Impediments to Change - The Biggest

In the past I have written about some of those institutional factors that keep us from changing the chemistry curriculum to something that better reflects the state of the science and the needs of the community. I did so as a response to those that blame the faculty for the failure of the system that they themselves administer. The truth is that, as provocateurs tend to do, I overstated my case.

The biggest impediment to any change is the people who measure the field and find that change will be too hard, costs too much, or any number of other euphemisms that really mean that they are unwilling to try. Too often it is precisely the people who recognize the need for change who have found these scapegoats to blame for their own feet of clay. In honesty, I most certainly include myself in the above assessment.

Having the ability to see opportunity, what we can or should be able to do, can also give one the ability to see the rocky shoals and hidden reefs along the way to were we want to be. Too often, instead of using our knowledge to chart a course we sit at anchor and curse the difficulty of the course an all those impediments on it.

I have been thinking a lot about grant writing lately. One of the things granting teaches us is to make your case for exploring or making the change envisioned by our hypothesis. If we fail to get funding it has much less to do with the malice of the review panel than our ability to make a case for the work. Similarly, if the administration or the faculty see problems in the academy we need to make our case to each other in a way that invites shared participation.

I believe we must change higher education not just to save the industry, but to provide the service that higher education can provide the community. I believe that there are many honest brokers who care deeply about the mission of higher education. The challenges are many, but if we join together and create a viable business plan I believe we can sell the idea to those capable of funding the plan and willing to make the long term investment to see a program through to becoming self sustaining.

Since I believe that all endeavors must begin with a mission that is served by all the activities of the enterprise, I ask for input on the mission for our new STEM focused university. My initial thoughts run to:

Teaching the scientific way of thinking

Teaching both basic and applied science

Teaching allied skills necessary for careers with a science base

Contributing through scholarly activity to the field of study by both basic and applied means

OK, that's the general start. Readers are welcome to weigh in on the general mission and perhaps if there are enough followers we can get to specifics in the future.

T.S. Hall