cannyben

If a single insight could sum up the case for strategic planning in higher education, it would be the Stoic philosopher Seneca’s observation that, if you don’t know which port you’re sailing to, "no wind is favorable." Yet all of that time you spend leading a strategic-planning process for a department, college, or institution will prove fruitless if the plan doesn’t identify: ·          Realistic objectives that can be accomplished within a set period of time. ·          Arguments, values, and rationales behind those objectives. ·          Metrics to mark their success or progress. ·          Resources (money, people, materials, facilities) to reach and sustain the objectives. Seems pretty straightforward. But of course, many less certain variables — political, cultural, psychological, bureaucratic — can assist or impede a strategic plan. Resist the urge to micromanage. Usually someone at the campus level (often the provost) is tasked with being the "polit

You don’t have to be an expert to write about something. Academics are trained to learn a lot about a fairly narrow topic and then write about it over and over for a very long time. You might assume you can only write on a familiar topic. But that isn’t true. I’m not an "expert" on teen television, rape culture, immigration, children’s literature, clothing. Early on, you may feel uncomfortable straying too far from your discipline or sub field but eventually that won’t seem like such a big deal. Straying could give you valuable new perspectives on your work in your field. If you agree to write for no pay, know what you signed up for. I won’t say "don’t ever write for free." But it pays off in many other ways: It ends up attracting hundreds of thousands of page views and garnering responses ranging from beautiful to terrifying. But by writing for no pay essentially lowers the value of written work for both yourself and other writers. Even if writing isn’t you