Presidents from around the country (and the Bahamas) assembled in Seattle this week for the summer meeting of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU). The days and evenings were packed with sessions, roundtables, and intensive workshops.
I convened the annual retreat of female chancellors and presidents (women are still only 20% of public university presidents and chancellors). I attended a half-day workshop on legal issues in higher ed and a myriad of sessions on topics from leading a healthy campus to using technology for greater innovation.
Rebecca Costa, author of The Watchman’s Rattle: Thinking Ourselves out of Extinction, spoke with us about the characteristics that served humans well in our evolutionary history but don’t serve us well in the modern world—and what we can do about it.
Given our campus theme this coming year, I was particularly pleased to attend a session on “Strategies for Civility,” approaches to encouraging civil campuses and communities, led by Jim Leach, Chairman for the National Endowment for the Humanities.
It was a productive, useful conference. I only had time for a couple of nice walks (umbrella in hand) along the waterfront under moody grey Seattle skies.
