I'm starting a new role

I've spent the last few months thinking hard about exactly what I wanted to do next.  A vision of the kinds of improvement that were possible in the long term for university teaching, and a path for getting there began to take shape. (An earlier version of some of those ideas was tested in this blog, in entries like this one.

Once I realized that working with those ideas was my goal, the next challenge was to find a place to put these notions to the test (somewhere near Silver Spring, MD where Leslie and I have long lived) and to find a good team to work with. 

The great news is that there was such a place and they were looking for someone with ideas and a track record like mine. 

So I'm happy to announce that I've just accepted the position of Assoc. Director for Research and Evaluation at the University System of Maryland's Center for Academic Innovation, working with MJ Bishop. The System has a delightful range of distinctive institutions as members, which should provide a good fire in which to cook my half-baked ideas.  And it gives me a chance to give back to the state where we've lived for 35 years.  I'll be starting in my new role on Sept. 22.