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Ukraine’s Prayer for Freedom
I have had the privilege of traveling with one of our University’s International Studies classes this week. We are studying the Art and Culture of Spain. It has been a wonderful trip full of beauty and exploration so ably led by my colleagues. And, yet, nearly everywhere we go, every...
The Backward Glance
As some of you know from previous posts, I am attracted to the early 20th century Hebraic philosopher, Martin Buber. In one piece titled “My Mother,” which is taken from a collection of autobiographical fragments later titled Meetings, Buber uses the backward glance as a way to describe late-life...
Remaining Uncomfortable with Easy Promises
I am still struggling to understand the real “why?” behind members of Congress being the first in line to receive COVID-19 vaccinations. The official response from the government is that they were complying with a National Security Council directive which gave lawmakers priority in order to ensure continuity of our...
Some Thoughts About the Use of Words
Editor’s Note: the original version of this post was distributed to the University of Dubuque community in mid-January 2021. This version has been edited slightly for my blog. Several of you have inquired about whether I have any plans to offer remarks on the recent events in our nation’s capital...
Saying No to Cancel Culture
Cancel culture is a modern from of ostracism in which someone is thrust out of social or professional circles online through social media, in the real world, or both. Those who are subject to this ostracism are said to be to “canceled.” It is an act of publicly shaming another...
Leading in a Pandemic: Lessons Learned
Friday, March 13, 2020 was the day I last remember feeling normal. Along with our youngest son, my wife and I were returning home from a college visit in North Dakota. Winter was still with us in the Midwest, but hope for less snow and more warmth was in the...
Poverty in America
I'm happy to have Michael D. Tanner on the podcast to talk about poverty, economic growth during Covid-19 and entitlement reform. Michael is a Senior Fellow at the CATO Institute, a public policy research organization dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace. Michael heads...
An Inoculation of Common Sense
Published in the Dubuque Telegraph Herald, July 19, 2020. As have peers in higher education leadership, my colleagues at the University of Dubuque and I have been trying to manage the safety, health, contingency planning and financial ramifications of COVID-19. We have learned a lot in five months. This virus...
The Splendid and the Vile
Once in a while a leader emerges, but only in retrospect do we understand their historical impact. Winston Churchill was that leader. Churchill was an odd man. He bathed twice daily, demanding that his bath water be at precisely the correct temperature. He worked while bathing, as secretaries took dictation...
Leading Beyond the Comfort Zone
Leading an organization is as much art as science; as much about culture as strategy. Many leaders excel in the science/strategy part of the equation. They keep tabs on their product lines and quarterly performance, and they become very good at strategic planning. Yet, the strongest leaders also understand that...
The Weak After Excuses
The Iowa Democratic Party ushered in the first presidential caucus in 1972. The Republican Party of Iowa jumped on the bandwagon four years later. With their Feb. 3, 2020 debacle, which has provided national pundits plenty of fodder for ridicule, the Democrats hosted their last presidential caucus. And so will...
A Commitment to Place
Some years ago, I was invited to speak to a service organization in Storm Lake, Iowa. Prior to the engagement, I stopped into the local newspaper, The Storm Lake Times, to do an interview. I was interviewed by a young journalist named Tom, whom I later learned is the son...
