Blue sky, fog on the water. On days like this it's obvious where the hot air ends and the cold air begins. And please no jokes about ivory tower lectures...
Out there on the academic plantation, where we grow bachelor's degrees-holders, there's a spirit of anticipation as new student orientation starts Monday.
We've seen many moving vans make their way here--yes, some families hire movers. Not every froshie comes with his or her school life stuffed in a car trunk and back seat. It costs about $40K to occupy a seat here for nine months, so it's no surprise that people of great means send children here. And a LOT of the stuff--furniture, electronics, TVs, refrigerators-- that gets moved here is abandoned in April (and it gets donated to charity). Imagine being so well situated that small fridges are disposable items that you can buy and move in every year? And we're not the most expensive. In California, Stanford, the Claremonts, and USC beat us out easily.
Contrast that to my freshman year at USC in 1975-1976: $2,500 for a commuter student. It was $625 for UCLA (where most of my high school friends went). Working for the Academy places you within an interesting economic model--basically the money only comes in 2-3 times a year when a semester/quarter starts, and you have to budget that revenue out for 12 months. If you have a surprise expense, it's tough.
Well, what's on your to-do list today? On mine? I'm writing a marketing white paper justifying the existing of a Christian academy, and I'm going to begin with drafting a theology of excellence--the biblical basis of why God why wants you to be good at what you do. Shouldn't take too long. Deciding what to eat for lunch will be harder. Better get started.
Have a great weekend.
Love,
Pops
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Be truthful and frank, but be polite. If you use excessive profanity, I'll assume you have some kind of character flaw like Dr. Wong. Tks!