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This might seem like an odd question, but I promise I'm going somewhere with it. I've been in a funk the last few days, for any number of reasons. But one is admittedly a struggle with the near breakneck pace of our programming schedule and, more importantly, the effect it's having on our students. We … Continue reading Does Your Staff Rival Michael Phelps?

 You can tell a lot about a race by its waiver. The Prison Break Mud Run, one of the inaugural events for Runners for a Muddier Tomorrow, was no exception. After surviving the race, here’s what I learned that I would have been able to tell from the waiver.NOTE: As I watch this, an episode … Continue reading "It’s Like We’re Breaking Out of Prison!"

For many of us, the tail end of our first year includes evaluations of our performance. We often get it from our supervisors and in some cases also from our students. In my office, an anonymous survey is administered via email, sent to our director, and then the results are forwarded to us. The process … Continue reading The Five Stages of Understanding Student Evaluations

#whatshouldwecallstudentaffairs: "Our colleagues at Penn State"One thing is to be agreed with: Dr. Mark Emmert’s assertion that the sanctions handed down to Penn State University are designed to punish the culture of an institution that allowed for a cover-up of heinous crimes, and not to punish the crime itself. When looking at the end result … Continue reading Processing Penn State Penalties

Bruce Wayne: You're gonna destroy millions of lives. Ra's al Ghul: Only a cynical man would call what these people have "lives," Wayne. Crime, despair... this is not how man was supposed to live. The League of Shadows has been a check against human corruption for thousands of years. We sacked Rome, loaded trade ships … Continue reading Thoughts on Aurora From a Lifetime Movie Buff

A few days ago, I finally broke down and subscribed to the Harvard Business Review Blog Network. Faced with a dialog box restricting my access to yet another article of theirs I was itching to read, and realizing I could (a) make a commitment and join or (b) use the loophole I discovered and attempt … Continue reading How to Succeed In Business Without Really Meaning To

Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of my time in Tallahassee. While I didn't officially start work until the 8th, it was one year ago yesterday that I ventured north with my parents in a rainstorm to try and shove all the IKEA boxes and books upon books into my apartment. I don't want to use this … Continue reading Let Them Eat Cake! (Introducing #1yrdown)

Ah, email. The fundamental backbone of our work.Oh, it isn't?Then why do we allow our productivity to flag whenever Outlook is down? Why do we have such a hard time communicating in its absence? And why do we allow its sudden arrival to dictate the schedule of our day?In learning about how to calm anxiety, … Continue reading Cutting the Email Tethers

I have once again devoured and truly enjoyed a management book by Patrick Lencioni. The author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and Death by Meeting, Lencioni is great at making management principles accessible through the use of fables to illustrate the points he is trying to make. This particular book, The Five Temptations … Continue reading Lencioni Lessons: The Five Temptations of a CEO/Student Affairs Supervisor

I spent last week in Durham, NC at the NASPA Region III/SACSA New Professionals Institute, held at North Carolina Central University.  After working with 41 fellow new professionals from across the South, six wonderful institute faculty, and one amazing institute facilitator in Brit Katz, I am so energized to do wonderful work from this point … Continue reading Candies and Happies: NPI 2012