Category: higher education

The name change game, New England edition

Looks like my employer isn’t the only university considering a name change. Some Massachusetts colleges want to switch to “university” status in hopes of attracting “top students, big-money donors, and more prestige,” the Boston Globe reports.

“I think Salem State University would be terrific,” said Joe DeNisco, 21, of Peabody, a senior at Salem State College. “The change in name would solidify us in the eye of a lot of people.”

A bill filed in the Massachusetts Legislature would allow a state college to become a university if it grants doctorate degrees or at least 50 master’s degrees a year. Bridgewater and Salem State College are pushing the plan, “and presidents of other state colleges say they would probably follow suit if the two colleges get the necessary approval,” the Globe reports.

An op-ed option: from ghost writer to byline

NOTE: Lance Feyh, my former colleague at Missouri S&T whom I write about below, died peacefully in his sleep on July 12, 2018. Soon after I heard the news, I thought about the approach he took to the op-ed I discuss below. I’ve added the text of the op-ed in its entirety at the bottom of this note and removed the now-broken links to the newspaper’s website. – Andrew Careaga, July 14, 2018

The people who write many of the opinion pieces we read in the newspapers are much like speech writers. They’re the behind-the-scenes ghost writers who work with the college president, the corporate CEO or some other “influential” in the organization whose byline would be more recognizable — and therefore more trusted — than that of the ghost writer.

Continue reading “An op-ed option: from ghost writer to byline”