President's Corner
What I'm Up To
- I'm reading:
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I don’t often reread. For two reasons: A) I have so many books on my “still to be read” pile that it seems daunting to also reread books I loved before, and B) it’s because I loved them once that I’m a little afraid to read them again. That said, I was recently asked to list my favorite book of all time and I answered Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. But I don’t really know if that’s still true (and it’s an impossible question anyway – favorite book? On what day? In what mood?), so I’m rereading it and it feels like being with an old friend. It has one of my very favorite scenes ever: the card game between Levin and Kitty that leads to the proposal and his joyous walking the streets all night.
- I'm watching:
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Blindspotting is billed as a buddy-comedy. Wow does that undersell it and the drama is often gripping. I loved Daveed Diggs in Hamilton, didn’t like his character in Black-ish, and think he is transcendent in this film he co-wrote with Rafael Casal, his co-star. The film is a love song to Oakland in many ways, but also a gut-wrenching indictment of police brutality, systemic racism and bias, and gentrification. The film has the freshness and raw visceral impact of Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing. A great soundtrack, genre mixing, and energy make it one of my favorite movies of 2018.
- I'm listening to:
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Spending a week in New Zealand, we had endless laughs listening to the Kiwi band, Flight of the Conchords. Lots of comedic bands are funny, but the music is only okay or worse. These guys are funny – hysterical really – and the music is great. They have an uncanny ability to parody almost any style. In both New Zealand and Australia, we found a wry sense of humor that was just delightful and no better captured than with this duo. You don’t have to be in New Zealand to enjoy them.
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I'm tweeting at @snhuprez:
Our Single Most Important Fight
Posted on December 4, 2018
I’m back from my travels in New Zealand and Australia and while it was amazing and often gorgeous (and we saw lots of great wildlife), I was disheartened by the constant drumbeat of “But climate change is….” Then fill in the blank. Shrinking habitats and declining numbers of species, bleached coral reefs, forests dying off, […]
Read More »Pop Picks – December 4, 2018
Posted on December 4, 2018
December 4, 2018 What I’m listening to: Spending a week in New Zealand, we had endless laughs listening to the Kiwi band, Flight of the Conchords. Lots of comedic bands are funny, but the music is only okay or worse. These guys are funny – hysterical really – and the music is great. They have an uncanny ability to […]
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Unveiling SNHU’s 2018-2023 Strategic Plan
Posted on October 16, 2018
Strategic planning efforts in higher education usually elicit resigned eye rolling from those who have seen strategic planning as a form of participatory theater, with lots of stakeholders involved and endless meetings and a product that has something for everyone and thus little focus or use. Those plans often sit on a shelf gathering dust […]
Read More »Pop Picks – October 15, 2018
Posted on October 15, 2018
What I’m listening to: We had the opportunity to see our favorite band, The National, live in Dallas two weeks ago. Just after watching Mistaken for Strangers, the documentary sort of about the band. So we’ve spent a lot of time going back into their earlier work, listening to songs we don’t know well, and reaffirming that […]
Read More »Pop Picks – September 7, 2018
Posted on September 7, 2018
What I’m listening to: With a cover pointing back to the Beastie Boys’ 1986 Licensed to Ill, Eminem’s quietly released Kamikaze is not my usual taste, but I’ve always admired him for his “all out there” willingness to be personal, to call people out, and his sheer genius with language. I thought Daveed Diggs could rap fast, but […]
Read More »Pop Picks – August 16, 2018
Posted on August 16, 2018
What I’m listening to: In my Spotify Daily Mix was Percy Sledge’s When A Man Loves A Woman, one of the world’s greatest love songs. Go online and read the story of how the song was discovered and recorded. There are competing accounts, but Sledge said he improvised it after a bad breakup. It has that kind […]
Read More »Building an Inclusive SNHU
Posted on August 16, 2018
Following the anniversary of the deeply troubling incidents in Charlottesville a year ago, I want to update you on our efforts to build a more inclusive community here at SNHU and the considerable progress of the last two years. This is an update on our ongoing efforts and while I will focus this message largely […]
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SNHU: A Great Place to Work Eleven Years Running
Posted on August 2, 2018
Eleven years ago, Southern New Hampshire University was named for the first time a “Great College to Work For” by The Chronicle of Higher Education. As you can imagine, or remember, it was a very proud moment for the SNHU community. Last month, The Chronicle announced that SNHU made the list once again, making us […]
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Some Reflections on Completing 15 Years at SNHU
Posted on July 23, 2018
Last month marked my fifteenth year here at SNHU. A former college president once told me, “all college presidents should leave after eight years. Ninety-five percent of the good you will do happens in the first year and after that you are just on cruise control.” A second former president countered, “I was a president […]
Read More »Pop Picks – July 23, 2018
Posted on July 23, 2018
What I’m listening to: Spotify’s Summer Acoustic playlist has been on repeat quite a lot. What a fun way to listen to artists new to me, including The Paper Kites, Hollow Coves, and Fleet Foxes, as well as old favorites like Leon Bridges and Jose Gonzalez. Pretty chill when dialing back to a summer pace, dining on […]
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