Nick, This is, of course, a great idea.
Some specific ideas to consider: 1) If anyone knows anyone in the legislature that might introduce a friendly amendment to the CSF takeover bill that would allow any non-profit with an educational mission (e.g. the Complex) to submit a proposal, in addition to any state university - we might be able to engineer some kind of "sfxAcademy at the College of Santa Fe" entity. 2) Some significant narrowing of focus for any kind of college would be of great benefit - one of the things that led to CSF's demise was trying to be too many things to too many (very small) audiences; leading to massive overhead with nominal student body. Being an "Arts School" is the current mainstream thinking for CSF, but that would not be at all attractive to the intelligentsia you are thinking of. 3) I would be most interested in a College that followed the St. John's organizational model - basically a single curriculum with lots of seminar, project, experiential learning, etc. The single curriculum we could offer would be a blend of math, science, systems (general and complex), and software - a working title could be "Generative Systems Design." We would offer only one Masters Degree and one Doctorate in this area (with ability for individuals to express special interests). The school would operate on a continual basis (5.5 days a week - 9-9 M-F, 9-1 S), with new students entering at any time. The entire program would be self-paced. Obviously I have a lot of detailed ideas about what the school should look like. The basic point is to offer something that is uniquely SF, unique within the field of education (ala St. John's), and that addresses the real void (not the Arts) left by the demise of CSF. davew On Fri, 13 Feb 2009 19:02:38 -0700, "Owen Densmore" <[email protected]> said: > Dave West is working this nowadays. He may have some good ideas on > how to proceed, and has considerable knowledge with the NM/CSF realm. > > I'm 1000% behind this, great idea! > > -- Owen > > > On Feb 13, 2009, at 2:57 PM, Nicholas Thompson wrote: > > > Dear All, > > > > Since my first days in Santa Fe more than five years ago, I have > > met many people who hanker to have a university here and have the > > skill, the talent, and the experience to contribute to such an > > enterprise. Yet, the reality is that we are near to losing our name > > sake college, the College of Santa Fe. Thursday night at the School > > of Advanced Research Darwin Lecture at the Lensic, I was wondering > > why a small city that can fill an auditorium for a lecture on Darwin > > on a cold winters night cannot sustain its name-sake college. Is > > it because there is no group that explicitly represents the many > > people with interests in higher education who have been drawn to > > Santa Fe? As the Governor and the Legislature decide what, if > > anything, to do with the CSF campus, the presence of such an > > interest group might tip the balance in favor of continuing and even > > expanding the College of Santa Fe as a center of creativity, > > scholarship, and technical innovation. > > > > I am writing to ask if there any members of FRIAM willing to help > > me put together such a group. So that it can provide a little > > academic clout, I see its membership as composed centrally--but not > > exclusivelyof people who have worked in colleges and universities. > > It would offer > > > > ? a source of reliable information to its members on the status of > > negotiations concerning the future of the CSF campus. > > > > ? access to national and international personal networks that would > > assist in recruiting students and faculty to whatever institution > > comes to SF to replace CSF. > > > > ? wealth of experience upon which that institution can draw as it > > develops programs and seeks grants and funding from the federal > > government and foundations to support these program. . > > > > ? experienced teachers with advanced degrees who might volunteer to > > help the institution through its rocky first year. > > > > ? a focus of social and political energy to maintain SF as the sort > > of place where a couple of hundred people will come out for a > > lecture on Darwin on a cold February night. > > > > Once this organization is established, I see it largely functioning > > passively: i.e., as a locus of information exchange and as an > > academic resource base. In the initial stages, it might be useful > > and interesting to get the members together to share information and > > establish a conversation, but I see no need for fund raising, > > lobbying, or program development or more than an occasional > > meeting. I see a simple website, a distribution list, and perhaps a > > wiki. The goal is to Be There when They Need Us! > > > > Let me have your ideas. If you need coffee to lubricate your > > thought processes, I will buy. What I need most at this point is > > the names of others who might share these concerns and want to > > explore what we might do about them. > > > > All the best, > > > > Nick Thompson > > > > > > Nicholas S. Thompson > > Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology, > > Clark University > > (nthompson > > @clarku > > .edu)============================================================ > > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org > > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
