Can a barbarian's sunshine be useful to a king?

​​​Once upon a time in China, a barbarian went to give a gift to his king.  When he was introduced, the barbarian proudly presented... the sunshine!  Since the sunshine brings warmth even in the coldest winter, he thought, it must be a worthy gift for the king.

Being in academia is like being the barbarian in this story: even when your stuff makes sense, it can still be either trivial or unrefined.  It is especially the case when you are a new dean of a band of seasoned and intelligent faculty and staff.

This blog is intended for colleagues in the schools of SciMath and ITEC. Despite my best intentions, opinions expressed here can still be primitive, simply obvious, or even flawed.  Nonetheless I present them with respect and sincerity.  Thank you for reading.