The World of Higher Education Podcast Listen now →

The World of Higher Education Podcast Listen now →

Category: Institutions

Laurentian Blues (7) – The Process

Last week, the Laurentian University Senate met in a bizarre closed-door session to approve a package of cuts, the details of which are still mostly unknown.  On the basis of this, quite a number of people received termination notices at Laurentian University yesterday.  I have not seen any definitive numbers on losses (the university, typical of its entire approach through this crisis, is being crap at communicating actual information), but I have seen estimates of anywhere between 80 and 110

Read More »
April 13, 2021 11 Comments

Federated Universities (A kind of Laurentian story)

Morning, everyone.  Apologies for the pause in posting: it’s been a rough few weeks, health-wise.  I am not 100% yet, and blogging might not be 4x per week for a little while, but time to get back in the saddle: there’s too much going on to sit on the sidelines. So, it’s a big day at Laurentian University.  The administration – or at least the tiny portion of if that actually knows what’s going on – has called a super-duper secret

Read More »
April 6, 2021 6 Comments

What Could Still Derail Fall 2021

Some of you doubted me – a few of you quite vocally –  when I suggested campuses would be able to open in-person for Fall 2021.  Now, it should be clear that with more vaccines being approved, accelerated deliveries of already-approved vaccines and the decision to permit up to four months between jabs, that pretty much anyone in the country who wants one will receive the first dose of the vaccine by June and most will have a second before

Read More »
March 9, 2021 1 Comment

Laurentian Blues (6) – The Model

Most of what we know about the Laurentian affair suggests that it is sui generis, but some people insist on turning it into an exemplar of broader trend: not so much a “who’s next” as a “there but for the grace of God go all of us” (or, as a recent podcast had it: is Laurentian the “canary in the nickel mine”?).  Basically, this argument suggests that Laurentian is not really at fault, but rather a victim of “the Ontario

Read More »
March 8, 2021 4 Comments

Vision and Mission

To Hamilton, where McMaster University has released a new vision statement.  To be honest, I am not sure I have ever seen a vision statement quite like it: not only is it detached from any kind of strategic planning exercise I am aware of (from whence vision statements usually spring), but it is also more or less unparalleled as an assault on the English language.  Here it is: “Impact, Ambition and Transformation through Excellence, Inclusion and Community: Advancing Human and

Read More »
March 2, 2021 4 Comments
Load More

One Thought to Start Your Day

One Thought to Start Your Day is our founder and CEO Alex Usher’s popular daily blog, brimming with up-to-the-minute insights and informed opinions on today’s higher education industry.

Subscribe

Search Posts

Search Publications

Social Media

Linkedin Youtube Spotify

Recent Posts

More thoughts on...