July 04, 2007
College Presidents Slow To Use Blogs
College and university presidents have been relatively slow to start blogs as a tool of communicating with students, parents, and alumni.
But Bob Johnson, a communications consultant in Marshall, Mich., says that a growing number of college executives are experimenting with blogs.
Bob Johnson’s Blog on Internet Marketing includes links to 15 college and university presidents who are writing blogs. And Mr. Johnson says many of those who are writing have joined the ranks just recently.
Many of the blogs — which include regular postings from presidents such as Michael Crow at Arizona State University and Jim Towey at Saint Vincent College — are tame in their tone.
“The list of presidents who blog continues to grow despite the fears and admonitions of lawyers and public-relations people who warn against some terrible damage to their institutions if their presidents are let loose to say whatever they want to say on the institutional Web site,” Mr. Johnson writes. “So far, that’s not happened. And if indeed it does, it won’t be cause to remove everyone else’s blog from the Internet.”
The list of nonprofit chief executives who write regular blogs is also short.
Some of the most prominent blogs in that arena include Beneblog, written by Jim Fruchterman, president of Benetech; President’s Point of View by Diana R. Sieger, president of the Grand Rapids Community Foundation; and Larry James’ Urban Daily, which is written by Central Dallas Ministries top executive Larry James.
Do you know of other blogs written by nonprofit executives? Click on the comments link below this post to share your thoughts.
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Those who read J. Towey’s “BLOG” at Saint Vincent College might find this excerpt from the April 20 entry somewhat disturbing, especially if they attend a “morally impoverished” institution. This is there for all the world to read…
“Keep in mind I was not a stranger to college campuses. Because President Bush could accept only a handful of invitations to speak at public events, I often found myself speaking on college campuses and lecturing students. During my four-plus years at the White House, I spoke at Princeton, Dartmouth, Yale, and the University of Virginia, among others.
When I met with students at those fine institutions, the truth is, I left with mixed emotions. I was impressed with them but also felt a little sorry for some of them. I got the sense that for many of them, their whole lives had been about competing and achieving. So many had been told how gifted they were and the expectations for them were so high. I got the feeling that many of their parents’ dreams (either realized or abandoned) had been projected on to their lives. For these young men and women, high school and now college were a crucible of high expectations and demands and while their colleges were founded as faith-based colleges, there was little I could see that reflected any spirituality or conviction about the pursuit of moral truth. Moral relativism seemed to prevail on these campuses. As a result, some of these students found themselves intellectually challenged and morally impoverished by these leading institutions of higher education. That’s why I felt a little sorry for them.”
— laslov podcasy Jul 7, 08:06 PM #