Mixed Signals

By Matt Reed. In which a veteran of cultural studies seminars in the 1990s moves into academic administration and finds himself a married suburban father of two. Foucault, plus lawn care.
There’s a wonderful moment in the comment stream to this pieceby George Boggs. Boggs argues that colleges often mistake a particular institutional form for the mission, and in so doing, neglect their mission. He makes an analogy to the train industry which, he claims, failed to realize that it was really in the transportation industry, and therefore left itself vulnerable to competition from cars and trucks. Stephen Karlson, of Cold Spring Shops, responds that some train companies did realize that and try to adjust, but regulators wouldn’t let them. Read more...