Vice Chancellor for communications and marketing @VanderbiltU ; opinions are mine
Nashville, TN
Joined February 2008
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I’ve read this article five times over the past month. And I can’t stop thinking about it. And then I can’t stop thinking about thinking about it. And wondering how that thinking itself may be changing the way I think. 🤯
The Empty Brain:
aeon.co/essays/your-brain-do…
I spent 10 years being annoyed at the other person in this conversation; and now I’m more annoyed at myself. Sometimes, the more you know, the less you can find out…
steveertel.substack.com/p/im…
Steve Ertel retweeted
Vanderbilt is joining in as Nashville celebrates its first #DollyDay. 🦋📚💓
From lighting campus pink to supporting @DollysLibrary in Nashville and New York City, we’re celebrating Dolly’s legacy of music and generosity.
Learn more: vu.edu/xhmex
Steve Ertel retweeted
“So what is the right response? Action, grounded in principle.”
In a new @WashingtonPost op-ed, Chancellor Diermeier examines the challenges facing higher education and makes the case for scholarly standards, academic freedom and the pursuit of truth. washingtonpost.com/opinions/…
What reaches people is not the strength of an argument, it’s a willingness to lose it…
My latest post:
steveertel.substack.com/p/ex…
Latest from @VU_Chancellor on how a recommitment to first principles is required to help restore public trust in universities.
forbes.com/sites/danieldierm…
Steve Ertel retweeted
"Universities depend on public, private and philanthropic support offered in exchange for education and research that serve the public good."
A Declaration of First Principles, published today, is worth a full read.
vanderbilt.edu/declaration/
Steve Ertel retweeted
Proud of my alma mater, Vanderbilt, for reaffirming its principles of free expression, institutional neutrality, and open civil discourse. It is charting a path for higher ed to regain public trust and refocus on the core mission of creating and disseminating knowledge.
Steve Ertel retweeted
In their latest op-ed, @Richard_Florida and Chancellor Diermeier argue that universities must evolve beyond the traditional single-campus model to stay at the forefront of innovation and prepare students for the future.
Opinion: Why Vanderbilt is building campuses beyond Nashville | Opinion tennessean.com/story/opinion…
They mark released polar bears with a green line so they’ll recognize them if they walk back.
The mark exists because the fix is expected to fail.
That’s not cynicism. It’s the most clear-eyed thing in the operation.
open.substack.com/pub/stevee…
Churchill, Manitoba. November 2011.
A sedated polar bear, flying fifty miles north under a helicopter, because it wandered into a town that was built across the road it takes to the ice.
I took this photograph from the second helicopter, flying alongside.
You can’t punch a swarm.
The new opposition has no leader, no demands, and no strategy to decode. Most crisis instincts assume a driver. This one has none.
open.substack.com/pub/stevee…
I spent 15+ years in campaigns, negotiations, and crises. Advocacy people learn one thing early: opposition isn’t a disruption to the plan. It’s the premise of it.
That used to make us specialists. Now it’s everyone’s operating environment. New essay:
open.substack.com/pub/stevee…
Steve Ertel retweeted
Precision on the court. Curiosity in the classroom. That’s the AND in Vanderbilt University. 🏀⚓️⬇️
I once lay on my back in the rain in Times Square.
In a suit.
Holding a microphone box so my CEO could do a live CNN interview next to Edward Norton.
That moment changed how I lead.
I wrote more about what that moment taught me about trust, strategy, and working inside complex systems: open.substack.com/pub/stevee…
Sometimes the right move is action.
A sprint. A visible push that restores momentum.
Sometimes it’s patience.
Building the long arc.