This is the 300th and final entry of this blog. I know, I have ended the blog in the past (most recently in May, 2019) and then restarted it, but this time it should really stick, as today (June 30, 2022) is my last day as a dean, so I won’t have any more “Dispatches from a Dean.” After nine years as a dean (two at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, and seven at San José State University), tomorrow I’ll start as the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Cal State East Bay. Perhaps in the future I’ll start a new blog about adventures as a provost…
etc.
“Back to the Bay” is a Cal State East Bay event that brings faculty and staff together to share their expertise, and learn from one another as teachers, advisors, researchers, users of technology, and active participants in the campus community. The 2021 event was virtual. I’ve been asked to present the keynote address for the 2022 event. It should be fun!
In the summer of 2022 San José State University will launch HonorsX, a new interdisciplinary program for students interested in using integrated thinking and applied learning to tackle challenging problems in their communities and the world. HonorsX will initially have an emphasis on the intersection of social justice and sustainability, connecting all three “Es” of sustainability: environmental protection, economic development, and equitable social structures. I’ll have to keep an eye on it, as it may be something to try at Cal State East Bay too!
In my previous entry I announced that my journey as a dean was coming to an end on July 1, 2022. That was my 296th entry in this blog. I think that I’ll add four more entries (including this one), so that I end on June 30, 2022 with a nice round number of 300 total posts :).
On July 1, 2022 I will become the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at California State University East Bay. This will mark the end of a nine year journey as a dean. Onward to new adventures!
I started writing this blog on May 13, 2013. In the “Welcome” post I noted, “On July 1, 2013 I will become Professor and Founding Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Professional Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. Before the move I will write about preparation for assuming that position, and after July 1, 2013 I will chronicle my first year in the creation of a new unit.” In the July 1, 2014 “One Year In” post I wrote,
Today was my one year anniversary as a new dean. It’s also my 100th post to this blog. I wish that I could say that this coincidence was part of a grand design…
My original plan was to just write the blog for the first year as a new dean, but I’ll keep going with occasional entries. Thanks for the comments on posts in the first year!
I didn’t have any additional entries until March 25, 2015, when I noted that I was moving to San José State U. On July 12, 2015 I resumed making regular blog entries.
Now, however, is probably a good time to end the blog. The “About Dispatches From a Dean” description notes, “A sociologist, this blog chronicles [Jacobs’] journeys in collegiate administration, where he applies his view of academic leadership as both a social science and an art.” I definitely did that in many of the 291 other entries, but in the last year or so the entries have mostly been links to online articles that I thought were interesting. Yesterday was the College of Social Sciences’ spring 2019 commencement, and today is the spring 2019 “Black Grad” commencement for Black students. In the spirit of commencement being the end of one stage of an ongoing journey as the launching point of the next adventure, I’ll end the 292nd blog post by stating that I’ve enjoyed writing this blog over the past 6 years, and I look forward to sharing my experiences in other avenues. Thank you for accompanying me!
Amazon Books editors have chosen a list of 100 books to read in a lifetime. I’ve only read half of them. Over spring break I’ll have to lock myself in a room and catch up…
Pacific Standard recently published an article on improving U.S. Presidential election primaries. The author poses a provocative proportion: “How to improve the primary process? Make it less democratic. It sounds counterintuitive—and would be a hard sell—but making the way the two major political parties nominate candidates less traditionally democratic could also make it more open to compromise and negotiation.” Specifically, he argues that we should:
- Make the primaries and caucuses proportional rather than winner-take-all;
- Shorten the time between the first and last primaries and caucuses so that candidates who aren’t necessarily winning in fundraising might still make it to the end; and
- Make contests less about the candidates and more about the delegates. This could include unbinding delegates from the voters’ choices.
Very interesting!
The annual Beloit College Mindset List has been released. Providing “a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students about to enter college,” this year’s list for the class of 2021 is for students mostly born in 1999…the year I finished graduate school and became an Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota! Items include “Zappos has always meant shoes on the Internet,” and “the BBC has always had a network in the U.S. where they speak American” [BBC America! I’m going to miss Orphan Black.]. My oldest niece starts at Whittier College next month; I’ll have to send her this list.
A Vanderbilt University professor notes, “Beloit College just published its annual Mind-Set List to remind professors of the ever-growing gap between their own cultural experiences and those of their incoming students. As a service to these new students, I am now providing the faculty version of the mind-set list. Here is your guide to the college years of a typical 50-something professor.” His “The Mind-Set List, Faculty Edition” is pretty funny!
