Another book recommendation from my higher ed list: The American College and University: A History by Frederick Rudolph. A must-read for any student of higher education, particularly those studying student culture. Rudolph is one of the greats! Start with him then read Brubacher and Rudy, Boyer, and Horowitz.  For those more interested in academic curriculum, see Rudolph’s Curriculum: A History of the American Undergraduate Course of Study Since 1636 (note: search the used market for this book).

Here’s a book that helped me finish my dissertation. Allan Glatthorn’s Writing the Winning Dissertation is a great tool to help you organize a dissertation or other major research project. Instead of viewing the dissertation as one massive project that produces nothing but whining and it’llnevergetdone self-pity, Glatthorn’s suggestions will help break the dissertation down into a couple dozen smaller chunks.

The book is written by an educator for educators, but there are takeaways for most any discipline in social sciences and humanities. The true test of a doctoral program is to see if you, the student, can produce an independent and unique research-based product outside the confines of a structured class environment. Glatthorn won’t help you with specific content of your discipline, but he will show you the structure within which to frame it.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Michael Agar’s book The Professional Stranger: An Informal Introduction to Ethnography is a must read for anyone in cultural anthropology, oral history or qualitative research. This book helped me formulate an ethnographic approach for a case study dissertation. By far one of the best academic books I have ever read. Agar explains ethnography with wit and wisdom, and his concept of gatekeepers (what he calls “professional stranger-handlers”), outliers and question asking was crucial to my research.

Hi, I’m Andy Robison. @c_w_reynolds and others who attended #WLI11 have convinced me to use Twitter and Tumblr for networking, so this is my big debut. I tried Blogspot a few years back, but that was before iPhones, Justin Bieber, Honey Badger and the uber connected world in which we now live. Maybe this blog will be different, with observations and opinions from my 21+ years in higher ed and a completed PhD expedition.

I’ve been told by several people I need to write more, so this will be a start. As if good looks, charm and humor weren’t enough. I have experience in Dean of Students admin, student activities, judicial affairs, housing, alumni affairs, fraternity/sorority advising, fraternity HQ operations and auxiliary services.

Professionally, I’m nearing the midpoint of my career, and looking to the second half with more significance than the first.

Contact me with questions or comments via Twitter DM, @robisonandy  Thanks for reading.