It may be a legacy of my many years as a professor, but for me, summer continues to signify “time for writing.” It took me several years to find my voice once I left academic publishing behind. Trained to speak to specialists in my field and to think that the only writing that really “counted” was what was published in narrowly focused elite journals, the move to academic leadership offered a creative challenge. Without the professional pressure to publish or perish, I had a chance to consider what I wanted to say about the work I was doing, about the ideas that animated my thinking, and about the meaning and value of higher education. The deep thinking that writing requires made me a better leader. The impact that my writing had helped me connect to a wider network.

I encourage all leaders to make writing a regular part of their leadership practice. The discipline of crafting expressive sentences feeds the spirit and can play an important role in developing your leadership agenda. And at this moment, we need strong, authentic voices of all kinds defending higher ed and imagining its future. Whether your medium is long form essay, a series of LinkedIn posts, an op-ed, a speech, or letter, this is a time to develop and share your best ideas.

It may take you some time to find your audience and your voice. You can consider who it is that you want to inspire and influence—members of your own campus? Local community leaders? Other higher ed leaders? Your students? Your topic and style can flow from that.

You will find it easier to write if you schedule regular time for it and if you gather a group of friends or colleagues to help you stay accountable. I also regularly remind myself that I only have to write one deeply true sentence at a time. I hope you will feel inspired to write this summer—I can’t wait to read the results.

Questions for reflection: What excites me about making writing a regular part of my leadership agenda? What worries me about that? Where do I resist translating my ideas into written words? Who is an audience who needs to hear what I have to say? Who can I count on to support my writing this summer? What is the most important thing I am thinking about but not yet saying?

It was a joy to celebrate commencement at Centenary College of Louisiana and a significant honor to give the commencement address and receive an honorary degree.

Planning for our flagship fall and winter leadership conferences is underway. If you are a CIC president, chief academic officer, or chief student affairs or student success officer, you will want to note these dates. This is an important moment to gather with colleagues and to be part of the national conversation about the future of higher education.

The theme for this year’s Institute for Chief Academic Officers is Building Places of Promise: Unlocking Student Success and programming will focus on uniting around our foundational values—mission, passion, and purpose—to create student-centered environments where students can thrive through resilience and belonging. The Institute will address critical issues including navigating academic freedom, managing campus conflict, and preparing students for meaningful careers. We are excited to welcome leaders in student affairs and student success along with chief academic officers to Indianapolis, Indiana, on November 1–4. Registration on the CIC website will open mid-June.

We are also preparing for the next Presidents Institute with programming around a Deeper Purpose theme. Independent colleges and universities are engines of opportunity, and their contributions to society have never been more needed. CIC member presidents will explore strategies that empower campuses to fulfill their missions and remain resolute in serving the common good. Registration for the Institute—which is set for January 4–7, 2026, in Orlando, Florida—will open in early August.

A Spark of Inspiration

Here in DC, the signs of democratic decay are increasingly visible. Authoritarian symbols are appearing here and there. The White House lawn displays portraits showing arrested immigrants and their alleged crimes. A few buildings now sport giant pictures of the president. Additional security roams areas where the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is currently active. The treasures in some of our national museums are reportedly being hidden away in a quest for ideological purity. The local paper (The Washington Post) has limited the range of publishable opinions.

But resistance also makes its presence felt. It’s a rare day that I don’t see some form of protest on my way to work. Colorful posters remind federal workers that they swore an oath of loyalty to the constitution and not to an individual. Stickers are everywhere urging us to remember the war in Gaza, the victims of mass firings, the political hijacking of scientific research, the rights of migrants, the dignity of trans persons, and so forth. Strangers offer each other solace on the Metro and in shops. Neighbors check in on each other and share sources of reliable information. Conversations occur in a multitude of languages as this very diverse city goes about its daily business.

Washington, DC, has long been a visible record, a living museum, of who we are as a nation. If you haven’t visited in a long while, or ever, I encourage you to come this summer. Bring your children, your parents, your non-voting neighbor. Visit the National Archives and the U.S. Supreme Court. See the Smithsonian treasures while they are still on display. Stand in awe at the Lincoln Memorial and place your feet on the step from which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. announced his dream. Come see us at our best and our worst. Your heart may hurt, but you will also find yourself uplifted and recommitted to the promises of justice, equality, and democracy toward which our flawed and imperfect nation has always aimed.

Language Vs. Reality: Why Language Is Good for Lawyers and Bad for Science

by N.J. Enfield



A comprehensive and insightful case for natural language as primarily a tool for social engagement and coordination and not for cataloguing the world. The implications are wide-ranging.

Apocalypse: How Catastrophe Transformed Our World and Can Forge New Futures

by Lizzie Wade 

Surveying thousands of years of apocalyptic events—the sudden destruction of a society through disease, famine, invasion, or decay—, empires, and communities, Wade argues that what can appear as endings are better understood as transformations. Survivors are likely to rebuild in a way that is more equitable and creative. Although it catalogues terrible events, the book is hauntingly hopeful.

Air & Light & Time & Space: How Successful Academics Write

by Helen Sword 

An inspiring book full of tested strategies and prompts to help unveil your authentic voice and develop a consistent and pleasurable writing practice.

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