Citylab has a recent story about a project in which U.S. rivers are mapped using the conventions of a subway map. “If any modern-day Huckleberry Finns and Jims wanted to navigate the mighty rivers of America,” the article begins, “they’d do well to take along this delightfully crafted guide to waterways that looks like a subway map.” Fun!
“Back to the Bay” is a Cal State East Bay event that brings faculty and staff together to share their expertise, and learn from one another as teachers, advisors, researchers, users of technology, and active participants in the campus community. The 2021 event was virtual. I’ve been asked to present the keynote address for the 2022 event. It should be fun!
In the summer of 2022 San José State University will launch HonorsX, a new interdisciplinary program for students interested in using integrated thinking and applied learning to tackle challenging problems in their communities and the world. HonorsX will initially have an emphasis on the intersection of social justice and sustainability, connecting all three “Es” of sustainability: environmental protection, economic development, and equitable social structures. I’ll have to keep an eye on it, as it may be something to try at Cal State East Bay too!
In my previous entry I announced that my journey as a dean was coming to an end on July 1, 2022. That was my 296th entry in this blog. I think that I’ll add four more entries (including this one), so that I end on June 30, 2022 with a nice round number of 300 total posts :).
On July 1, 2022 I will become the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at California State University East Bay. This will mark the end of a nine year journey as a dean. Onward to new adventures!
I started writing this blog on May 13, 2013. In the “Welcome” post I noted, “On July 1, 2013 I will become Professor and Founding Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Professional Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. Before the move I will write about preparation for assuming that position, and after July 1, 2013 I will chronicle my first year in the creation of a new unit.” In the July 1, 2014 “One Year In” post I wrote,
Today was my one year anniversary as a new dean. It’s also my 100th post to this blog. I wish that I could say that this coincidence was part of a grand design…
My original plan was to just write the blog for the first year as a new dean, but I’ll keep going with occasional entries. Thanks for the comments on posts in the first year!
I didn’t have any additional entries until March 25, 2015, when I noted that I was moving to San José State U. On July 12, 2015 I resumed making regular blog entries.
Now, however, is probably a good time to end the blog. The “About Dispatches From a Dean” description notes, “A sociologist, this blog chronicles [Jacobs’] journeys in collegiate administration, where he applies his view of academic leadership as both a social science and an art.” I definitely did that in many of the 291 other entries, but in the last year or so the entries have mostly been links to online articles that I thought were interesting. Yesterday was the College of Social Sciences’ spring 2019 commencement, and today is the spring 2019 “Black Grad” commencement for Black students. In the spirit of commencement being the end of one stage of an ongoing journey as the launching point of the next adventure, I’ll end the 292nd blog post by stating that I’ve enjoyed writing this blog over the past 6 years, and I look forward to sharing my experiences in other avenues. Thank you for accompanying me!
Amazon Books editors have chosen a list of 100 books to read in a lifetime. I’ve only read half of them. Over spring break I’ll have to lock myself in a room and catch up…
Pacific Standard recently published an article on improving U.S. Presidential election primaries. The author poses a provocative proportion: “How to improve the primary process? Make it less democratic. It sounds counterintuitive—and would be a hard sell—but making the way the two major political parties nominate candidates less traditionally democratic could also make it more open to compromise and negotiation.” Specifically, he argues that we should:
- Make the primaries and caucuses proportional rather than winner-take-all;
- Shorten the time between the first and last primaries and caucuses so that candidates who aren’t necessarily winning in fundraising might still make it to the end; and
- Make contests less about the candidates and more about the delegates. This could include unbinding delegates from the voters’ choices.
Very interesting!
The annual Beloit College Mindset List has been released. Providing “a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students about to enter college,” this year’s list for the class of 2021 is for students mostly born in 1999…the year I finished graduate school and became an Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota! Items include “Zappos has always meant shoes on the Internet,” and “the BBC has always had a network in the U.S. where they speak American” [BBC America! I’m going to miss Orphan Black.]. My oldest niece starts at Whittier College next month; I’ll have to send her this list.
A Vanderbilt University professor notes, “Beloit College just published its annual Mind-Set List to remind professors of the ever-growing gap between their own cultural experiences and those of their incoming students. As a service to these new students, I am now providing the faculty version of the mind-set list. Here is your guide to the college years of a typical 50-something professor.” His “The Mind-Set List, Faculty Edition” is pretty funny!
Citylab has a recent story about a project in which U.S. rivers are mapped using the conventions of a subway map. “If any modern-day Huckleberry Finns and Jims wanted to navigate the mighty rivers of America,” the article begins, “they’d do well to take along this delightfully crafted guide to waterways that looks like a subway map.” Fun!