Did Ya Miss Me?
Dunkirk NY – Probably not! No matter, because I have not been doing much of anything connected with theatre for the last 10 days or so.
Since returning from Amherst MA, I have been consumed by our campus’ Middle States accreditation process. For those of you not familiar with the ways of higher education, an accreditation process is what a university has to go through every ten years in order to qualify for federal funds. If you do not have accreditation from some organization regulated by the Department of Education, you cannot receive federal funds, and your students are not eligible to receive federally guaranteed student loans. The process now is far more intense than it used to be, mostly due to the effects of No Child Left Behind, a bill which has increased accountability in education even at the university level.
I will not bore any of you with the details of what i did, but basically I was the guy responsible for making sure that everything we claimed we did or are was backed by documentation. The documentation needed is extensive, and from March 18 until March 24 I was totally consumed with making sure everything was in order for the visiting team sent to evaluate the college. It’s a BIG DEAL, believe me. Wednesday last I celebrated the end of it all with my colleagues, and then Thurs-Fri I caught up with my mid-term grading (which was late) and class assignments. Saturday was an Open House at the college, followed by helping my son move to a new apartment. Sunday was something of a decompression day. And today – well, I spent the day reading 49 SOQs (Statement of Qualifications) for architectural firms interested in designing the new addition to our Rockefeller Arts Center.
So it’s been busy with all kinds of things unrelated to theatre. This week is advising week, getting classes for my advisees, and I have other things to consider. So perhaps during the coming week or so I can get back to writing more.
But I will say this. In thinking about the blog, I think what I am going to do is use this blog to write about things more personal to me, while using the TACT blog to concentrate on writing about issues in theatrical higher education. Perhaps this will help me concentrate more closely on making tighter connections between what I see happening in the professional world and the way we educate students for the profession. Then I can just use this blog to go back to my original focus on my own personal journey as a theatre artist. While I am sure those lines will blur once in awhile, I think getting some separation will allow for more a professional focus on the TACT blog and a more personal one here. Time will tell. -twl
