The Thrill of Academic Frenzy - developments in higher education - Brief Article - Editorial

Black Issues in Higher Education, August 17, 2000 by Jamilah Evelyn

A college president once told me that each time the students go home for the summer, he gets empty nest syndrome. The university grounds get so quiet, he almost doesn't know what to do with himself. When the students return, so does the pitter-patter. But there is just so much work to do. He said he'd take the frenzy any day.

I know the feeling.

The work around here subsides slightly during the summer: Less activity from campuses across the country to report, fewer recruitment ads to fill the pages. When the school year gets started, we're just overwhelmed. But the hustle is what journalists thrive on.

The first full academic year of the new millennium promises to be an eventful one. Many institutions are gearing up technologically. Innovative course offerings are coming into fruition. And new and old leaders prepare to take charge of campuses across the country. It's an exciting time.

As we take on our 16th year of publishing, it's truly daunting how much higher education -- and indeed, our magazine -- has changed. You'll notice our facelift as you peruse this edition. And we'll do our best to keep abreast of new developments happening in your world.

But it's also sometimes gloomy how much things haven't changed.

Underdog champions continue to have to fight to ensure college access for all Americans. And university officials are finding that they still need to explain themselves when they promote diversity as a campus agenda. Late last month, a federal judge told University of Georgia officials they provided no gripping arguments to justify special consideration for minority applicants. And we're still putting "first Black" in some of our stories. If ever we thought there was time to relax, it's stories like those that remind us, there's lots of work to be done.

As we challenge our readers to do more, we also pledge to do a better job of bringing you the news you need and want to read about. That's why we've amended a few of the aesthetics to hopefully make the magazine more digestible. This academic kickoff also marks the launch of our new faculty section, where we plan to share stories from the denizens of America's colleges that encourage, enlighten and even enrage you.

Also in this edition, we take a long-overdue, in-depth look at community colleges. Historically -- Black schools aside -- they've served as the most valuable higher education access point for many students, faculty and administrators of color. They continue to do so, and even surpass many of their four-year counterparts in areas of diversity, distance education and workforce development.

Yet they've suffered what sometimes seems an unshakable stereotype as second-class institutions. Consequently, when minority progress reports come out, higher education pundits often harp on the slow progress that students of color have made in degree attainment without celebrating what two-year schools are doing to get students in the door.

Community colleges -- open door, melting pot institutions that they are -- truly symbolize higher education at its most forgiving, all-inclusive best. And essentially that's what most of our readers are about. The essence of access and equity is giving people an opportunity to just get started.

Ask Gwendolyn Brooks, Norman Rice or Queen Latifah. It's not where you start but where you finish that counts.

So as this school year commences, we at Black Issues are reminded to keep the final prize in mind as our constituents embark on new research, new jobs and new ways to distend higher education's reach.

Let the frenzy begin.