Author Archives: mike

I know we all heard the flak over the Tennessee Board of Regents hiring Chancellor John Morgan, due to his lack of a terminal degree; but I had a chance to spend some time with him a few months back … Continue reading →

Is failure not an option for you? If you say yes, failure is not an option, you may not only be wrong; but worse, you may be running from the greatest source of wisdom life affords. Richard Saunders pointed this … Continue reading →

UTM, after a good deal of advocacy by Chancellor Rakes, will now be offering lucrative scholarships and tuition breaks to the best students from outside Tennessee. The first students will arrive in the Fall of 2012 and in my opinion … Continue reading →

The latest word on changes to the TN HOPE Lottery Scholarship, is that it will be cut in half for students instead of having it available to fewer students by raising the standards. The article linked below is not the … Continue reading →

Gun rights advocates will soon be trying to remove the requirement for a carry permit in Tennessee. A (Nashville) Tennessean article found today at the link below, gives details on this ongoing initiative: http://www.tennessean.com/article/20111128/NEWS0201/311280016/Gun-rights-groups-challenge-limitations-TN?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE State and local governments nationwide, lose … Continue reading →

Let’s think on Thanksgiving, one holiday where we gang up on cool indifference no matter our religious persuasion. The original givers of thanks did not place much stipulation on the day. All we need do, they said, is check our … Continue reading →

A few weeks ago, a French professor at UTK was having her students write essays when from the nearby stadium came blasts of “Sweet Home Alabama” and the Alabama fight song, followed by the sound of loud cheers. It seems, … Continue reading →

Apparently Tennessee governor, Bill Haslam, thinks we cannot continue to cut the state’s portion of the cost of higher education while that of middle-class families continues to rise; but given the five percent increase proposed for 2012-13, I suppose we … Continue reading →

Alex Wilson, SGA President, invited me to attend this past Friday’s meeting of the registration committee (we have committees for most things, it turns out) where I was treated to a delightful pre-Thanksgiving feast of student leadership featuring Gregh Frye … Continue reading →

Brian Noland, most recently of West Virginia, but who spent time earlier in his career working for the Tennessee Higher Education Commission; will be named the next President of ETSU, after finishing second in the running for the UTK Presidency. … Continue reading →