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Recently I’ve been dreaming a great deal. Given my experiences in the theatre, some of you may not be surprised by this confession. However, this has more likely been caused by drugs. Not the kind you might immediately consider. You see, this past week I experienced back fusion surgery. This has been needed for a longtime but I have postponed it in favor of more interesting and exciting opportunities. I have successfully put it off, resulting in the use of many drugs to keep me going. Interests like travel, encouraging the growth of my theatre company, helping the Academy to focus on the future, and becoming a more active grandparent. During this time, like many of you, I have been shaping some of my own post-retirement dreams.
As I cleared off my desk before checking into the hospital last week, I came across a magnet given to me by a colleague on my early retirement. The magnet says: Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. This magnet has now been on my desk for 10 years. It remains prominently in my view as a sort of future direction finder. I hope to use it in these next year’s leading the Academy toward its future. Opening the door to our colleagues around the globe, inviting new members from across the entire academic world. Seeking thought leaders, thinkers, scholars, practitioners, leaders, and colleagues across the globe as we search for the barriers and opportunities that lie in modern higher education. These are out there and to improve the outcomes in student learning and success. We must commit ourselves to the research how working together with concepts of Process Education we can advance and deepen the learning of students of today and tomorrow.
To this end, I challenge the Academy community to get involved in our shared mission by focusing on expanding our members’ multi-faceted research capabilities. Some of these include AI (Artificial Intelligence), effective online learning systems, and research of educational structures to meet the needs of the aspiring workforce. This is why I encourage each of you to join me in the upcoming Academy of Process Educators’ Book Chat event on October 9 – featuring the book, The Genius in All of Us. This is an opportunity to become more aware, involved, and active so we can work together to fulfill the Academy’s mission. This newsletter provides additional information in an article by Dr. Tris Utschig, Director for Scholarly Teaching and Professor of Nuclear Engineering at Kennesaw State University. I hope this book chat will be an effective way for Academy members to Explore, Dream, and Discover. See you there! |
