulating innovation in higher ed. Most academics I know don’t like shortcuts, though: they prefer to “show your work!” #thecollegeproject
November 8, 2012 by
“Do not put together an interdisciplinary team from 12 departments and give them a budget of a quarter of a million dollars, and a year and a half deadline. Find five people and ask them what can you do in a month—for free. I think the results will surprise you.”
A love letter to @plibin. @pachikov. The secret story of how I wrote a book in four years and 2,279 @evernote.
November 7, 2012 by
Dear Phil Libin, I hope it’s ok if I call you Phil, since I have been your secret admirer since October 2008. And I hope it’s ok to write you a love letter. (I received official dispensation from my husband of nearly 40 years.) I am the proud owner-writer-aggregator of 2,279 Evernotes. Most of them […]
Remember the British class structure? Rigid? Unwelcoming? Turns out that it’s US who are getting that way.
September 12, 2012 by
nytimes.com: 12 Sept 2012 Britain: British Schools Offer More Upward Mobility for Students Than American Ones, Report Says By D. D. GUTTENPLAN British schools now do a better job than American schools of lifting students up the social ladder, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a report published Tuesday. In Britain, a student […]
Here’s how those University of Virginia trustees’ emails became public. http://huff.to/PA3Rh3
June 21, 2012 by
I’m all for transparency, but this is a timely reminder to imagine every email you write could end up on the front page of your local newspaper. If, that is, you are lucky enough to still have a local newspaper, one that has heard of the Freedom of Information Act. In this case, it’s remarkable […]