Blogs

A few years ago, I read a piece about airlines “bumping” passengers who had legitimate tickets. (I’ve never understood how it’s legal to sell the same seat twice, but that’s another post.) The article made the point that some central computer makes decisions that result in bumping, but that agents at counters have to deal with angry passengers, so over time, agents at counters started entering ‘dummy’ passengers with names like Mickey Mouse so they could outsmart the computer. Mickey Mouse wouldn’t yell at them if he got bumped. Over time, the computer compensated by overbooking even more.

My thoughts on the MLA President's statements on Reforming Doctoral Programs. I fear for lost generations of PhDs left behind.

My ability to make strong arguments about how our academic libraries should navigate the new ecosystem of digital books (e-books & audiobooks) seems to be inversely related to the amount of time I spend engaging the library community on these issues.

Many of you may think that this post is going to be about the different stages of professional maturity as academics progress in their careers, but no, this is not what I intend to write. My point will be the about the personal maturity of academics and the way it affects how they handle both their social and professional lives.

I’ve been reading a lot of reactions to the way the Occupy Wall Street library was removed from Zuccotti Park when the Occupy Wall Street encampment was broken up. It’s a situation charged with symbolic meaning. The initial reports that the library’s 5,000 plus books had been destroyed by the police was countered by a chirpy tweet from the mayor’s office with a picture of books safe and sound in a sanitation department garage. Many tweets later, it turned out that around half the library was missing and much of what was salvaged was damaged.

Will Amazon's new Kindle Fire be a hit on college campuses? Is it the next hot new educational tablet?

Since I will not be writing for Inside Higher Ed this time next week, I thought I would take some time this week to reflect on some of the things I am thankful for at this time of the year. I am sure that everyone could add to such a list from their own lives.

A few years ago, as I was contemplating a step from provost to president, I asked a college president how he managed the demands of the job with young children who were just then entering high school. He replied that he had never found a satisfactory answer to the question but that ensuring daily conversations with his children, no matter where he was in the world, and building time into the schedule, were key.