Blog

Necessary Bridges: The Telling Project

The Telling Project was coming to Care Café. Created in 2008 by Christopher Wei, The Telling Project, was created for veterans to publically share their experiences and thereby ease their way back into civilian life. Personally, I shy away from things having to do with war. To borrow a term from structural family therapy, I … Continue reading Necessary Bridges: The Telling Project

Spider Monkeys and the Dialectics of Leadership

spider monkeys

At nearly 60 years old, Mrs. Bette Limper was tall and elegant and I was delighted to be assigned to her 6th grade class. She was different from the maternal teachers in comfortable shoes I had had before. She wore false eyelashes, high heels and her platinum hair was coiffed in a French twist. She had a reputation for being strict and academically rigorous.

Dear Person who Jumped in Front of the Train on Friday Evening

Dear Friend

Our lives were not connected. Before Friday night. We did not know each other. But we are connected now. Through your death. I am connected to you and to the ones you left behind. How I wish I knew how to reach them. I wish I could comfort them in their sorrow and their helplessness. … Continue reading Dear Person who Jumped in Front of the Train on Friday Evening

Living True North

Shortly after the November election, The Chronicle of Higher Education wrote about the tensions many college presidents  felt in the week since the presidential election. Many of them reached out to their students while not sending an overtly political message. On my deans and directors list serve many administrators, especially those from state-supported institutions, walked this fine line. … Continue reading Living True North

The Shocking Intimacy of Distance Learning

For me, teaching is a dance of engagement premised on personal interaction, passion for the topic and a keen awareness of student needs in the learning moment. Years ago when I was asked to teach online I thought are you kidding me? Teach social work, which is fundamentally about relationships, online? Learning mediated through a … Continue reading The Shocking Intimacy of Distance Learning

Is there a Place for the Liberal Arts in the 21st Century?

  The answer is emphatically yes. But to retain our relevance we must continue to do what we do well-- provide an academically rich and challenging environment for young scholars that prepares them to think critically about the world around them. And push toward an educational future that marries knowledge, skill and application. Too often … Continue reading Is there a Place for the Liberal Arts in the 21st Century?