The Chicago Tribune has an article about Shimer College's new president, Thomas Lindsay. I worked with Tom in the Bush administration, where he was deputy director of the National Endowment for the Humanities. He was instrumental in developing the Picturing America project, a smart initiative to place some of the most iconic American images in schools, libraries, national parks, and Head Start Centers.
Shimer is a great-books school in Chicago with a small student body and faculty — 102 students and 11 full-time faculty. It has been facing some financial difficulties, and Tom is its third president in three years. He is working to get Shimer's financial house in order, and has come up against the expected grumblings from liberal students and faculty. I recently wrote a cautionary tale in City Journal about the problems that emerged at Cornell when students began dictating matters of administration. Lindsay should keep these lessons in mind as he moves forward with his efforts.