A custom ethics presentation for professors

To those who celebrate … Happy 4-20! 

Did you think I was going to say Easter? That, too. Let’s all commit to not mixing up our jellybeans with our gummies today. 

(This week’s newsletter is a titch short because I took some time off last week to hang with family.)

I began last week hanging out with Dan Rather. OK, it was on a Zoom, but still. I had the privilege of serving as a judge for the Dan Rather Medal for News and Guts, which has a college category. 

First-place winner Garrett Shanley is a senior at the University of Florida, where he works as an editor and reporter for the independent Florida Alligator. He was awarded for his investigative work into the spending habits of Ben Sasse, a senator-turned-university-president-turned-former-university-president. Garrett’s stories are, in my humble opinion, bonkers and great. 

Exhibit A: “In his 17-month stint as UF president, Ben Sasse more than tripled his office’s spending, directing millions in university funds into secretive consulting contracts and high-paying positions for his GOP allies.”

After his win, Garrett wrote on LinkedIn: “We may not have covered presidential assassinations or international wars like Dan Rather, but holding power to account on your own campus — especially when it involves a former U.S. Senator — isn’t a low-stakes assignment.”

Inspiring words heading into the home stretch of the semester.

Oooh, don't leave before we get to the good stuff!