Stepping into leadership in higher ed is a special challenge. Those new to leading departments have often proven themselves brilliant in the lecture hall or the research lab, but may find their IQs drop 20 points the minute they have to organize anything beyond a seminar, notes this author.
"It is a major transition to move from a professorship where one largely controls one's own intellectual agenda to a position in which one can be nibbled to death by administrivia: the tyranny of the in-box, telephone, drop-in visitors, e-mail," writes C.K. Gunsalus, a former associate provost at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and now a special counsel and faculty member there.
With chapters such as "Embrace your fate" and "Bullies," the author reveals a down-to-earth style. Gunsalus says budgets and curriculum planning are a piece of cake when compared to people management. During her years in university administration she has had to investigate myriad problems, including sexual harassment and financial improprieties. The upside of confronting such "yucky problems" is her book, which reflects her hands-on experience with reworked procedures and managerial training.
-Jean Marie Angelo
The Serious Business of Comedy
Chicago's Columbia College may help introduce the next Tina Fey or John Belushi through an innovative program that will teach the art of comedy.
The Comedy Studies Program, which begins in January, will give 16 students the chance to study and work with members of the famous Second City improvisational troupe in Chicago, which helped launch numerous comedy careers, including those of Robert Klein, Joan Rivers, Bill Murray, Amy Sedaris, and Steve Carrell.
Sheldon Patinkin, chairman of Columbia's theater department and one of Second City's founders, says the program will be more intense than Second City's own training center.
"It's involved in far more aspects of comedy than any program in the Training Center," says Patinkin. "Courses have been created specifically for this program, including a history of comedy that I'll be teaching with Anne Libera."
Patinkin says the 16-credit course is serious work, and includes sections on Writing Comic Scenes; History and Analysis of Modern Comedy; and Physical and Vocal Training for Comedy, culminating in an end-of-semester showcase.
Getting into the program is no joke either, says Patinkin. "There are several prerequisites for consideration in the program, including improv training or experience, as well as an essay and some letter of recommendation."
Patinkin says the school will offer the program in both the fall and spring semesters every year.
-Tim Goral
DATA POINT
191,321-Number of college students who studied abroad during the 2004-2005 academic year.
-Year of Study Abroad (www.yearofstudyabroad.org).
Hold My Hand
Add personal life coaches to the list of student services some colleges are offering.
"Retention and attrition have been an issue on campuses for decades," says Cindy Skaruppa, vice president of Enrollment Management at Our Lady of the Lake University (Texas). University administrators were looking for a comprehensive solution when they contracted with InsideTrack.
The coaches don't offer academic advice; they focus on life skills such as transitioning from high school, balancing family life, and learning time management. Skaruppa firmly dismisses the idea the service is touchy-feely. "We're talking about what students bring to the table and executing a strategy," she says. The programs are based on the services usually reserved for high-powered business executives, she notes.
-Ann McClure
Models of Campus Sustainability
The applications for The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education's first annual Campus Sustainability Leadership Awards proved just how deep a commitment IHEs today are making to sustainability-in governance, academics, operations, and community outreach. The following schools, categorized by size, were announced as winners during
