Colleges and Universities Books

Nicholas Howe reflects on a half-dozen places, viewing each with acutity and insight. His describes the slow decline of Buffalo with a caring usually reserved for one's parents. He sees through the rebuilding of Berlin's central district -- where the wall once stood are now massive commercial projects -- and he recognizes the same scars that now disturb rust belt cities in America.

After re-reading this book for the thrid time, I feel like I'm his evening companion, following visits to Chartres, Oklahoma, Ohio and Paris.

Read his chapter on Buffalo - it's valid, honest, and authentic.

Complaint? Were that this book were twice as long!

Like most students (or tutors, in my case) preparing for the ACT, I have read nearly every book on the subject. A lot of the time, I am disappointed. This book is one of the few exceptions.
The practice tests are some of the most realistic I have found, and the explanations are helpful. For the truly dedicated, there are tear-out flashcards in the back that allow you to practice vocabulary words.
The students I tutor prefer this book above the others, in part because it makes the ACT preparation process straight-forward and attainable. For those studying on their own without a tutor, it provides week-by-week study suggestions to get you ready for the big test, whether you have a lot of time, or just a few weeks.
I would definitely recommend this book to someone who is serious about improving their ACT score. Buy it new, buy it used, or find it at your local library...you will find it helpful.

I was asked to put together a "continuing education" course for community college instructors, and this book came in very handy. I passed it over when we were planning the curriculum for a degree program because it is too general and covers too much ground. However, for a fast-paced introduction to teaching post-secondary classes, this is the book you want.

I was tempted to gather free materials and avoid a text for the continuing ed course, but participants find it very handy to have a text to refer to later. And, it is much easier to hand off the course to another instructor if a text is available.

This text isn't for every purpose, but I gave it five stars for my purpose of getting college instructors up to speed as quickly as possible before they enter the classroom. The table of contents is a ready-made list of the topics I need to cover.

Kaye Shelton has "been there and done that" and she is not hesitant to tell about it. This book has many helpful suggestions, amplified by appropriate examples. It is well organized--just what an online director needs when faced with establishing a new program.

We're all used to using the net to get information, with the end result often being too much material with too little information. This book gets right down to the "nuts and bolts". It saved me time (which I don't have enough of) and money and took away a lot of the pain. A must read!

Experienced shared prepares the attentive heart. The Advancement President and the Academy is truly a shared experience, an opportunity to walk in the shoes of former and present-day college presidents. This book is as much an instructional guide as it is a spirited song about the resounding values, the significance, and the essence of leading today's academic institution. The Advancement President is more than just a collection of essays; it is a rich knowledge base reflecting those things that are tried and true about the office of the campus chief executive.

I started this book with the fancy idea that I wanted to become a college president. I finished this book with a sense that I had just completed an internship with America's friendliest and wisest college presidents. From the start I felt personally mentored while touring the hallways of higher education and the communities that they both affect and are affected by. This collection of essays reads like a personal dialogue between mentor and mentee, and even though each author addresses a different subject area, each essay is anchored in the uncovering of the work of the advancement president and how this experience better equips one to lead in other capacities.

The "advancement president" refers to the officer in higher education institutions who, in varying degrees, is responsible for cultivating constituency relationships, promoting a positive image, and fundraising to support institutional priorities and growth. (In most cases this is not the office of the college president, but a staff position in the service of the president.) While no one area of the advancement office is left unexplored in this book, one of the major themes throughout many of the essays is that of the primacy of interrelationships between the executive office and various constituencies.

It was the uncovering of these relationships - their function, importance, and their challenges - that I found most interesting and meaningful during the reading. The Advancement President and the Academy has much to say about interacting with publics such as governments, philanthropists, parents, students, faculty, media, civic leaders, corporations, alumni, staff, and one's own family. These constituencies all play a pivotal role in the day-to-day activities of the advancement president. One essayist pointed out that decisions regarding the many constituencies "must not be left to chance" or be treated "superficially." The vital job of the president, then, is to give thoughtful and adequate attention to these relations so that the parties become willing partners working to strengthen the school's value to the community and its ability to meet new challenges. Another essayist added to this point that "every constituency looks to the [president] for leadership." What a fresh revelation this was! It helped to understand the principle that leading from without is just as important as leading from within.

