Humility Clothed in Humor and Other Thoughts

Throughout the past decade I’ve spent many days on the campuses of Purdue University and IUPUI, mainly collaborating with my good friends there. This summer, both are leaving after amazing tenures. Andrew Koch (formerly at Purdue) is headed to Brevard, NC to join the leadership team (VP) of the amazing John Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education. Scott Evenbeck (formerly the founding Dean of College 101 at IUPUI) has become the founding president of the exciting City of New York’s New Community College. Both are amazing individuals. Drew taught me anew the value of humility clothed in humor, and Scott the long-term joys of democratic practices—involving as many as possible in projects. My hope is that our work over the past decade has shown other states that private and public colleges can indeed collaborate, esp. if the students’ success remains the fulcrum of strategic planning and expenditure of resources (including internal and external). Drs. Koch and Evenbeck are sui generis.