Friday, November 30, 2007


University of Minnesota Provost Launches Blog

Hold That Thought...

[But see NOTE below. Apparently the site is not functional and may not ever be.]

Mr. B. notes that Tom Sullivan's long awaited blog has a first entry. It is entitled "Conversations with the Provost."

From the blog:

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[The material below, that was posted on the Provost's blog as of yesterday, has now been removed. The site has reverted to its former status as an empty suit.]

Welcome!

In the spirit of strategic positioning, and exploring new methods of communication, I have decided to launch a blog. I plan to make biweekly entries into the blog, on such topics as:

  • Law (as former dean of the Law School and a faculty member, this is of particular interest to me)
  • Art and design (a personal passion)
  • Travel (currently, I am planning a trip to Italy)
  • Twin Cities Culture (we are so fortunate to have such resources as the Guthrie Theater, Walker Art Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra)
  • The strategic positioning effort, “Transforming the U” (of course!)
  • Academic initiatives and trends
  • Other personal observations
We’ll moderate blog submissions for relevance and redundancy, but we hope for a free exchange of thought, thought-provoking, and wide-ranging entries. We hope our experiment with a blog will be successful, but we need your help. Please join the conversation!
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Mr. B. encourages readers to monitor this blog and contribute as appropriate. He has already submitted a comment about Provost Sullivan's ambitious aspirations for the university to be one of the top three public research universities in the world [sic]. Bonzo suggested that being in the top half of the BigTen would be a more appropriate and attainable goal. We will see whether a conversation on this topic ensues.

Ciao,

Bonzo

Note: 9:30 am 11/29

Apparently OurProvost's blog is not quite open for business. I answered the call for conversation last night and was rewarded this morning with the following email:

Web Admin to bgleason

"While your comments and willingness to dialogue are appreciated, you were commenting on a draft blog entry that was only temporarily published for demonstration and review purposes.

We're continuing to edit the first entries, and will keep your comment available for consideration once the Provost's blog is officially launched."

OurProvost's blog does not appear to have been a solo effort. Blogs take time and it is good to see that he will have help and not have to do this by himself.
Ciao, Bonzo

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