Author Archives: mprest13

The Journal of Higher Education was a journal published between 1930-2013. It featured educational research, leaders, and voices in several topics related to the administration, social construct, and higher education organization. Many of these issues have been lost in time, but I discovered them about two years ago and have been fascinated with how eachContinue reading “A History of Higher Education Episode One – Jan. 1930”

Anyone who knows me is aware that I love a good night of Pub Trivia. My wife and I currently frequent two game nights on Tuesday and Thursday. And we do reasonably well. We are Routinely finishing “in the money” and winning gift cards. Last week we finished second and were rewarded with $30 andContinue reading “Day #51 – The Brain is Freaky! How Trivia Night is Good for Cognition”

A story about my first week in grad school. As previously reported, I attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale for my graduate program in higher education administration. I went to SIU-C sight unseen and I really think that was an interesting choice at the time. While we had internet access in 1995 there was notContinue reading “Day 50 – How my first week in grad school shaped my management philosophy. #100DaysofHigherEd”

In the early 1960s the city of Orlando was basically a sleepy Central Florida town, in the 1920s few people had even heard of Miami, and the Tampa Bay area was known more for cigars than sunshine. Yet, over time, these three cities have become powerhouses for jobs and innovation in the past few decades.Continue reading “Day 49 – Business is Ready for Florida, but are we Ready for Them? #100DaysofHigherEd”

I must admit, I feel off the writing train. Just happened that way. I got busy, got a little lazy and just plain forgot a few days. But I am back and looking to pick up the pace. I am learning that to promise to do anything every day that is not eating, sleeping, andContinue reading “Day 48 – Beautiful Higher Education Spaces I have been to. #100DaysofHigherEd”

I am not very private about my upbringing. If you are a friend of mine, you know that I grew up in some desperate circumstances. The child of teenaged parents, I grew up mainly lower income. For a few years there we were outright poor. Neither of my parents went to college and they bothContinue reading “Day 47 – Remembering Higher Education’s Middle Kids – #100DaysofHigherEd”

Zen is hard to find. So today is April 16, 2021. I am 48 years old and in 639 days I will turn 50. For those of you who are already 50, I have watched your journey and know this is not an easy moment in life. As we grow older the reality of ourContinue reading “Day 46 – Zen is Hard to Come by – #100DaysofHigherEd”

The Culture of Fear and an Abundance of Caution This is not really a higher ed post. Here in Florida the stories are common. Swimmer goes to the beach and instead of getting some sun and sand, the person gets bit by a shark. Here in Florida, it is almost always a blacktip shark, andContinue reading “Day 45 – The Culture of Fear and an Abundance of Caution – #100DaysofHigherEd”

It was 1997, I had not been working at Stephen F. Austin State University for a month and I faced my first major risk management issue. We produced a summer carnival for students to let off some steam during the summer school session. It was a typical set-up. A small stage with a couple ofContinue reading “Day 44 – On Risk Management – #100DaysofHigherEd”

One of the central tenets of working in higher education and our work is the concept of lifelong learning. As educators we believe that learning only really stops when you do. From the moment we are born we find ourselves absorbing and consuming the world around us and making sense of it. We also continuouslyContinue reading “Day 43 – A Book I Keep Going Back To – #100DaysofHigherEd”