Southern Vermont College

When I was a law professor at New York Law School, the start of each academic year was invigorating. It was a time filled with possibilities; it brought a recurring flutter of activity as I prepared to teach my new and returning students. With the fall semester approaching, I usually paused to make what I’ve come to call a “teaching wish” – a wish that my students and I would be engaged in a wonderful, reciprocal learning process throughout the semester. I had another habit: When students settled into their seats on the first day of class, I always quieted the class down and began with these words – Ready? Let’s Go.

The promise of the semester was there before us.

Since I have become a college president, the start of each academic year has importance too as we welcome new students to the Southern Vermont College community and welcome back hundreds of returning students. We also welcome new faculty and staff as well as those who are already part of our community. While I do not regularly have a classroom filled with students now (I still proudly teach from time to time), I have many of the feelings I had as a professor – a recognition of the immense opportunities awaiting us. And, I am tempted by the urge to utter the same words I often used on the first day of classes – Ready? Let’s Go.

The promise of the year is there before us.

Starting this new blog, “Higher Education Matters”, feels somewhat like starting a new academic year. It is a now empty space that is waiting to be filled. I hope that my postings are, in some senses, like a classroom, creating opportunities for reciprocal learning. I hope they are multi-dimensional, encouraging engagement. I hope, too, that the blog will enable readers to become interested in and by a wide range of topics, which is, after all, what professors seek for their students. Look for new entries every week or so; look for photographs of varying sorts; look for references to interesting books and movies; look for commentary on hot topics in and outside of higher education; look for updates on our academic programs like the Simulation Laboratory that we are launching for the SVC healthcare programs, look for important legal issues that affect consumers and deal with problems in the consumer financial markets; look for stories of remarkable people at SVC and in and around Vermont; look for inspiring quotes or just inspiration.

So, to use my oft-repeated words as we launch this blog: Ready? Let’s Go.

The promise of reciprocal learning in the blogosphere awaits us.