Brian Latimer

  • I Believe in Free Speech, But…

    Somehow, it seems fitting that my most significant moments of brazen student absurdity would happen in public speaking classes. The incident in the following paragraphs takes place for fifteen minutes in one class. I dare say that the three incidents… Continue reading

    I Believe in Free Speech, But…
  • Why All The Melancholy?

    Now that graduation is in the rearview mirror, the summer can begin. Since I work at a SLAC, most of my fellow professors are disappearing into the mist, not returning until mid-August. In the last few days leading up to… Continue reading

    Why All The Melancholy?
  • I Miss the Song and Dance

    After sifting through all those exams and essays from this long semester, it is time to tally up the scores and submit grades. You look over your math and verify that the final scores are correct. You enter the final… Continue reading

    I Miss the Song and Dance
  • I Hate AI Until it Works for Me.

    The debate about generative AI in the education sphere is overdone. I don’t care about it. I don’t care if my students use it because it is relatively easy to sniff out. In many respects, I don’t even want to… Continue reading

    I Hate AI Until it Works for Me.
  • Extra Credit Workaround

    When the end of the semester quickly approaches, one of the biggest certainties is bound to happen: the extra credit request. It never fails. I get requests from people I am pretty sure I never met in class before, or… Continue reading

    Extra Credit Workaround
  • Why is New Leadership Always Like this?

    We recently installed a new provost after the previous one decided that life was better in the mountains. The administration told us that a search committee would find a replacement. However, the administration ended up promoting the assistant provost instead.… Continue reading

    Why is New Leadership Always Like this?
  • Can I Get Some Extra Credit?

    This was a fun little bit I created after a couple of interesting conversations over the last few days. Enjoy. Continue reading

    Can I Get Some Extra Credit?
  • Tales From the (Mental) Institution #2: Military Veterans are Scary People

    During my first all-faculty meeting in the school auditorium, there was a presentation about a new program the university was introducing for returning veterans. All told, it meant that there was the possibility that an influx of nontraditional students with… Continue reading

    Tales From the (Mental) Institution #2: Military Veterans are Scary People
  • Why Are We Talking About Parking Spots?

    It is no secret that I am not a fan of faculty meetings. I especially am not a fan when it means that I have to miss the opening day of baseball and watch my awful team attempt to play.… Continue reading

    Why Are We Talking About Parking Spots?
  • Tales From the (Mental) Institution #1: The English Bulldog

    Dr. Elson Carpenter was a senior member of the English department. The reason is that she probably annoyed everybody else into finding work somewhere else. I never had any direct contact with Carpenter, but her presence in faculty meetings was… Continue reading

    Tales From the (Mental) Institution #1: The English Bulldog