Mid August Doldrums

Seems like we all might be in the mid-August doldrums (in case you're wondering what doldrums are click here). I enjoyed my short time in Maine, and now it's really back to work for me.

This week I spent Wednesday in Pleasantville cleaning up my office and getting organized. My docking station was installed and is working well-I now have docking stations at each location which is great. My move to Microsoft Exchange went smoothly-I hope everyone else's did as well. I have much to learn about Outlook, and I'm not ready to give up my Yahoo account, but so far I like having my calendar integrated with my e-mail.

Thursday I was in New York, where I met with the folks planning Academy Day for our new students. I'm almost finished reading Mountains Beyond Mountains, the book that is being read by our new students, and I'm struck by what Dr. Paul Farmer can teach us about leadership. He's a charismatic doctor, a man with a mission, who gets people to "buy into" his vision, and he also leaves behind sustainable structures that function well even when he is not around. That impresses me.

I look forward to seeing many of you at Academy Day, which will start around 11 AM on both campuses. Right now I'm planning to be in New York in the morning and in Westchester around lunch time. Be sure to join us as we welcome our new students and kick off the new semester.

Today I was at the Graduate Center, where I got quite a bit of work done - everyone else must be on vacation!

Next week looks like this:

• Monday, Pleasantville;
• Tuesday, Graduate Center;
• Wednesday and Thursday, NYC (which includes Dean's Council from 1-5 on Thursday).

I'm hoping to take Friday off.

Enjoy the weekend!