President Gene Nichol of William and Mary was asked to step down from the position. Following is his letter to the community. It speaks for itself. What a shame. Dear Members of the William & Mary Community: I was informed by the Rector on Sunday, after our Charter Day celebrations, that my contract will not be renewed in July. Appropriately, serving the College in the wake of such a decision is beyond my imagining. Accordingly, I have advised the Rector,…
I’m starting a non-academic job on Monday, and I couldn’t be more pleased. Except for the schedule, I think it will be better than an academic job in almost every way. This is a bad time for higher education, especially in the humanities. I have several friends who are trying to survive at the edges and the beginnings, and after almost four years of trying to find an appropriate position, I have given up. I have adjuncted at a couple…
When I was an undergraduate, I thought it would be a good idea to get high school teaching certification as a backup. I had an amazing teacher – I hated him at the time – who asked everyone in the room why they wanted to teach. Most of the undergrads said things like “I want to help people.” Sheesh. When he got to me, I said that I was an intellectual, and that curiosity, analysis and debate were essential for…