The Texas Tech Journal of Higher Education
“What we don't understand we explain to each other.”
– J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904-1967)
American Theoretical Physicist, Director, Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton University and the Manhattan Project
What's it All About?
Understanding the world of higher education is clearly not as difficult as deciphering quantum mechanics, but insight into the former may nevertheless seem dauntingly elusive at times. Enter All Things Texas Tech (ATTT) where higher education – its history, planning efforts, policy, and developments are considered – all in the context of Texas Tech University and the communities it serves.
Our higher education world is awash with information and interpretive commentary—some of it coming through blogs, e-mails, text messages and Twitter—but often marked by contributions that are not as carefully or thoughtfully developed as our constituents deserve. To fill the void, President Bailey and I have conceived of ATTT, which offers a vehicle for reasoned and wel—developed essays and article—along with multi-media contribution—all with the intent of illuminating the higher education and Texas Tech worlds we live in and serve.
ATTT will be produced twice a year, at least for the first year or two. I will serve as editor and issues will have contributions by President Bailey and other Texas Tech administrators. But, we also hope that faculty members, students, and staff professionals will find ATTT as an attractive outlet for “explaining” all we do among our colleagues and friends. For example, Valerie Paton, in her role as Director of Texas Tech Strategic Planning has already gotten involved with ATTT as is evident through the relevant article in this first issue. Clearly, many other individuals—from advising professionals—to faculty governance leaders—to academic community members spearheading new initiatives and projects should consider ATTT as a way of communicating aspirations, goals, and developments.
Beyond information sharing, thoughtfully developed pieces on the challenges faced by higher education in general and Texas Tech in particular may be aired through ATTT. In short, ATTT should help to illuminate all that we do at our emerging national research university. More specifically, ATTT contributions will include:
- Videos or excerpts thereof of presentations by university community members or distinguished guests (e.g., honorary degree recipients)
- Articles on important university policies and procedures or revisions thereof (e.g., policies governing the use of human subjects in research) and related efforts (e.g., regional and programmatic accreditations, responsibility centered budgeting and management)
- Discussions of the legal and ethical bases of university policies and procedures (e.g., conflict of interest and conflict of commitment policies) and special initiatives (e.g., Texas Tech’s Quality Enhancement Committee and it’s studies on ethics in operating procedures, curricula, and student life)
- Profiles of outstanding faculty, students and staff, highlighting especially the concept of integrated scholarship (i.e., the creative blending of the teaching, research and service elements of the university’s mission)
- Essays to promote understanding of the roles and responsibilities of key university leaders (e.g., department chairs, ombuds professionals, faculty, student and staff governance officers)
- Narratives offering new perspectives on opportunities for study, research, scholarly and creative expression (e.g., study-abroad and other internationally based collaborations)
- Reports and background articles on university planning
The above list is purely illustrative. Indeed, we anticipate that creative colleagues across the Texas Tech landscape will find novel ways of helping us all understand better our complex enterprise.