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Higher Ed: Need For Global Connections Prompts Campuses To Examine Role In Local Community Too

A “Higher Ed” listener who teaches English in Osaka, Japan wrote in requesting a discussion of what the listener characterizes as “the tension between servicing the local community near an institution and appealing to international elements (students, partnerships, etc.).” In this episode of the KUT podcast “Higher Ed,” KUT’s Jennifer Stayton and Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger discuss how campuses view their role in the local community and how that is balanced with farther flung connections.

You might have heard about “town-gown” relations, meaning the way a college or university interacts with the community where it is housed. Maybe this listener is curious about “globe-gown” relations?

Ed says he believes the focus of any higher education institution should, of course, be on the students, and any other relationships evolve from there.

“I believe that institutions of higher learning are designed for one purpose,” says Ed, “which is to inspire individuals to become better versions of themselves. And while the focus is on the students, obviously, I think that should spill out into the community at large.”

Ed believes international relationships do give both parties – both the institution and the country where connections are being made – an opportunity to grow.

“The idea of going out of one’s comfort zone and exploring a world and exploring people,” Ed says,” I think is a powerful way of learning for everybody, including those who are being visited.”

Listen to the full episode to hear more about how institutions balance “town-gown” and “globe-gown” relationships. It is also time for a new puzzler. Listen closely; this one contains a subtle arithmetic twist.

This episode was recorded on April 23, 2019.

Jimmy Smith & Shirley Scott – Jazz and The Art of Soul

Jimmy Smith and Shirley Scott were both musical innovators, popularizing the use of the B-3 organ in jazz. The sound of the organ invites a prayerful sensibility into the performance, merging entertainment and worship in a masterful combination. Where do we exist in the relationship between the sacred and the profane? Does everything have to be so proscribed? What healing happens beyond Either/Or? How can we locate our soul as a force for good out in the world?

Listen back to a Views and Brews recorded live at the historic Cactus Cafe in Austin, Texas as we present a spirited evening of music and conversation. Sponsored by KUT radio, Rabbi and Jazz Historian Neil Blumofe in conversation with Rebecca McInroy. Featuring Red Young, organ; Bruce Saunders, guitar; Michael Malone, saxophone; David Young, trumpet; Brannen Temple, drums.

History of Film Censorship with AFS Cinema

Listen back to”Censorship & Its Discontents” as KUT partners with the Austin Film Society to explore Hollywood’s Amazing Pre-Code Era.

KUT’s Rebecca McInroy along with AFS lead programmer Lars Nilsen, and Dr. Donna Kornhaber author of Charlie Caplin, Director talk about the films of the early 1900s that were way ahead of their time; featuring strong female protagonists, gay and lesbian characters, and anti-heroes in crime and gangster films that allowed the audience to decide for themselves who was actually good or evil.

Lisa Moore on Adrienne Rich

“If I can write better poems I can live a better life. It’s a spiritual practice for me…it helps me figure out how to tell the truth. Which, reading Adrienne Rich also helps me do.”-Lisa Moore

Poet and professor Dr. Lisa Moore talks with poet and novelist Carrie Fountain and KUT producer Rebecca McInroy about the profound and urgent work of the poet and activist Adrienne Rich.

Moore reads Rich’s poem “What Kind of Times are These” and discusses various other works including one of her most famous poems “Diving Into The Wreck” from her book Diving Into The Wreck: Poems 1971-1972.

The conversation ranges from the depth of her poems to her work as a public intellectual and her role as a mother and civil rights activist.

 

 

Joy

What is joy? That is the question that prompted this week’s edition of Two Guys on Your Head with Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke.

You might vaguely understand the definition of joy, but when it comes to the psychology of joy the more know the better equip you are to set yourself up to experience more joy in your life daily.

This Song: The Teeta on “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen

Austin rapper The Teeta breaks down all the reasons he loves “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen and how it influenced the direction he took on “Rain” from his latest record  Teeta World.  

The Teeta will join Confucius and Fresh, hosts of our hip-hop show The Breaks for “The Breaks Live: Graduation Edition” this Friday, May 10th at Empire Control Room along with Grizz,  DJ Manny Mo, and Dj Yupthtsher.

Listen to this episode of This Song

Listen to The Teeta’s new album “Teeta World”

Get tickets for the Breaks Live: Graduation Edition

Listen to Songs from this episode of This Song

Higher Ed: The Community-Building Power Of Ritual In Education

The pomp and circumstance of graduation brings students, teachers, staff and family together to celebrate achievement and usher students onto their next steps in learning and life. That ritual not only honors students but also creates a shared opportunity for a campus community to strengthen bonds. In this episode of the KUT podcast “Higher Ed,” KUT’s Jennifer Stayton and Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger discuss the importance of ritual in education.

