Phil's Focus

July 7, 2018

Pushy Door-to-Door Vacuum Cleaner Salespeople Are Like Partisan Politicians: They Lack the Art Of Persuasion

I have never invited a door-to-door salesperson into my house to demonstrate vacuum cleaners. In fact, my wife is the expert family consumer and user of vacuum cleaners, and she doesn’t entertain door-to-door vacuum-cleaner hawkers. Nevertheless, I was appalled to read the April 17 Star Tribune story “Vacuum sales take pushy to new level: door-to-door tactics by company frighten, anger residents in several cities.”

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June 24, 2018

Rethinking the Value of Higher Education: It Is Still Worth It, and It Matters

May is the most beautiful time of the year, with buds of our big front-yard apple tree exploding into wondrous white blossoms and the lilacs on the side of the house peaking in purple with their sweet scent. The reawakening of trees and flowers forms a colorful backdrop for celebrations of graduates and mothers.

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June 1, 2018

From Higher-Education Leader to Truck Driver: On the Road with David A. Longanecker

One should aspire to and pursue one’s dreams and goals. Recently, I was pleased to see that David A. Longanecker, one of my top bosses and a national leader in higher education, has achieved his goal of becoming a truck driver, a goal he had articulated for many years.

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May 22, 2018

Female Sports Journalists Have Overcome Obstacles But Gaps Remain

Last week, Jenny Cavnar became the first woman since 1993 to do televised play-by-play on a Major League Baseball telecast of the game between the Colorado Rockies and the San Diego Padres. Her usual role was pre-and postgame TV shows.

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April 25, 2018

Story of Former Sports Photographer Friend Illuminates Big Picture of Life

Last fall, viewing professional football games, I watched a commercial for Modelo Especial featuring Tony Gonzalez, one of the greatest receivers in the history of the National Football League. In the ad, Gonzalez, now a national TV analyst, celebrates 40 years of family dinners with his mother, who worked two jobs to raise and support the family.

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February 26, 2018

Whalen Defines Greatness With Skills and Character

Jim Petersen, TV analyst for the Minnesota Timberwolves, sometimes references the Minnesota Lynx during broadcasts. He refers to Lynx point guard Lindsay Whalen as “greatness.” Petersen should know because he was an assistant Lynx coach for nine years after his college and NBA careers. He states that Whalen is one of Minnesota’s all-time great athletes.

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November 6, 2017

Finding Golf Balls Is Not a Compulsion But I Sure Enjoy the Sport

Monday, October 16, was a glorious fall day in the Twin Cities with temperatures in the high 60s. As I walked on the sidewalk parallel to Ramsey County Highway 96 in Vadnais Heights, I was in awe of the radiant colors—yellow, red, orange, green—highlighted by the late-afternoon sun. But I enjoyed more than fall beauty. I found four golf balls, pushing my season total to 62, possibly a record.

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October 2, 2017

Important Role of Copy Editing Should be Respected, Preserved

My first job in journalism after college was as a copy editor for a newspaper in southern California. Despite having negative stereotypes of copy editors, I quickly learned that a copy editor fulfills an important, sometimes thankless, role in ensuring accuracy, clarity, and quality of a publication’s content. Copy editing has been a key part of my life.

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September 11, 2017

Chronicle of Higher Education 2017-18 Almanac Provides Wealth of Information on Students, Faculty, and Finances

Each August, The Chronicle of Higher Education publishes its Almanac with data on many aspects of the nation’s multibillion-dollar effort to educate 20 million undergraduate and graduate students. The 2017-18 issue includes 80 tables of data on college faculty members and administrators, students, and finances. Also included are summaries of data on each state and a national summary of these data.

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September 6, 2017

Glen Taylor’s Win-Win Approach Can Help Resolve Conflicts and Restore Confidence in Government

It’s not surprising that public trust in government remains near historic lows. Only 20 percent of Americans say they trust the government in Washington to do what is right, according to the Pew Research Center

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