Month: September 2007

Chronicle: Fred Thompson’s radio commentaries reveal views on higher ed

285thompsonleno2090607.jpgAnyone interested in presidential candidate Fred Thompson’s views on higher education can look to the online archives of his commentary for ABC Radio. Or you can check the Chronicle of Higher Education’s News Blog, which has already combed the archives of the Fred Thompson Report. The news blog links to a lament about political correctness in academia, his call to address the nation’s nursing shortage, commentary on the Virginia Tech tragedy and a plea for colleges to teach more military history, which includes this backhanded compliment to development officers:

One thing we know for sure about colleges, they’re better than bill collectors at tracking you down. If you ever took a single class, you’ll be asked for contributions the rest of your life.

Thompson entered the fray last night, officially announcing his candidacy on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Conference envy

Later this month I’ll be heading to Chicago for Ragan Communications’ conference on Corporate Communications and the Social Media Revolution. (It’s billed as “the can’t-miss social media summit,” so how could I skip out?) I’ll also attend the free un-conference that’s happening the day before. So I shouldn’t be experiencing conference envy. But then I read about a couple of others that turn me green.

First, there’s TechCrunch40 and its powerhouse keynoters: Marc Andreessen, David Filo, Mark Zuckerberg — names synonymous with innovation. And it’s in San Francisco in a couple of weeks.

Then, also in San Francisco, starting today is the Office 2.0 Conference, which, according to the CNET preview, “will push the Web 2.0 concept for business as far as it can go.” I love to learn about the latest software to make managing products and processes easier. The problem is, I’ve yet to find one that has really made life any easier for me or my team. But, who knows? Maybe this is the year Office 2.0 offers up a gem, and I’d love to be in San Francisco to hear about it firsthand. Guess not.

Also this month is CASE’s Annual Conference for Senior Communications and Marketing Professionals. I co-chaired last year’s event in Philly. And where might this year’s conference be? San Fran, once again.

OK, maybe I don’t have conference envy so much as a desire to visit San Francisco. If any readers are going to any of these, send me a postcard. I’ll do the same from Chicago.