Graduation is probably the first ceremony that comes to mind when thinking about the rituals associated with education. Commencement certainly exists to celebrate achievements and bestow accolades. But Ed believes that ceremony also speaks to a deeper human truth.

“As human beings, we believe in community,” says Ed. “So the idea of having the community come together, which includes your family and your friends and your teachers and your colleagues who are students…. it’s a shared moment.”

Certainly the basic business of graduation could be done with no pomp and circumstance simply by mailing out diplomas at the end of the school year. Ed believes though that the entire community – not just the graduates – benefits from sharing in students’ triumphs.

“In today’s world, where everything moves so fast and everyone’s on their electronic devices,” says Ed, “to take a moment to come together as a community – whatever that definition means for that context of community, live in the same space – and celebrate that triumphant moment…it just uplifts the spirit. And so we want those moments of uplifting memories to hold onto.”

Most, if not all, of the rituals in education involve celebrating positive achievements. Left to his own devices to invent a new ritual in education, Ed would turn the focus to elevating something that is normally not celebrated – what he calls “effective failure” from which we learn lessons.

“I think the idea of having a big pomp and circumstance and genuine celebration when things don’t go right,” Ed believes, “as long as we have come to a place where we had an epiphany and we’re going to move forward in a way that will make us better – I think we should be celebrating that.”

Listen to the full episode for more on the role of ritual in education and what title Ed would give to his new ceremony. It is also time for the solution to last episode’s anagram puzzler. Listen closely, though, as it may not be as complicated as it first sounded.

This episode was recorded on April 2, 2019.

Eyewitness Accounts

Even though we know how unreliable our visual memory is, we still put a huge amount of stock into what someone says they saw. Why is an eyewitness account so important in legal proceedings and beyond, and why should we question the value of an eyewitness testimony?

On this episode of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke discuss eyewitness accounts.

Higher Ed: A Mindset Shift Can Elicit Satisfaction And Even Joy From Intellectual Struggle

Learning is not always easy. Some subjects, concepts and teachers are just plain tough. Mastering that material can be frustrating and even discouraging. In this episode of the KUT podcast “Higher Ed,” KUT’s Jennifer Stayton talks with Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger about how a shift in mindset can help learners at any age harness lessons, power and even joy from those struggles.

Challenges and frustrations that we encounter in and out of the classroom can elicit a variety of emotions including anger and frustration. Not wanting to wallow in negativity, we attempt to move on from that sensation as quickly as we can.

“We look upon those things, and those emotions, as negative,” Ed notes. “People are saying that they want to avoid and we want to get past it.”

But what if those negative feelings were framed differently – perhaps as fuel instead of foil?

“Imagine a mindset where the idea of struggle generates a positive emotion. The feeling of frustration generates something that helps you move you forward, ” says Ed. “Imagine a world inside one’s mind where those feelings … enhance our learning and drive us to go further and inspire us to reach new levels rather than squelch our interest or enthusiasm.”

Ed encourages students struggling with a difficult subject or concept to harness the power of that conflict to assist their learning.

“What if we looked upon those emotions and tried to use them as empowering tools to continue the struggle and to move beyond the frustration” Ed wonders “by using the frustration as a catapult to push us and throw us into a new place?”

Ed believes applying mindfulness to this endeavor can actually propel learners beyond simply converting their frustration into fuel.

“If we intentionally acknowledge and then try to make those moments of frustration or struggle joyful, we can,” Ed asserts.

Joyful? Listen to the full episode for more on extracting joy from the struggles of learning. And prepare for a new puzzler – anagram-style – that might test that idea of power and joy born from struggle!

This episode was recorded on April 2, 2019.

Gene Ammons

Eugene “Jug” Ammons AKA “The Boss” was a tenor saxophonist known for his bold, R&B-soul sound. His vast discography as a bandleader and occasional sideman stretch from the 1950s to the 1970s. In this episode of Liner Notes, Rabbi Neil Blumofe discusses the legacy of Gene Ammons.

King Pleasure

Clarence “King Pleasure” Beeks was a fronting vocalist and early innovator of the “vocalese” style, whose discography spanned two decades in the mid twentieth century. In this edition of Liner Notes, jazz historian and Rabbi Neil Blumofe discusses the career and influence of King Pleasure.

George Benson

Guitarist George Benson recorded his first album at the age of 21 and continues to be a tremendous influence in the guitar world. In this edition of Liner Notes, jazz historian and Rabbi Neil Blumofe discusses the ongoing life and career of George Benson.

Legacy

Looking back, we tend to associate our legacy with accomplishments in our career and we rarely think about the value of our work in the moment. Yet a personal sense legacy can be derived from a number of meaningful things outside the workplace, even if we’re not considering them right now.

On this episode of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke discuss legacy.

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