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Larry Ladd @larryladd.bsky.social · 9h

It will take awhile to figure out AI's uses and consequences. It often feels as if we are navigating in the dark.

Professors fear students are outsourcing critical thinking to AI. Here are 5 ways they can fight back, a researcher says.

A South African researcher said schools are failing to teach critical thinking and urged teachers to help students question AI tools like ChatGPT.

www.businessinsider.com

Larry Ladd @larryladd.bsky.social · 9h

"Leadership in higher education today carries a burden that defies simple explanation. It is a quiet and corrosive strain that scholars call moral injury, the inner conflict that arises when one’s role requires choices that violate personal and professional values."

Leading Through Moral Injury (opinion)

Instead of a politics of divide and conquer, we can choose collaboration; instead of scarcity narratives, we can seek abundance and equity, Leonie H. Mattison writes.

www.insidehighered.com

1

Larry Ladd @larryladd.bsky.social · 14h

“An adult life...is a slowly emerging design, with shifting components, occasional dramatic disruptions, and fresh creative arrangements.” Happy birthday to author and educator Jill Ker Conway (1934-2018), who served as the first woman president of Smith College.

Jill Ker Conway - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Larry Ladd @larryladd.bsky.social · 15h

Whatever the flaws in the ranking methodology, the overall trend that US higher education is losing ground internationally is a threat to the nation itself.

U.S. Continues Decline in THE World University Rankings

The latest tables, released Wednesday, show the U.S. was losing ground to global competitors before the Trump administration upended academic research funding.

www.insidehighered.com

Larry Ladd @larryladd.bsky.social · 15h

Enrollment officers' job is to attract students to an institution or opportunity that is inherently attractive to those with aspirations to attend. Presidents and boards need to understand that it is their job, not the enrollment professionals, to make the institution worthy of attending.

For Enrollment Leaders, the Hot Seat Keeps Getting Hotter

They’re navigating demands for an annual miracle: more applicants, more revenue, more everything — no matter the circumstances.

www.chronicle.com

Larry Ladd @larryladd.bsky.social · 18h

"Bizarrely, this list is offered by a secretary of education who insists her primarily goal is to 'return education to the states' and get the federal government out of education." Frederick Hess American Enterprise Institute

www.aei.org

Larry Ladd @larryladd.bsky.social · 18h

Threats are as powerful, sometimes more powerful, than actually following through on the threats. They create a culture of compliance that is antithetical to the values that have made colleges and universities so successful.

Faculty express concern and fear over Compact from Trump administration

Several faculty have expressed concern over the mere existence of the Compact, claiming that it demonstrates extreme federal overreach from the Trump administration.

www.cavalierdaily.com

Larry Ladd @larryladd.bsky.social · 19h

"Rather than try to negotiate for better terms with an administration that has shown itself to be an unreliable partner, universities should stand together in support of academic freedom and self-governance."

Trump sent a 'compact' to our universities. They should reject this devil's bargain.

Any institution that yields to these broad and intrusive demands would forever be subservient to the whims of the government.

www.msnbc.com

Larry Ladd @larryladd.bsky.social · 20h

Universities and their locations are in symbiotic relationship and need each other to succeed. Universities need to be in economically and culturally vibrant communities to be successful.

How Research Universities Can Power America’s Urban Comeback

There’s an overlooked engine of revival for downtowns hiding in plain sight: urban-based research universities.

www.forbes.com

Larry Ladd @larryladd.bsky.social · 1d

Humility, curiosity, and empathy
hbr.org/2023/09/what...

What Makes an Inclusive Leader?

Leaders play a critical role in fostering inclusivity within their organizations. They account for a difference of up to 70 percentage points in employees’ experience of belongingness and psychologica...

hbr.org

Larry Ladd @larryladd.bsky.social · 1d

Universities can coordinate their athletic schedules but not their responses to Federal intervention. Each institution has its own set of factors to consider. The associations speak forcefully, but the specific institutions do not stand together.

Brown administrators remain silent on Trump compact while many peers say they are reviewing it

Administrators at most other universities who received the compact have publicly said they are considering the proposal.

www.browndailyherald.com

Larry Ladd @larryladd.bsky.social · 1d

“The best way out is always through.” Robert Frost

Larry Ladd @larryladd.bsky.social · 1d

Loan holders lose because profit becomes the only motivator. And taxpayers lose. “I really don’t see a scenario here where taxpayers come out ahead,” says Preston Cooper, at the AEI. “I think the most likely scenario is that taxpayers get less than the loans are actually worth.”

