As I’ve worked in and studied higher education, one lesson stands out above others: Leading a university is among the most complex, demanding, and highly scrutinized jobs in America. During graduate school, that idea was supported by the books and academic studies I scoured. Today, a glance ...

Driving through the city at midnight I slow down, stop, peer into backyards, and randomly crawl through multiple neighborhoods. The police have every right to pull me over, I think, as I scan the darkness around me, desperately seeking but not finding. Recent noisy holiday fireworks delighted ...

Like parents, teachers can shape not just a child's experience in the world but also the very essence of who they are. Stumble into a class with a bad teacher and the encounter might stick with you forever. To wit: I'm a grown woman with kids of my own, and I still remember my 8th-grade ...

Every time questions arise about the advanced age of America's elected leaders, Washington responds with the same familiar refrain: Experience matters. Republicans say it. Democrats say it. Editorial writers repeat it. Longevity in office, we're told, produces wisdom, steadier judgment and ...

In March 2023, standing before a crowd in Waco, Texas, Donald Trump issued a pledge that would define his return to the political stage: “I am your warrior, I am your justice. And for those who have been wronged and betrayed: I am your retribution.” What sounded to critics like campaign ...

Americans love ribbon cuttings. We celebrate the groundbreaking. We admire the rendering. We announce the project cost. Politicians gather for photographs. Local headlines proclaim progress. Then we move on. What rarely receives the same attention is what happens 10, 20, or 30 years later ...