A portrait of this quality of leadership is detailed in the book. My traditional view of college presidents is of starchy talking heads, of men and women babbling about educational philosophies with their faces almost devoid of any human emotion. On the contrary, this reading reveals the human side of the chief executive. Good college presidents and advancement officers are people of warmth who work toward laudable goals that serve diverse needs. College presidents are not just salesmen of institutional vision, they are men and women who care enough to commit their lives to help others expand and fulfil their personal visions. They are a passionate people, generously devoted to the institution's values and the people that create them. These leaders possess highly developed personal strengths, not unlike those required in ministerial or social leadership. Michael Adams, President of the University of Georgia, discussed some traits that include "a love of people... a sense of personal integrity, supreme competence, an innate desire to give something back to society... a sense of humility... and the mind of a servant." Another college president showed us a glimpse of the integrity required of the executive officer when he wrote, " My signature on every letter or note was genuine..."

Considering this description of the executive officer along with the many practical insights shared about institutional advancement, some heavy implications are left for me to reflect on. The implications of this reading for my life and career primarily have to do with mapping my route to the executive office. After reflection I cannot help but to think that the wisest approach to the executive office is through the doors of the advancement office. The essays provide fantastic examples of men and women who have taken this same route. The president of John Hopkins University wrote, "No president can avoid full engagement in the work of institutional advancement... [or] long serve in office unless he or she raises support for the institution," and Elizabeth Lee wrote, "I think that many heads of schools would say that at least 50 percent of their time is spent on advancement... the best training I got for headship was working in a development office because it prepared me for so many of my day's activities." I take these statements as personal advice and wisdom for pursuing my goal of becoming a college president.

From my own perspective, the fruits of The Advancement President and the Academy and of every contributor's labors culminates in the personal challenge I feel to ready myself for my future in the executive seat. My newfound respect for the office and for those it serves helps me to recognize the many personal changes I must make during my season of preparation. As I work toward personal transformation to ready my being for this type of leadership, I will cling to The Advancement President and reflect on it regularly. I will continue to grapple with its truths, its wisdom, and the spirit of the profession portrayed in the stories shared by each of the contributors, for in my opinion, these are some of the best men and women our country can boast to have ever known. I sincerely thank them for their tutelage.

I reserve no commendation for this book. Mary Kay Murphy has collected the consummate companion for those such as myself who desire to engage with the principles of leadership in higher education and the accumulated knowledge of many experienced leaders. The contributing authors render to readers many pearls of great price as if they were personally mentoring their readers and for this great contribution we owe our gratitude. There are truly not enough stars to reward them in kind.

While not the largest reference on Rolls-Royce & Bentley, this book is one of the most pleasurable I've read on the subject. It is very well presented, concise, informative and readable.

Beginning with the first Royce cars of 1904, the book continues chronologically through the 1996 models. I most enjoyed the sections on the Silver Ghost & those on the later models which are given equal coverage with the popular middle year cars.

The numerous illustrations are very well selected. Especially nice are chassis line drawings for most models and many good interior photos. The color photo gallery in the center is beautiful.

Another useful feature is a technical specification chart, including chassis numbers, for each series. If you would like to invest in just one book to tell the story of Rolls-Royce & Bentley, this would be an excellent choice.

Aging and Judging Trophy Whitetails is the ultimate resource for every whitetail enthusiast. The book is loaded with photos (almost 300 color photographs) taken by esteemed wildlife photographers, and is a teaching tool to age and judge trophy whitetails in the field. It also includes a self test to see how well you have learned the skills expertly taught in the text. A must have!!

Mr. Branscomb's insight into the Soviet military is impressive. A must read for all scholars of the Cold War.

Hey! My grandpappy wrote that book!

BUY IT!

Joel Cabourne-Jones