… interesting things are going on.
The U of Kentucky is known for its men’s basketball program, of course, which has brought both pride and embarrassment over the school’s history. But we’ve also taken a great deal of pride in our cheerleading program, which has won 24 national championships on its own (And don’t smirk — top-level cheerleading routines involve strength, agility, and significant risk of injury, even catastrophic injury.) However, things apparently took a bad turn recently, and UK has chosen to dismiss the cheerleading squad’s coaching staff. While the offenses sound like an 80s teen sex comedy, I think it’s good for the U to bring things back under control.
Away from the playing fields, meanwhile, UK is trying to plan for the necessities and ramifications of a fall semester in the age of COVID-19. I think an advantage UK has that many other institutions don’t is that the school’s president is a public health specialist with an interest in infectious diseases. Certainly, we’re doing the same kinds of planning here on a smaller scale at Mondoville, but the folks at Kentucky have chosen to open their process up to the media. The NYT provides an inside look at the decisions administrators have to address. If you’re interested in higher ed, or have skin in the game in other ways, it’s worth a read.
Professor Mondo 