A little bit of peace during the pandemic.

Southern Bubba, Ph.D. submits a thought.

I think the best supervisors I ever had were able to feel--and express--regret and remorse.  This scene from one of my favorite movies reminded me of this when I watched it again recently.  And I wondered how such a scene would have played out in this COVID19 pandemic environment in which so many people are not allowed to reach out and physically touch each other.

It reminded me, too, of a casual (but earnest) conversation I had last year with an older colleague to whom I am somewhat endeared.  We were exchanging thoughts and questions.  "Did you ever shout at any subordinates in front of their coworkers?" "Did you apologize to them later?"  "Did you apologize in front of their coworkers?"  And so on.

Colleges can have some smart people, no doubt.  But they can also have so many heartless bastards.  Real assholes.  People who are not merely immature or "flawed," but people who have the more devastating cluster-B personality disorders.  Or just plane "evil," to use the vernacular that so many of us have used a few times.

It's humbling.  I look back.  There are some things I wish I'd done differently.

--Southern Bubba, Ph.D.

Demise or Reinvention?

Can Colleges Survive Coronavirus? 'The Math Is Not Pretty' [NPR]

15 Fall Scenarios [insidehighered.com]

The Big Question for Colleges: Will There Be a Fall Semester on Campus? [WSJ]

9 ways coronavirus could reshape American higher education [The Week]

Colleges Mobilize to Combat the Coronavirus Crisis [Chronicle]

Boston College professors, staff, and alumni open homes to displaced students [Boston Globe]

The flava:
After Boston College president William Leahy announced earlier this month that the school would be closing, students suddenly faced uncertainty and anxiety.

But dozens of BC faculty, staff, and alumni have stepped in to offer displaced students an array of services — and even opening their homes to some who had nowhere to go. The services also included storage, financial support, food, language services, and transportation.

The article:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/03/26/metro/boston-college-professors-staff-alumni-open-homes-displaced-students/

Real Leaders: Rachel Carson Seeds the Environmental Movement [Harvard Business Review]

https://hbr.org/podcast/2020/03/real-leaders-rachel-carson-seeds-the-environmental-movement

a little baffled [from Moriarty from Midland]

All classes have suddenly become online (or "distance learning" or "distance education").

Then I watched as one of my colleagues declared to the dean, "My students didn't sign up for this shit. I'm going to give all of them at least a 'C' even if they actually fail."  The dean gave no indication that he had any problem with this.

I know there is widespread discussion about making all classes pass/fail this semester.  That's one thing.  But simply refusing to fail any student this semester is a bridge too far.

--Moriarty from Midland

It begins: Our Colleagues

U.P. professor, China expert Aileen Baviera dies of coronavirus

UW professor Stephen Schwartz dies from COVID-19

Volunteer law professor at Loyola dies from COVID-19

Russia's first confirmed coronavirus death is an elderly university professor who reportedly lectured until her hospitalization

Second person dies of coronavirus in France

big hungry

What are the odds that students will return to your campus in the fall?  

Coronavirus Epidemic at Claremont Colleges Leave Hundreds of Students Facing Homelessness [claremontindependent.com]

The flava:
The Pomona College administration released through school email channels on Thursday (March 12) a decision to shift academic endeavors to online mediums and mandate that students leave campus by 5:00 PM PST on the upcoming Wednesday (March 18). 

Students, who were given the opportunity to apply to remain safe on campus from their respective situations at home, were notified throughout the week of their respective colleges’ decisions. 

The article:
https://claremontindependent.com/claremont-pomona-college-coronavirus-eviction-homeless/

Why Experts Are Urging Social Distancing to Combat Coronavirus Outbreak [UCSF]

UC San Francisco epidemiologists Jeff Martin, MD, MPH, and George Rutherford, III, MD, explained why these public health measures are being taken and what each of us can do to slow the outbreak and help to save lives. . . .

Above all, keep your distance.


Social distancing now is one of the greatest calls for altruism. People aren’t asked to do this to protect themselves, it’s really to protect those who are most susceptible.

Many people think they have a fever without taking their temperature.  Get a thermometer. Take your temperature.

This is not just a bad flu.

https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/03/416906/why-experts-are-urging-social-distancing-combat-coronavirus-outbreak