Trained Incapacity: The Rise of Specialized Master’s Degrees

This blog first appeared on the Bloomberg Businessweek website. "Generalist species is able to thrive in a wide variety of environmental conditions and can make use of a variety of different resources. A specialist species can only survive in a narrow range of environmental conditions." – Warren Bennis When I was president of the University of Cincinnati in the 1970s, the dean of the medical school poignantly remarked that the only generalist he could find at the hospital or in the faculty was the patient. That irony has come to mind frequently in the past year or so when I……

USC Marshall’s ‘Passport to the World’

This blog first appeared on the Bloomberg Businessweek website. As I'm writing this on the West Coast at 11 p.m., Oct. 11, three top administrators from the University of Southern California–Provost Elizabeth Garrett; James Ellis, dean of the Marshall School of Business; and his vice dean for academic affairs, John Matsusaka–are in Milan wrapping up an agreement with their counterparts at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Bocconi University. These three universities are collaborating to launch a three-continent degree program that will take students from Los Angeles to Hong Kong to Milan. They've formed a partnership……

Watch Geoffrey Cowan – The Play Top Secret in China

Watch CCLP Director Geoffrey Cowan lead a lecture on his award winning play, "Top Secret" recently published on YouTube February 28th, 2012. The play won the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's Gold Medal for Excellence in Best Live Entertainment and was recently performed in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai before packed auditoriums. In some instances Cowan, and the play's producer, director, and performers were able to talk with audiences about the issued addressed in the play. In some places, Chinese authorities sought to prevent such discussions. Click here to watch the lecture in it's entirety…….

Cowan opens national forum on civics education

CCLP director Geoffrey Cowan provided opening remarks to the Civic Innovators Forum for Civics Learning at the National Press Club on Wednesday, March 30. The program, which also included presentations by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Pete Peterson, brought together top policymakers, scholars, journalists and philanthropists to explore ways to bolster civics education in schools across the country…….

CCLP panel explores technology and education with FCC Chairman Genachowski

On Tuesday, September 21, CCLP Director Geoffrey Cowan (pictured, right) led a discussion on the intersection of technology and education in the 21st century. The panel, featuring FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski (left), kicked off a half-day event called "Back to School: Learning in a Digital Age," sponsored by USC Annenberg's Center on Communication Leadership (CCLP), Common Sense Media, PBS Kids and The Children's Partnership. Leaders in technology and education discussed the benefits of equipping children and educators digitally – both inside and outside of the classroom. "The need far exceeds the risk," said Genachowski. "When our schools win, our country……