Education

And Another Thing (notes from a grumpy septuagenarian) By Jim Mullen Emergency Once Removed As our nation lurches into a worrisome and contentious period in our history, I’ll share some less-than-earth-shaking thoughts I have had recently (if you open your window, you may hear me shouting). I’m inclined never to take any drug advertised on TV where disclaimers of negative effects take many times longer to describe than the singular positive impact. I’ll make do with my ailment. How come whenever I switch to a Premier Soccer League telecast, no matter what point in the game I tune in, the score [...]

Education = National Security By Jim Mullen Emergency Management Once Removed As a student financial aid director at a struggling private college in Illinois in the early 1970s, I had the responsibility of ensuring that students could finance their college educations without incurring loan obligations that would inhibit their personal and professional futures while assuring that the institution itself survived. Angst over student loan debt is not a new development. During the Cold War, improved access to higher education for all Americans became a national security issue. Soviet Union successes (launching “Sputnik” in 1957, Gagarin’s sub-orbital flight in 1961) persuaded [...]