“Don’t worry. Remember, she was a slow starter in high school and that turned out okay. It’ll be fine.” That was my younger brother reassuring my mother who, apparently, was worried about me during my first year of college. I learned about this conversation long after it had taken place. When I did learn about…

The former dean of the Dedman School at SMU had one of the best roommate stories I’ve heard. He would show up to speak to incoming students wearing a seersucker suit and bow tie and looking like the nerdiest professor ever. But it didn’t take long before the students and their parents were enthralled as…

Summer 1975 was one of those in between times for me and my group of friends. Liminal, the poets call it and it’s one of my favorite concepts. Liminal is the place, space, or time that is neither here nor there. It’s a threshold, a door. That moment before you leave something known behind and step…

By spring of 1982, my last semester in law school, I had a clear idea of what I wanted to do, but no idea where I would do it. I spent a large part of my evenings in the office of our residence complex typing out letters to send in response to job ads in The…

One of the challenges of this time of the year is just how much is going on. There’s so much to do and so much to keep track of that it can be overwhelming. So, here’s my usual reminder – take time to breathe. Breath and breathing are crucial components of a good yoga class. It…

Last week, the OUHSC College of Nursing held a two-day conference for students, faculty, and staff. There were breakout sessions for students on topics such as resume writing, interview tips, and self-care. There were also faculty panels about the different specialties in nursing and opportunities for future education. But the focus of the event was on…

There are so many wonderful elements to the experience of working on a college or university campus. One aspect is the campus itself. Places to walk or to sit. Places to read or chat. Even a campus that can’t afford a lot in the way of landscaping is likely to have a couple of trees worth sitting under.…

With a title like this you might think I’m writing about the dangers of humor in the workplace – and humor in the workplace can be a bit fraught, but that’s not what this is about. Today’s newsletter topic is by special request and is really about getting me to tell a story on myself.…

When we moved to Austin in 2012 and started house hunting, as most people do, we had a specific list of items we wanted. I wanted to be able to get to the university without getting on either I-35 or Mopac and we needed a yard that would be big enough to support four dogs,…

In the midst of the second year of the pandemic, I was coaching a number of senior leaders who were struggling. They had made it through the time of being off campus but things were not ‘normal’ on campus. And their list of things to accomplish was as long as ever, but now included managing…