Author Archives: Prof. Andrew R. Timming

Australian universities that tout the transformative benefits of their leadership courses may be greatly overstating the case.  The Australian Government is funding a pilot Future Leaders Program, to encourage high achieving teachers in regional and rural primary and secondary schools aspire towards leadership roles. However, apart from La Trobe University in Melbourne, on a nationalContinue reading “Missing in Action: Are Aussie Universities Lagging in Leadership?”

Suicide carries such an enormous stigma that it simply isn’t talked about openly. Since my mother died by her own hand a few months ago, I’ve made it a mission in life to de-stigmatize suicide. Not talking about it certainly doesn’t stop, or even reduce, its occurence. So, let’s have a conversation about it. WhenContinue reading “Suicide in Academia”

The university sector is in crisis, nowhere more so than in Australia, where COVID19 travel restrictions have all but eradicated new international students. While Britain has seen, in 2020, the largest ever increase in international students, Australia has seen a catastrophic reduction. Against this backdrop, it seems almost sadistic of the Australian government to introduceContinue reading “Government Mismanagement of Universities”

I can speak with authority on the topic of insomnia. I’ve suffered from poor quality sleep for twenty years now, which, perhaps not coincidentally, overlaps with my time in grad school and academia. Sometimes it’s better and sometimes it’s worse, but it’s an ever-present threat I face every night. My problem is not so muchContinue reading “Insomnia in Academia”

I’m a sad academic. I know I’m not the only one. Working in academia is difficult enough in normal times. In the era of COVID19, it’s a living nightmare. I cry often, but not in front of colleagues. When I’m at work, I use the restrooms to conceal my tears and sadness. I don’t wantContinue reading “Sad Academic”

Because reality is brutal and unforgiving, I like to watch movies. As a university professor, I am naturally drawn toward movies about university professors. Among the hundreds of movies that have been filmed on campus, here are my top five, along with some links to my favorite clips. I hope you enjoy. 5. Back toContinue reading “The Five Best Movies Filmed on Campus”

#AcademicTwitter is one big, emotionally exhausting popularity contest. It’s a bit like being back in high school again, but much worse. At least in high school, there was some ambiguity about who’s popular and who’s not. On #AcademicTwitter, your popularity is signaled clearly and unambiguously by your follower count. The higher your follower count, theContinue reading “The +’s and –‘s of #AcademicTwitter”

What do Ludwig van Beethoven, Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Soren Kierkegaard, Immanuel Kant, Franz Kafka, Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, and Charles Dickens all have in common? They are all geniuses, yes. But they share something else in common, too. All of them built a daily walk into their routines. “But I’m too busy for a walk,” youContinue reading “The Benefits of a Daily Walk”

COVID19 has dealt a welcome death blow to academic conferences in 2020. A few small workshops have offered poorly attended “virtual” sessions, but the idea of a large, face-to-face gathering has been rejected by professional associations the world over. Should we cry for the loss of academic conferences this year? Should we lobby for themContinue reading “Academic Conferences are Dead: good riddance”

Studying abroad is an amazing, life-changing experience. I should know. As a young American, I studied in Chile and Argentina. I so loved studying and living abroad that I decided to get my Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge. In the end, I spent most of my tertiary education as an international student and, ifContinue reading “The End of Internationalization in Higher Ed?”