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Hello most gentle web browser*,
I am Jim Coleman. That means a lot of different things. Below is a summary of some of those things... After graduating with a degree in Forestry from the University of Maine in 1982 and a PhD from Yale's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in 1987 (now Yale School for the Environment). I started traveling a circuitous path that led me metaphorically to the top of some beautiful mountains, to alder thickets so dense I couldn't see my hands, to bogs that almost swallowed me whole, and to many roads I never imagined traveling- some good, some bad. That trek continues. I am currently a professor biology and grad program director at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. I am a former Chief Research Officer, Dean, and Provost. I was elected as Fellow to the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2018 for my contributions to plant physiological ecology and building research infrastructure in universities and statewide. If you ask Chat GPT about my role in ecology, it will tell you that my work has been foundational, but then it only gets my work about half right. But, I am not going to argue with AI. This blog tells a story of my early research career I blog on this website about other things, too: higher education, being autistic, nature, and hopefully more often in the future things that I hope readers find amusing. I care deeply about higher education, and worry that we are losing our way. I am also totally sick of spin and superficiality of higher ed leaders. I think I may implode if I read another op-ed that has the same content I have been reading for 35 years lecturing universities about how they need to change. I am an evolutionary biologist, so by definition, I love change. But evolution of organisms and organizations doesn't happen because they are beaten with a stick, even with strong selection pressure. It happens because something new works better. So far the major potential disruptions in higher ed such as for-profit institutions focused on careers and efficiency, online programs reducing the need for residential campuses, and MOOCs potentially reducing the need for only a fraction of universities haven't worked, at least enough to disrupt the sector like automobiles did to trains or personal computers did to typewriters. I also discovered in my late fifties that I am a person on the autism spectrum. The assessment was transformational. It is as if I spent fifty-nine years thinking I was just a messed-up horse, only to discover I was a zebra. I am starting a book, "pathologically genuine" and have started to be on my panels to give my perspective on navigating higher ed as an autistic person. Please contact me if you are interested and think I can help your organization or you. Happy to send you references for feedback on those who heard me speak. I also LOVE teaching undergraduates at UNCG. 60% of first-year students are Pell eligible. More than 50% are first generation. Around 50% of new students are transfers, mostly from community colleges. They, in general, are the most diverse, resilient, perseverant, nicest, humblest and unentitled people I know. And, they are very smart & incredibly hard working. They inspire me and leave me in awe- I would never have made through my undergraduate degree if I had the challenges they have to overcome. I have taught more than 1,000 undergraduates between Fall 2021 and Spring 2025. I can't help but feel that every one of those students is part of my extended family. Yes, it turns out, that many autistic people are often extraordinary empathetic. I play guitar and piano and write songs for classes. Much to my surprise, students actually think I play and sing well- even when they have no need to. I would always rather be with a dog. Brea, one of two current canine companions (Kira is the other companion), is in training to be a therapy dog. When she passes the test, I hope to have her come to office hours. Brea is pretty special so I suspect that office hour tickets will no longer be given away for free and will be so competitive that it may overwhelm Stub Hub. I also suffered from challenges with serious depression and anxiety as many autistic people do. I do everything I can to destigmatize mental health challenges and spend a great deal of time with students helping them find support. l am also a reformed administrator who returned after 25 years from the dark side as a former provost, former dean, and former chief research officer. That return wasn't my choice, but it was one of the best decisions the universe made for me. You can read ad nauseum about my administrative experiences and accomplishments by clicking the "Curriculum vitae" tab. In all of those roles I was dedicated to the transformational mission of higher education and making institutions better. You'll see in my curriculum vitae that I'd like to think I made important contributions, but that may be a self delusion. Administrators mostly achieve success by empowering others or saying "yes" or "no" at the right times or hiring and/or empowering great people. I do feel like I did that. In the end though, despite having some success as an administrator and researcher, I find teaching UNCG students to be the most rewarding time of my career, at least for the last 20 years. You will probably also note that I don't do a good job of keeping a boundary between the professional and the personal. This is a symptom of being pathologically genuine- a phenotype of my autism. As you might imagine that phenotype can be a superpower or kryptonite at the same time. *Because my personal and professional lives are so connected, I included my job title on the cover page. But, this is not any official site. Most of the information on this website relates directly to my academic career, teaching, research and the current responsibilities of my job. But, there are personal opinions and information that has nothing to do with my role as a professor at UNCG and about a variety of things. This information was generally shaped by my academic experiences, including those at UNCG, or related to my growth as an ecologist and teacher. All opinions expressed on this website and in my Blog are mine and do not reflect the opinions of my employer- and perhaps maybe not a single other organism in the universe. Some opinions may anger people. I just hope those that are angered respect my right to state my personal opinion, even when it is related to my job. |
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