In Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird is the story of the woman mauled by a gorilla. “Pain,” she says. “You don’t know pain.” The “story” is a joke, actually, with the punchline, “He doesn’t write. He doesn’t call.” Annie tells it much better. For me, I don’t need the whole telling, just the punchline. It’s […]
You’re No Prize Either
I’m the department chair now. It’s my first annual evaluation season. I’m thinking this is going to be hard for me. Two main reasons: I take things literally. My university uses a five point scale where 3 is “meets expectations.” But there’s a wink-wink use of the scale where 4, “exceeds expectations,” means “you are […]
The Parent Prayer
My son attends a small Catholic college. I work at a large public university. In many ways the enterprise is very different. But in other ways, fundamentally the same. In the orientation materials, his school provided a Prayer for Parents: Almighty and all-loving God, you have given me this wonderful and treasured child who is […]
Three Little Kittens (Despicable Me)
The bedtime routine for the harried parent, courtesy of Despicable Me. How is it that I identify both with Agnes (“pretty please?”) and with Gru (“Did you brush your teeth? Let me smell….You did NOT.”)? 1:40: “This is literature?!” 2:30: “Though while you sleep, we are apart, your mommy loves you with all her heart.” […]
Magic Coffee Table
This is really funny. It’s so funny that my sons even understood why it’s funny.
Happy Birthday, Cyber Lil!
Tomorrow would have been my grandmother’s 101st birthday. I recently heard our new dean tell her origin story as a first generation college student. I am not. In fact, the grandmother I celebrate today, Lillian Bunin, was a math major at Hunter College, which makes me a third generation STEM nerd. In addition to sharing […]
Emailing Professors
How confident are you that you know how to write an impeccable email to a professor? If you aren’t confident, or maybe even if you are, please read this excellent article on how to email your professor. Please. The author (Laura Portwood-Stacer) breaks it down for us into ten easy steps. I’m often skeptical of […]
Junior High School Superlatives
That’s me in the picture. Eighth grade. I was voted Most Intellectual by my classmates. This title was part of a larger slate of superlatives: Most Likely to Succeed, Best Looking, Most Athletic, Prettiest Eyes, Best Smile, Class Clown. I wonder if these elections are still in practice today and if so, whether the categories […]
Business School Teachers
Over the summer, my department held a series of teaching workshops. These workshops gave us a chance to come together and reexamine classroom practices such as in-class exercises, group projects, and educational simulations. The workshop I have continued to think about most was the one on the role of academic research in teaching business students. […]
What Do You Love About Your Job?
There is a right answer to this question: I work with great people, and I am learning something every day. The guy who wrote the book on being a highly effective person counsels to “begin with end in mind.” People engaged in job search often think that landing a job is the end that they […]