The Chronicle of Higher Education has reported on an organization, started in Australia and the UK, that intends to collect and publish internal; messages and documents from universities: “UniLeaks will accept restricted or censored material of political, ethical, diplomatic, or historical significance which is in some way connected to higher education.”

It behooves every campus-based, or campus-serving professional to ensure their email correspondence is clear and their communication intent is obvious. Avoid circumstances in which you may be completely, one-hundred percent correct in your actions and writing, but where careless or even just imprecise language could be misinterpreted.

Of course you do. That's why I stop regularly by "The Confessions of a Community College Dean" at IHE to see what Dean Dad's shared recently. His latest examines the possibility that there are good things about being a dean, and is titled, It's Not the Dark Side. It Just Sucks. The comments sections is also interesting and insightful.

This comment by Dr. Crazy about yesterday's post stuck with me. In explaining – very clearly – why she refused to move into administration, she noted that much of what attracted her to academia is precisely what keeps her out of administration. Instead of teaching and doing research, both of which she enjoys, she'd have to spend her time in committee meetings and dealing with recalcitrant colleagues. Plus, she'd have to do it eight-plus hours a day, five days a week, twelve months a year.

Some other commenters made similar points, if with different emphases. One put it quite bluntly, asking just what, exactly, makes this job worth doing.

I had to think about that one for a while.

The skill of disagreeing without being disagreeable is something that each of us learns to widely varying degrees. These four essays in Business Officer share perspectives on that skill in the workplace.

One must look no further than to the sphere of American politics to recognize that society at large could use a refresher course on civic engagement. The perspectives in this collection focus on the need for nurturing a culture of civility within the academy—perhaps the ideal place to start for serving as a model to the rest of the world.

Getting Their Best Behavior, by Judy Rookstool

The Business Case for Being Kind, an interview with P.M. Forni

The Legality of Civility, by William E. Thro

The CBO as Civility Broker, an interview with Rita Bornstein