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May 2016

May 11, 2016

To the Graduating Seniors

For those who read this blog regularly, it will come as no surprise that I...

May 06, 2016

It’s That Time Of Year

On Monday, one of my Providence College faculty colleagues posted this on Facebook: Today was...

April 2016

April 18, 2016

Something Under Construction

We never see the world exactly as it is because we are how the world...

April 16, 2016

Red and Blue Bubbles

As Jeanne and I do various things in the house on Saturdays, we often have...

March 2016

March 20, 2016

Blessed Is He Who Comes

Rodney Delasanta was one of best teachers and colleagues I ever had the privilege of...

February 2016

February 26, 2016

Inquiring Minds

Not long ago I had the chance to read a novel by Ian McEwan that...

February 24, 2016

Academics in No-Man’s Land

Last week my academic department had an important and contentious meeting, the latest skirmish in...

February 17, 2016

Stranger in a Strange Land

I am not Catholic. I have been firmly ensconced in Catholic higher education for close...

February 05, 2016

Robbed by the Kiss Cam

“Wow, Vance!” my colleague exclaimed as he saw my office in our new philosophy department...

February 01, 2016

Hope in Exile

As is the case with any profession, the life of an academic includes some great...

January 2016

January 29, 2016

We Are More Than We Are

Although it often caused trouble and brought me grief during my primary and secondary education...

January 22, 2016

Hanging Out With Juno

In anticipation of what is likely to be our first real snow of the winter...

January 20, 2016

Educating the Uneducated

This is the point in the semester where teachers start returning the first graded assignments...

January 04, 2016

Reading and Writing

My twenty-plus years teaching at Providence College have afforded me an opportunity every semester for...

January 02, 2016

Goliath was a Wimp: Random Observations for the New Year

The first measurable winter precipitation of the season rolled through town last Monday night, on...

November 2015

November 30, 2015

Too Soon

Just before Thanksgiving a year ago a wonderful colleague and friend from my college died...

October 2015

October 28, 2015

Saint Keurig

She is the patron saint of efficiency, streamlined design, good taste and caffeine. Her name...

October 02, 2015

A Jesuit Frame of Mind

The recently concluded visit of Pope Francis to the United States has put me in...

May 2015

May 20, 2015

Cracked Spines

Although I suppose the whole point of being on Facebook is to be noticed, I...

May 11, 2015

There It Is

I did something a couple of weeks ago that I have not done in four years—present...

April 2015

April 29, 2015

Mulch in the Morning

It is the next-to-last day of April, and I think it is finally safe to...

April 24, 2015

Random Thoughts as the Semester Ends

Assignments: You would think after twenty-five years of teaching that I would have learned not...

April 22, 2015

Pleasure and Joy in the Work

As the end of the semester draws near and my upcoming sabbatical looms, I'm wondering...

April 20, 2015

The Vision Thing

In 1987, as Vice President George H. W. Bush prepared to step out of Ronald...

April 17, 2015

We Are the Champions!

I admit it—hockey has never been my number one sport. That in itself is odd,...

March 2015

March 23, 2015

Strange and Beautiful

Forgive me for name dropping, but I went to dinner with a New York Times...

March 06, 2015

Retiring Undefeated

Prominently displayed in the office I occupy as director of the Development of Western Civilization...

February 2015

February 27, 2015

Someone Would Know

Hey Justin! What if you had a ring that made you invisible when you put...

January 2015

January 28, 2015

Magical Thinking

There must be something about the end of January and named snowstorms. This year it...

January 09, 2015

Computer Sabbath

If multitasking is the enemy of reverence, which I’m quite sure it is, then I’m...

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