Trump Administration Considers Selling Federal Student Loan Debt, Report Says: Here’s What To Know

Some critics say the move could cost taxpayers.

www.forbes.com

Larry Ladd @larryladd.bsky.social · 1d

Many of the specifics in the "compact" are alarming in and of themselves, but the major threat is the erosion of universities' ability to chart their own destiny free of the imposition of any one political ideology.

How Colleges Stack Up Against Trump’s Sweeping ‘Compact’ Demands

Schools asked to sign the proposal already meet some requirements, including a limit on international undergrad enrollment

www.wsj.com

1

Larry Ladd @larryladd.bsky.social · 1d

This morning in 1997, a large pumpkin was discovered impaled on the spire of Cornell University’s McGraw Tower, 173 feet up. To this day no one knows how it got there. It remained for 158 days through fall, a harsh winter and into the spring.
news.cornell.edu/stories/2017...

Pumpkin prank perpetrator puzzle persists 20 years later | Cornell Chronicle

On the brisk autumn morning of Wednesday, Oct. 8, 1997, Cornell students, faculty and staff strolling by McGraw Tower noted an unusual sight: a large pumpkin impaled on the spire 173 feet up. The ques...

news.cornell.edu

Larry Ladd @larryladd.bsky.social · 1d

A tedious, opaque, and biased transfer process is a major obstacle to degree completion for millions. Transfer of credits may be significantly improved by AI. Who knew?

Accreditors Encourage AI to Boost Credit Transfer Process

More than half of those who seek to transfer credit report losing credits, which is a major barrier to degree completion. But AI can help streamline the process and reduce credit loss.

www.insidehighered.com

Larry Ladd @larryladd.bsky.social · 2d

The signs of a board in need to significant improvement:
ssir.org/articles/ent...

Spotting and Fixing Dysfunctional Nonprofit Boards (SSIR)

Micromanaging, rubber stamp, and Balkanized nonprofit boards of directors are more common than not, and turning them into high-functioning governing bodies requires being on the alert for six warning ...

ssir.org

1

Larry Ladd @larryladd.bsky.social · 2d

I first learned these core principles of good CEO leadership when I worked for and observed Duke University President Terry Sanford, the best leader I ever had the opportunity to watch up close. rogermartin.medium.com/the-signs-of...

The Signs of a Good CEO

Five Essential Features

rogermartin.medium.com

Larry Ladd @larryladd.bsky.social · 2d

Happy 70th birthday to Yo-Yo Ma.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCic...

Bach Cello Suite No.1 - Prelude (Yo-Yo Ma)

YouTube video by Radu Rîcă

www.youtube.com

Larry Ladd @larryladd.bsky.social · 2d

On this day in 1993, author Toni Morrison became the first African American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Larry Ladd @larryladd.bsky.social · 2d

"This is not constructive engagement. Well-established legal and administrative processes for exercising oversight and developing policy are far more effective than executive fiat in promoting reform and strengthening higher education."

AAC&U Statement on the Trump Administration’s “Compact for… | AAC&U

AAC&U Statement on the Trump Administration’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education”

www.aacu.org

Larry Ladd @larryladd.bsky.social · 2d

Networking and apprenticeships (interning) have always been the best path to an actual job. It's a surprise only to this writer. College is an important way to get the opportunity to network and apprentice.

Why networking has become more valuable than a college degree

One-third of 2025 college graduates are unemployed and actively seeking work. Here's how college leaders can help.

universitybusiness.com

Larry Ladd @larryladd.bsky.social · 2d

"Hegseth wasn’t preserving history. He was protecting a lie." nativenewsonline.net/opinion/pete...

Pete Hegseth’s Wounded Knee Decision Betrays the Meaning of Honor

Opinion: When U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced Sept. 25 that he would not rescind the Medals of Honor awarded to approximately 20 members of the U.S. 7th Cavalry for their actions at t...

nativenewsonline.net

Larry Ladd @larryladd.bsky.social · 2d

Most college and university staff want remote work options, and private institutions are far more accommodating than public ones.

Despite Return-to-Campus Push, Remote Work in Higher Ed Is Increasingly Popular

Work-from-home arrangements have become more popular in the sector, but just about all of that growth has happened at private colleges.

www.chronicle.com

Larry Ladd @larryladd.bsky.social · 2d

The sharp reduction in Federal support for research is igniting a lot of innovative thinking about alternative sources of support. It isn't at the scale of the Federal support, and it can sometimes come with undesirable strings attached, but it's the best that can be done at the moment.

Inside higher ed’s fight to continue groundbreaking research in the face of funding cuts

Unprecedented cuts have researchers scrambling, but other sources can’t fill the gap.

www.fastcompany.com