Building Global Partnerships...

Flying into Copenhagen (København) in March is an interesting experience… on a good day, the sun is visible but it’s still likely to be pretty cloudy. Most days it's overcast and dreary... It’s just that time of the year. From the air you are struck by the numerous small lakes, the roads leading into well organized communities of houses with red tile roofs, while some houses are isolated, built on small bits of land emerging from the marshland and water… different than Amsterdam. Smaller in scale, more in tune with nature… this time of year winter has retreated, the grass is still brown but there is a hint of green in some of the hedges. Only in a large public square do you see some of the remaining snow, small piles, shrinking and dirty.

Don’t judge Copenhagen from the drive in from the airport… the route is not attractive, but then you emerge... and it does seem like an emergence, into the city proper, the shops, the energy on a good day. The bustling airport shops give you a hint of what’s to come but it’s really hard to describe… a bit like Auckland maybe? A smaller Amsterdam perhaps? The place is wedded to the water… it’s vibrant in the late afternoon as people stroll and bike about. An urban environment without the scale that sometimes overwhelms you in other European cities… a bustling street with people and children, mothers and fathers pushing upscale baby carriages, people still bundled up and with fewer cars, unique shops and high fashion amid attire you can find in any mall in the world.

The taxi drivers seem relaxed and tipping is not expected. But what’s with the hot dogs? I mean from the time you step off the plane you’ll see the hot dog stands in the airport and on the street... these vendors are plentiful. The hot dogs come in all sizes and the fries are also prominently featured on the pictures of food in the windows of the crowded eating establishments. The fries I’m used to from Amsterdam but the hot dogs?

Maybe because it’s midday that this part of street life (the food) is so prominent. At night things start slowly and build, dinner is late and in the good places on Saturday night there is a wait for a table. The houses and restaurants are bright, people laughing and enjoying life. They don’t hurry you but when you leave the place and people are waiting… maybe standing, patiently, talking and laughing with friends in a light rain or mist, they smile and you know it’s because another table is available.

Sunday night was a bit unusual… dinner at the home of one of our hosts. In Denmark (Danmark), dinner at someone’s house is a treat, something special, unusual, not to be missed. Expect things to start about the normal time for an American dinner but don’t expect to get out the door until 1 or 2am… a wonderful time, but if you are still jet lagged from a transatlantic trip it’s a challenge. At least it is for me. At least I didn’t snore.

Why Copenhagen over Spring Break? Oh, that’s right; I forgot to mention, it’s Spring Break at Purdue. My students are all off to sunny and warm places, some in Florida and a couple on cruises. And this year (I guess it’s the economy) a number are staying closer to home with maybe that brief trip to Chicago or just to Indy. Good news, the weather is cooperating. Looks like those who can’t get to the Caribbean will be rewarded with some sunshine and above average temps…. And there is the Big Ten basketball tournament in Indy and St. Patrick’s Day is Tuesday. Maybe it’s a good time to hunker down in West Lafayette for a few days and catch up on that term paper that’s due soon.

Past all this why are we here? Well it’s part of the plan… I hope it’s “our plan” but it’s certainly a plan. As a department head I work with many audiences… students, colleagues, staff, alumni, deans and others… I seek to advance our unit in multiple ways and to link us… co-brand us with the best programs worldwide…. In working toward this goal we have identified potential global partners we think can add value to our program, provide opportunities for our students and build our reputation for excellence and innovation. We are working with two major universities in Copenhagen that may fit the bill… we are here to talk about “what might be.”

Denmark is a small country with some very bright entrepreneurial individuals, excellent universities and a “responsible” business and cultural climate… and we have things to offer as well… these opportunities are two way streets. We all have something to gain in working together. Today it was University of Copenhagen (KU) and tomorrow it’s Copenhagen Business School (CBS). Too bad I can’t find any XL T-shirts I like… yes, I have loftier goals but that XL T-shirt is still on my list.

Program Review

“Program Review”… Two words that can bring a chill to the heartiest of academics… especially those who hold the title of “Director” or “Chair”, “Head or "Dean” At our institution it’s an every five year event. Depending on your view of things, it’s either an inquisition, a trial by fire, or maybe it’s a bit more like Carnavale… everyone spends time preparing individually and as a group and we all parade down the street together (often out of synch) in our costumes for three days. At the end, we are exhausted, upset with some of our fellow performers and can’t figure out why we didn’t get a big trophy or why the newspapers didn’t name us “Best in Show.”

What is an academic program review? Well, that varies from place to place but it almost always starts with some kind of “self study” or documentation provided by the department… lots and lots of data, a strategic plan and almost always, a plea for more resources. At some places, it’s an entirely in-house exercise where your program is subjected to scrutiny by a hand picked group of local colleagues who don’t know anything about you or your field and often don’t care… or they think they know something about your field and have heard that “other programs elsewhere are so much better”… or they know “Professor X” from your program and he is married to a reviewer’s ex-spouse… now there are some healthy assessment dynamics!

Another model you see is when you mix the locals with an “outside” expert who provides “a view from the field.” This can lead to interesting differences of opinion or in fact can work as hoped and provide “context” for the review and a sense of how things are done elsewhere.

Sometimes, there are multiple teams involved in a review… one group sifting carefully through the graduate program and another minutely assessing undergraduate efforts… these can be mixed or all “locals”… it just depends. These things can turn into a war of attrition... grinding on for weeks, casualties mounting.

Finally (and I have not exhausted all permutations!) you might have a program review group composed entirely of outsiders… that’s the way it is at Purdue. A group of outside experts, chosen by the dean with input from the department arrive on campus for 2-3 days, interview all the usual suspects (faculty, staff, students, others from across campus… maybe even alums), write a brief report and jet off to their next gig. Actually, it’s a lot of hard work for these folks and I know from first-hand experience that it doesn’t pay enough and the hours are long.

Of course, it’s all about making programs better… right… well that’s the goal and that’s a goal we should all strive for, but sometimes other factors get in the way. Let’s just hope ours goes well and the upper administration sees fit to throw more scarce resources into our efforts to improve the quality of our programs. Well, got to go. it’s breakfast with the review team and I’ve got to straighten my tie.