Maybe I should be a university president?  No lie, I once had an evaluation where the reviewer’s recommendation was that I was going to be a university president someday.  I laughed at it and didn’t take it seriously.  This morning Future U was chatting with Sian Beilock from Dartmouth College.  A lot of what she said resonated with me.  Actually, it is similar to the pathway my president (and good friend) President Chris Storm has taken.  Summed up: go get out there and engage with the university at all levels.  Maybe I should do it too?  Right now I am having way too much fun making conferences, connecting with high school and college students, and of course writing.

I’m going to be honest with you that when the discussion started, I was very cynical. I was feeling like: “Let’s see what the Ivy League president has to say about how brilliant they all are and how difficult it is to live off only a $9B endowment.”  But there were some really good nuggets in this conversation and I encourage the listen. 

Here were two take aways

Early Summer Research Experience – I always try to get my research students on campus doing research when they are at a lower level (first years or sophomores).  It allows students to gain some experience for applying for internships off campus later in the career.  It also helps them to make a career course correct if physics isn’t working out for them.  It is nice to see Dartmouth institutionalizing it in their sophomore summer. 

Semesters off campus – Dartmouth students are going to be well-positioned to get a good internship.  But in general, I do like universities institutionalizing co-ops and internships.  During the summer the students fight tooth and nail to get into leading internships – which has an unfortunate end for many students who lose out.  During the semester, I have heard of opportunities that have gone unfilled because the business or national lab couldn’t get people to step away from their school.  This is an opportunity for a student to get an internship that they may not get one otherwise.  Everything is opportunity.

I wanted to get into Dartmouth so badly when I was younger. Listening to this conversation definitely makes me know why. I would love to go to the school like that. That said, I went to some pretty amazing schools.  I work at an amazing university. So, I’m not gonna lose any sleep over it.