More on Universities, Root Causes, and Internet in the Classroom

Posted by Jeff Lipshaw

I expressed the view a couple days ago that trying to deal with “internet in the classroom” by cutting off wireless access was a quick fix, and did not address the root cause of the problem.  I happened today to pick up the most recent edition of Stanford, the university’s alumni magazine, and was interested in President John Hennessy’s comments on the subject of innovation:

[U]niversities should not take a short-term focus that aims to deliver a “better mousetrap,” but rather focus on fundamentally new approaches to eliminating the problem of mice as pest.

But, he says, to do that, you have to (a) have people with a diverse mix of talents and approaches, (b) promote risk-taking and innovative thinking, and (c) not let good ideas stagnate within university walls (okay, he’s talking about tech transfer).