Mark Putnam | 3 Comments | Posted: May 21, 2013
I typically say something encouraging as they approach me to help them focus on the task at hand. For some this is important advice as I often see wide eyes watering and feel a sweaty palm grasping for mine. Others relish the moment in the spotlight so much that they nearly forget to receive the diploma.
Mark Putnam | 13 Comments | Posted: March 26, 2013
The mystery surrounded a missing book. The book was not to be removed from the library at any time. This was not the first time he had given this assignment for this particular course, but it was the first time the rare book had simply disappeared.
Mark Putnam | 11 Comments | Posted: February 4, 2013
As I listened she expressed a bit of concern about the two questions her daughter is constantly asked, “What are you going to major in?” followed by “What career are you going to pursue?” My reply to her comment took her by surprise. I said, “Don’t worry about these answers now. High school students almost always get them wrong.”
Mark Putnam | 7 Comments | Posted: October 22, 2012
For me, the relationship between teacher and student, master and apprentice, and parent and child, is the base element of learning. To be sure, the nature of those relationships changes through the course of lifespan development.
Mark Putnam | 10 Comments | Posted: October 8, 2012
What we do as a residential liberal arts college is inherently expensive. Our aim is to provide the time and space necessary for well-prepared students and well-prepared faculty to engage in a shared experience of teaching and learning…Colleges and universities are not passing the full cost of operations on to students and families, nor have they ever done so. We simply can’t. Instead we are constantly refining how we do things and continually seeking the support of generous individuals, corporations and foundations to offset cost increases that cannot be fully supported by price increases.
Mark Putnam | 1 Comment | Posted: September 21, 2012
A clearer lens of interpretation would reveal institutions of higher education have been designed for centuries to conserve and preserve deeply held values and pass them on to one generation after another. Colleges, much like the broader society, are built to last and slow to change. For some, this is a sign of incredible weakness sure to result in widespread failure; for others this is the source of strength that has preserved institutions for centuries.
Mark Putnam | 8 Comments | Posted: September 5, 2012
In 1999, Columbia University and five prestigious partner organizations created a for-profit education company called Fathom. The initial partners included The London School of Economics and Political Science, Cambridge University Press, The British Library, The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History and The New York Public Library. Other equally powerful partners joined the enterprise with the goal of launching a web environment that would be the hub of knowledge and education on the internet.
Mark Putnam | 5 Comments | Posted: August 13, 2012
I think there is something much deeper behind this resistance to change, and it’s not the bureaucracy – it’s the market. The difference for the market is a distinction between models of learning that are primarily relational vs. transactional; models of learning that are formative vs. summative; and models of learning that pursue knowledge vs. certify credentials.
Mark Putnam | 10 Comments | Posted: July 20, 2012
Failure of colleges was not something that grew from macroeconomic and demographic patterns, but from interpretations and responses that were found on the micro scale. Institutions fail for a combination of three reasons: money, mismanagement and mattering.
Mark Putnam | 5 Comments | Posted: April 19, 2012
College students are devoted to service in great numbers. This is encouraging to educators who understand the power of service in the learning context. The challenge ahead is to encourage and enable students to move beyond the programs and structures of schools and colleges as they graduate, and make service a lifetime commitment.
I'm the lucky individual who carries the title, 21st president of Central College in Pella, Iowa. My wife Tammy and I have two beautiful daughters, Emma and Greta. Passionate about higher education and the issues facing it and the world today, I hope to invoke an engaging conversation with all who are ready to dig in, make a difference and build for the future. Share your thoughts. I'm listening and interested.
