What is a cooling center? How are they changing? What does such a thing have to do with higher ed? Cooling centers are shaded, enclosed, and obviously cooler spaces for people to shelter in during bad heat waves. Colleges and universities afflicted by problematic heat should consider building some, or…

Today is a Sunday in northeastern Virginia. It’s a very warm afternoon now, the temperature around 88°F (31°C) and humidity driving the heat index to 100°F (38°C). The cats are resting inside, sensibly basking in air conditioning after lazing on the hot catio this morning. …

One nation recently published a climate action plan. Its climate minister stated that some of the country’s homes will have to be relocated as sea and river levels rise. I’d like to share this as one example of how we respond to climate change, and to share some observations about…

This past Thursday the Future Trends Forum hosted professor Anthony Carnevale, director of Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce. Our discussion explored higher education and its many connections to economics, from how to support first-generation college students to the role academia plays in exacerbating economic inequality. …

As I’ve been researching the climate crisis and how it might engage higher education, I’ve also tried to change my personal life in response to global warming. …

Two developments crossed my radar this week and I’d like to flag them here. Both concern the climate crisis. Each has implications for higher education. I: Heat wave Last week I visited Phoenix, Arizona for a conference. At one point I stepped outside, wearing my suit and tie, socks and…

Last month I offered a workshop on what climate change might mean for higher education. I’m just starting to do this kind of thing, so I’d like to share and document it here. The setting was the ShapingEDU Virtual Summer Camp. That meant a bunch of folks interested in education…

For a generation or more America has held a rough cultural consensus: that the more people go to college, the better. In fact, some have argued for everyone to get some higher ed experience, or least to prepare all K-12 students for that choice. What if that consensus is breaking…

How can we conduct webinars well? Over the past two years I’ve seen and used many strategies and practices. One unusual technique has appeared, one for getting webinar participants to write in a certain way in a chat box. I found it charming and entertaining, and wanted to note it…