This article uses a narrative retelling of my journey to academic development to offer a new insight into induction initiatives: alongside a critical commitment to student learning, new academic developers need to build an informed and scholarly 'idea of the university'. As universities renew focus on teaching and learning, student retention, and…

Responding to the call for papers on "The Future of College Student Mental Health," we analyze the current "crisis" in college student mental health, and we discuss how it is co-constructed by our students and we who are the faculty and the administrators. We identify three factors: (1) A shift from offering value-based…

The Robert Bowne Foundation (RBF), which published "Afterschool Matters" from 2003 to 2008 and continues to fund the journal and related projects, is closing in December. "Afterschool Matters" sat down with Lena Townsend, executive director, to talk about RBF's legacy and continuing influence on literacy work in afterschool…

In today's financially strained higher education landscape, the student services infrastructure is often supported by fewer staff, less money, less experience, and less knowledge. Gone are the days when higher education staff professionals acquired the necessary education pieces, apprenticed in positions, and waited patiently for promotions. Most…

The arts disciplines (visual arts, music, theatre, and dance) merit and require formal study. Policy makers should support studies in the arts as core disciplines, as specified in the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)," the federal legislation that sets policy and appropriations for public education. The arts merit and…

Instructional coaching is a reality in many schools today, yet administrators often lack experience or background on how to utilize this professional development model effectively. Instructional coaching can help administrators balance the managerial and instructional leadership responsibilities required of their role. As districts adopt the…

The author never planned to work at a college, but she finds she is vice president of student development at a community college; she served previously as assistant to the dean of academic services, as registrar, and as dean of enrollment management. She started her career in health care administration, and her master's was in public…

Now spanning 31 years, the "Journal of Organizational Behavior Management" ("JOBM") continues to generate new conceptual ideas and high-quality research in the field of Organizational Behavior Management (OBM). However, it is a bit disheartening to realize that the growth (in terms of number of practitioners and researchers) and expected impact of…

This article sets the Leitch Review of Skills in the context of the wider skills debate and draws attention to potential flaws, of which higher education (HE) managers need to be aware when responding to this policy pressure. It argues that there are fundamental flaws in the Leitch report arising from underlying assumptions which are unproven in…

This article has its origins in the Macpherson report's contention that public organisations in British society are characterised by institutional racism. Drawing upon the Parekh report's identification of ten components of institutional racism, the article examines which, if any, of these components are manifest in a university in Central England…

Bruce M. Shore is in his 39th year as a Professor of Educational Psychology in the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and Associate Director (McGill) of the multi-campus Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance. For 21 years he was jointly appointed as a member of the…

Larry Johnson has been the CEO of the New Media Consortium (NMC) for nearly a decade, and he has worked in higher education for more than twenty-five years. Before joining NMC, he served in roles that include faculty member, dean, provost, and president. In this interview, he talks about the position of NMC in distance education and the challenges…

Elizabeth G. Sturtevant, a professor of education at George Mason University, holds a 33-year record of college-level teaching, scholarship, and service that centers on adolescent literacy. Her research helps clarify the pressures that affect teachers' literacy instruction, the role of secondary school literacy coaches, and adolescent…

The forum contributors draw on their personal experiences and insights to put forth ideas about contingent faculty's relations with the profession of English studies in general. (Contains 3 notes.)

The author is pleased to see that the future directions of the Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders (CCBD) are being addressed. The celebration of the 50th birthday of the inception of CCBD has set the occasion to carefully examine the status quo of the organization and to set future directions, as appropriate. The authors of "New…