psuper

As I begin this process to determine what that next career step for me might be, I decided to take advantage of my daughter having a final though brief academic term in London.  My wife and I will be joining her and her significant other for a week in Burgundy on a small two cabin barge to explore the Burgundy Canal.  This is one of 4 weeks Ligia and I will spend in France this May, a way to take time and sort through some thoughts and options about the next step, but also to aid in the transition process.

I am reminded of my first similar sabbatical I took in a somewhat similar situation 19 years ago.  It was the Autumn of 1992, and I had just left (hmmm, been kicked out?) my position as alumni director at CU Boulder.  I had recalled a breakfast with an alum who had just returned from working at a vineyard in the Bordeaux region…..Chateau Brandeau.  I gathered the contact information….and wrote a letter to Fearn and Andrea King, the vineyard owners (doesn’t that sound so quaint now…I wrote a letter).  A few months later after I flew the Atlantic and hopped a fast train to Bordeaux, followed by a local train, I was being picked up at the station by Peter King (Andrea’s father) in Castillon la-Bataille and being driven to the Chateau in time for dinner.

I then joined a number of others who were at the Chateau for the vendange or the harvest.  We worked sis days a week, picking and transporting grapes, then assisting in the making of the wine.  What an education!  What an experience.

One memory that is etched in my mind occurred at a Presidential Debate party in Bordeaux that I was invited to attend by an American ex-pat I knew through a mutual friend.  Yes, that is right, in Bordeaux France, there was a party with the video tapes of the American Presidential and Vice Presidential  debates for an almost entirely French audience.  My first astonishment was that they were truly interested in the debates and what the candidates had to say.  Could you imagine in your wildest dreams a group of Americans gathering on a Saturday evening to watch tapes of the French Presidential debates!?

So, yes, I was taken aback but looked forward to the evening and being one of two Americans in the crowd, feeling pretty good that I might be called upon for a few observations or comments on the debates or campaigns underway.  But if you recall the Autumn of 1992 campaigns, you might then have an idea of how that smug feeling began to fall away.  First, in the vice presidential debate we had three candidates….Al Gore, Dan Quayle, and James Stockdale, who famously opened up his introductory comments with “Who am I and what am I doing here?”

And, after suffering through that debate, we had Bill Clinton, George Bush, and Ross Perot.  Clinton and Bush were as good as ever with their comments and styles but Perot?  “Can you hear that giant sucking sound?”

It was not American politics at their best.  Needless to say, I was feeling a bit humbled and truthfully embarrassed that I was witnessing deep political interest by the French, and  knew our American provincialism is unmatched the world over.

Now, I am looking forward to returning to Chateau Brandeau for a visit next month.  Peter has passed away but Andrea and Fearn are still making very good Bordeaux wine from the Cotes de Castillon region. which is just east of St. Emilon.  Another step during this transition.

I have not taken the time to research the federal legislation that allows us to carry our group insurance for up to 18 months after I leave my current position (COBRA).  However, I do feel quite certain that if this example of government intrusion into our lives that mandates that companies offer the COBRA extension for these 18 months did not occur, we would not have the opportunity to pay for this coverage.  Consequently, this first step in my journey to discover what it is that I need to be dong next in my work life would never have begun.

As I attended the CU World Affairs Conference earlier this month, there was a theme that emerged from a number of panels I attended, around how we obtain and digest news, historically, now, and in the all to near future.  One thing all panelists agreed upon…things have changed and will continue to change more rapidly than we would prefer.  In other words, we are almost incapable of ever catching up with the onslaught of “news” being pushed our way, whether through traditional outlets such as radio and TV, newspapers, etc., or now through websites, blogs, Facebook and Twitter.  Yes, Twitter!  As one panelists asked the audience to raise their hands for where the audience primarily obtains their news on a daily basis, more than a third of the room responded with Facebook or Twitter…..now, yes, the audience was populated with students, but as a news source, I am concerned about this.

What began to worry me after hearing about the changes we have already experienced (pay or not to pay websites, newspapers closing at an alarming rate, journalists not being able to make a living with such fierce competition from part-time bloggers) to what is on the horizon (affirmation journalism where one can easily search, gather, and read only that information which confirms their narrow but possibly wacky view of the world) is the dearth of editors in the news gathering and dissemination process now and only exacerbated in the future.  I never thought much about editors as I read my daily paper, Newsweek each week, or watched the evening news (I was a Peter Jennings guy).  But editors were there, an integral part of the process before I read or heard anything.  Now, even reputable news gathering organizations will be able to afford editors, or many of them.  They are in competition with websites and blogs that don’t have either an editor or have any compunction that one might be needed.  This may be the wave of the future and may be an acceptable view of it……only if we take on the responsibility to edit the news and sources of the news we read or hear for ourselves.  And I can be OK with that……but what really concerns me is how are we going to teach our children to edit the news…to be concerned about the source, to not fall into the trap of affirmation journalism.  Is that a parental function like teaching our children how to count so they won’t be given wrong change at the store?  Will we expect our schools to teach this skill?  What of those parents that don’t have the shill themselves?  And of the most concern to me, what of those parents that knowingly either don’t teach their children these ever more important skills, or point them in the direction of those news sources that only validate their narrow view of the world.  Can a democracy last long in a world such as that?  Are we there already?

A note for my well written friends…..as you can see from the above, i could use a good editor.

Last weekend, Ligia and I spent time with Bob and Patti Forman at their home in Punta Gorda, FL.  Bob has been a friend, mentor, and inspiration to me since I met him in the summer of 1978 at a CASE (Council for the Advancement and Support of Education) and  alumni institute…..alumni boot camp for rookies.  I was freshly appointed alumni director at my alma mater, Bradley University.  Meeting Bob and other senior (well, not old, but experienced) alumni professionals I felt as if I arrived at home after a long trip.  Here were people who cared as much as I did about education, loved their alma mater, and found a job that would pay me to dedicate myself to both….what were they thinking!?  After having spent 4-5 years in admissions work, this solidified for me that I would never make much money, but I would be happy and fulfilled being a part of the academy….and for the next 13 years, that would be the case.

Bob and Patti will depart soon for Switzerland to celebrate his 80th birthday with their family.  As we shared good wine and willingly suffered Bob’s non sequitur’s throughout the weekend, I was reminded that I was one of a long line of alumni professionals that were provided perspective, insight, and wisdom from Bob over the years.  I recalled the many instances when upon return from a CASE or CAAE (Council of Alumni Association Executives) conference I was invigorated with ideas, confidence, and renewed energy for my work.  Then it struck me that similar situations were occurring all over the country at various colleges and universities….all gaining from Bob’s thoughts and observations about the role of alumni within Higher Education in America.  So….a toast to Bob for his birthday and legacy.  We owe him much.