I'm still trying to figure out what it all means, and to decide whether our charismatic president should be flattered or revolted by the fawning attention of TIME magazine.
Maybe it's worth noting that TIME has chosen to honor the CEOs of institutions that are, for the most part, big, public, and relatively unglamorous. What are we to make of the fact that the Ivy League was shut out of TIME's exclusive society of college presidents? And what does it mean that New England scored only one hit--Middlebury College, which is far from being the most illustrious school in America's Brain Basket. Is there something about the Ivies that inhibits executive leadership? If so, how does that manifest itself? And why doesn't the failure of executive leadership in the Ivies--and at other prestigious institutions, such as Oberlin, Kenyon, and the University of Chicago--somehow make its way into the inscrutable annual rankings of U.S. News and World Reports?
What is TIME trying to say about the executive talent nurtured or recruited by institutions such as Ohio State (and also the University of Michigan, let us hasten to add)? And why do TIME's executive success stories emanate fom schools that have endured unique challenges, such as Tulane, and institutions with notably proletarian pedigrees, such as the University of Maryland Baltimore County, the University of Texas at Brownsville, and Miami-Dade College?
Inquiring minds want to know the answers to these questions about rankings and celebrity, about the rise of the masses and what the great sociologist, Vilfredo Pareto, called the circulation of the elites. In the meantime, let's extend hearty congratulations to Dr. Gee and prepare to enjoy the ride.
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