Archive for October 2024

Recently I gave a speech at the annual conference of the Texas Association of College and University Student Personnel Administrators (TACUSPA). Its first title was “Courage to Serve.” I added a title later and, with apologies to Taylor Swift, called it “The Eras Presentation.” I began with the story of my very first TACUSPA conference.…

One of the realities of ballroom dancing is that you are always moving in close proximity to other people, especially your dance partner. If the dance floor is crowded, there will be people moving closer to you and moving away from you constantly, while you keep moving around them. There’s a lot going on. In other…

Of the seven competencies listed by this study*, competency #4, “crafting a cabinet and team building”, is the one formulated in a way that is most specific to a senior leadership position. While anyone can call their leadership team a cabinet, it’s rare in my experience for that term to be used except at the most…

Number three on the list of competencies needed for leaders in the Inside Higher Ed* article is Communication Savvy. In other words the necessary skill is being knowledgeable about one’s communication, thoughtful about what and how one is communicating, and effective in that communication. This takes work, practice, and sadly learning from mistakes as we go.…

My first semester as Assistant Dean for Student Conduct at UT Austin was, to say the least, challenging. In addition to learning a new job and making the transition from a very small college to a very large university, we had two high-profile profile cases we had to manage. Somewhere in that semester, as I was leaving work, the…