Columns, Essays, and Speeches

Published in the Wall Street Journal (Aug. 28 online and Aug. 29 print edition) ‘Crowd-sourcing’ the grading of an essay online is no substitute for thoughtful evaluation by a trained educator. As classes resume on our nation’s campuses, amid anxiety about high tuition, student debt and other concerns, it’s worth examining what we value in

From the July 2012 Alumni Review We’ve probably all experienced how leaving home can help us to see it more clearly. That’s what happened when my travel schedule enabled me to join part of a spring break service trip, one of several around the country organized by the college. This one was to the bottom

Presented at “The Future of the Liberal Arts” Conference Lafayette College April 10, 2012 It seems that you can’t pick up a newspaper or magazine–the New York Times education section, the Chronicle of Higher Education, the EDUCAUSE Review–without encountering the passionate assertion that information technology has changed everything about our students and how we must

From the March 2012 Alumni Review Here’s a quiz. If, walking down a corridor, you pass two Williams faculty members in conversation, they’re mostly likely to be discussing: A.     Their most recent grant proposals B.     The U.S. presidential race C.     The state of parking on campus D.     Teaching Believe me, the answer at some places

From the January 2012 Alumni Review As the legacy of legendary professor Bob Gaudino reminds us, learning is often most powerful in times of discomfort and even pain. I’m reminded of that as the Williams community has been responding to the discovery of a horrible, racist message on a wall inside Prospect House. Photos of

From the September 2011 Alumni Review A highlight of my week in the summer involves each Tuesday at noon heading over to the Science Quad. There a couple hundred students and faculty partake of that well-known stimulant to intellectual thought—pizza—before piling into Wege Auditorium for a research talk by a science faculty member. Few events

From the June 2011 Alumni Review People who haven’t seen the college for a while are often pleasantly surprised by how different the campus looks. I don’t mean the buildings, but the people. Our growing racial and ethnic diversity is clearly evident to any visitor, while other forms of difference (including class, nationality, religion and

From the March 2011 Alumni Review I came to Williams as it was exiting the global economic crisis as from a cold shower, with energy high and senses fully alert. And while few would long to repeat the experience, it’s now clear to me, nearing the end of my status as newcomer, that the College