Academic Evolution

Academic Evolution: The Book

This blog is intended to become Academic Evolution, the book. My model is Chris Anderson, whose Long Tail blog helped bring about his seminal book of the same name. Similarly, I am beta testing my ideas, developing them in keeping with the principle of transparency and with the goal of inviting public review and collaboration. I'm smart enough to know others are often much smarter, and I firmly believe that publishing one's thinking process improves it. So, here's the working table of contents for the book. Obviously I will be making each of these proposed chapters the subject of my various blog posts. Let's figure this out together! I welcome your suggestions:

Burning Redwoods: The Lost Assets of Academia

The intellectual output of a university over time is massive--like a forest of redwood trees. Ironically, much of that output is treated as byproduct and consequently has a much more limited life and impact than it might have. I'm talking about classroom discussions, teaching materials and media, and those countless student papers, presentations, and projects around which so much of education revolves. These are seen as having ephemeral value within the educational process, but they are not treated as intellectual or institutional assets like vetted scholarship is. No effort is made to capture, preserve, or make available some of the best intellectual efforts and tools produced by faculty and students alike. These are the lost assets of academia. I will explain by extending the redwood analogy.