Time for a Break

I think it is time for me to take a more extended break from regular posting to this blog.  I’ve covered a lot of topics over a number of years, and although I will continue to post from time to time if I feel I have something to say, I’m not sure I can add much more value by trying to make monthly or bi-monthly posts.  Of course, all of my previous posts will be available on this site.

My intention with the blog was to provide a resource that might be of use to people who work on branch campuses or who have some main campus oversight responsibility for branches.  Personal feedback over the years has been gratifying, so I think I reached my goal, even if the number of monthly visits was in the hundreds, not the thousands.  The number of international readers was a surprise to me, but very pleasantly so.

At this point, I am more interested in working with individuals or with institutions in a more personal way.  I enjoy my work as a consultant, and I am a certified professional coach, which supports working with individuals or leadership teams as they look to the future. On a few occasions I’ve been employed by an institution to participate in a one-time discussion about their branch organizational structure or their strategies to encourage enrollment growth.  On other occasions I developed and facilitated planning workshops to engage various stakeholders in a conversation about the future of branch campuses.

As a coach, I’ve worked with individuals who find themselves in a new leadership role, in which having a coach (a “trusted advisor”) outside of the home institution can be helpful.  I’ve also worked with younger administrators who have been identified as having potential for advancement, but may benefit from coaching around strengths-based leadership, building a strong team, or the development of negotiation skills.

I want to mention here that another reason my posting has been less frequent is that I am completing a book on branch campuses.  The book is tentatively titled Out on a Limb:  A Branch Campus Life, and it should be out in the spring in both electronic and print versions.  I will announce its publication here, and I hope readers of my blog consider buying a copy.  Better yet, if you are in a branch campus leadership position, buy enough copies for everyone on your staff and invite me for a teleconference or a visit!

I enjoy sharing ideas and exploring possibilities, and these are increasingly challenging times for many institutions.  Branch campuses have so much to offer, but it is important to get the programing, services, and finances right, to understand marketing and entrepreneurship, and to build the right types of internal and external partnerships.  Please get in touch, if I can be of help.

Watch for that book announcement!