Happy New Year
As we gear up for a New Year I’m pleased to say that I ended 2013 on a high note. We raised money to help a friend get the medical attention he needs. I was very pleased with the number of people who contributed and helped make the life of a former Motown musician a little better.
In two days I leave this Wisconsin deep freeze (bitter cold and snow) for the sunny skies of Hawaii. I’m doing a workshop in Honolulu at the Hawaii International Education Conference on 10 Problems that Students of Color face on predominantly white campuses. Afterwards I’m going to Kauai to visit an old friend.
I’m also going on a Virtual Book Tour http://bit.ly/19YEYYR with my novel Lakeside University Cover Up next week. What this means is that all of my interviews and book events take place online.
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Here is what a press release for the Virtual Tour said about the novel:
“Educators are praising Charles Taylor’s novel, Lakeside University Cover Up as the perfect tool to get white college students and students of color to open up about issues of racism and to facilitate genuine dialogue on campus. Campus conversations about diverse ‘ways of being’ can be challenging and uncomfortable; however, this novel provides an effective way for students to empathize with each other’s stories and challenges.”
If you get a chance please check out the tour and consider adopting the book for your classroom or as a common read for your department. Maybe this personal testimony will convince you.
“I can honestly say that Charles Taylor’s “Lakeside University Cover Up” is one of the most exciting books that I have read in a long time. I found myself captivated by the storyline from the very beginning and had a difficult time putting it down. Between the suspense of wanting to know who did it, the desire to see if relationships would bud between favorite characters, and the enjoyment of gaining valuable, underlying lessons about acceptance, social justice, and institutional unity, I think this book should be incorporated into various course curriculums as many students could benefit from what it has to offer,” — B. Perkins, Educator.
In February I’ll be joining the scholars at RAMP-Research Association of Minority Professors at their annual conference in New Orleans; one of my favorite cities. RAMP is a great organization of scholars. If you are attending the conference in Honolulu or New Orleans please stop by my workshop and say hello.
As you can see this is going to be a busy year but there’s more. I plan to offer some webinars this semester and will be asking you to complete a survey to identify the topics you’re most interested in that will help you advance your personal or professional career.
Many people have expressed an interest in starting or expanding a consulting business or learn more about publishing their own books. Based on your interest I may offer a 4-week training module this summer to help you build the business that you are passionate about. Be sure to express your interest when I send you a survey or just send me an email in the interim.
I’m gearing up for my online class and working with my doctoral students. It is a privilege to be working with such focused students who are so enthusiastic about their research. I’m also pleased to report that my college has one of the most diverse doctoral student bodies of any college in the country. I get to work with most of these students either in the classroom or as their advisor.
Lastly, when I return from Hawaii I’ll post a new What’s Your Challenge blog and continue to provide resources and information that will help you do your jobs better. Best wishes for the New Year. Together let’s make 2014 the best we can make it!
