Moving On

An interesting exercise - at any time in your life - is to ask yourself, "If there were no constraints, what would I really like to do when I grow up?"  I've done this several times in my life and the answer seems to change with time and experience.

During this period of enforced leisure - I have certainly not been idle! - the answer to this question kind of caught me off guard.  It all started years ago when I got interested in public education.  One book led to another and pretty soon I had purchased a set of the 'Great Books of the Western World' published by Britannica and edited by Hutchins and Adler.  I've been slowly working my way through those over the ensuing years. 

Along the way I served a term on the local school board and absolutely loved the experience.  I also had the good fortune to spend over a decade talking to alumni of St. John's, a small great books college with campuses in Annapolis, MD and Santa Fe, NM on their alumni email list.  They were most gracious in allowing me to join their conversation. 

Over the years I have come to appreciate the intrinsic value of a liberal arts education.  Indeed, contrary to all the talking heads and politicians, I would assert that, while a focus on math and science excellence are important to the future well being of our nation, those disciplines are weakened substantially when not anchored to a solid liberal arts foundation.  Technical detail absent an appreciation of our humanity seems to me a sterile, if not dangerous, situation.  Not to mention the fact that we are learning slowly and painfully that silo's of technical excellence serve as barriers to progress in an increasingly complex world. 

So the answer to the question, "What next?" was shaped by these experiences.  And the answer is, drum roll please, "When I grow up I want to be president of a small liberal arts college."

In the next few posts I'll publish some of the public comments and papers I've written.  I am interested in your feedback on my ideas.  Some are naive I am sure since they were written early on in my awakening to the importance of the great ideas.  But there is some substance contained in the papers and your thoughts and observations are coveted as part and parcel of my preparations to pursue this next chapter in my adventure.