Lessons Learned: Reflections of a University President, by William G. Bowen, $24.95, Princeton University Press, (November 2010), ISBN-10:9780691149622, ISBN-13: 978-0691149622, pp.168.
You can be sure that the former president of one of the world’s most prestigious universities has learned plenty about how to run an institution of higher learning. When he offers to share his knowledge with those who run colleges and universities, or other kinds of institutions, one would be wise to take advantage of the opportunity.
William G. Bowen was president of Princeton University from 1972 to 1988, years of incredible tumult, growth and progress on campus, before going on to head the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which provides support for educational and cultural institutions. As the title promises, he outlines many of the lessons learned along the way. He does so in clear, simple prose, not impenetrable academese.
To introduce the lessons, he tells stories drawn not only from his life at Princeton but also from his experiences in other settings and from situations involving colleagues at other institutions.
Often it is a refreshingly candid story about an error he made. After hiring a reluctant candidate for a faculty job, for instance, he says he learned not to be overly persuasive but bear in mind that the hesitant recruit might know better whether he or she is suited to the task. Among other things, Bowen reports that he learned to surround himself with good people, to make time for the things that were important and to leave before he tired of the job or people tired of him.
He presents all this in a form that is not a memoir and not a handbook or textbook, but his book could provide valuable guidance to any administrator in education or manager in some field far removed from college life. Certainly, any new college president should devour this book, and keep it handy.
Papa, PhD: Essays on Fatherhood by Men in the Academy, edited by Mary Ruth Marotte, Paige Reynolds and Ralph Savarese, $21.95, Rutgers University Press, (December 2010), ISBN-10: 0813548799, ISBN-13: 978-0813548791, pp. 240.
