Heading north....

From RandiArt Those who follow this blog from time to time are aware that while I am presently located in Belfast, Northern Ireland, my actual home turf is in Beverly MA. My time here in Belfast is coming to an end (I have been here since September 2003), and I will soon return to the US. But while I am definitely heading back to Beverly to live, my work situation is likely to be different.... In the states I have been affiliated with Rutgers University-Newark for about a dozen years, and for five of the last seven years I have had to commute weekly to Newark to teach at Rutgers -- a process that was frankly wearing me down. The prospect of going back to that routine this fall was depressing. I love the students in Newark and my colleagues as well, but I was hoping for a change. And it looks like that will be the case. I am about to agree to a position at the University of New Hampshire, a school of 13,000 or so located in Durham NH -- just forty minutes from my home in Beverly. There I hope to continue my work on accountability, but I am also looking forward to helping UNH build its MPA program -- something definitely needed in the New England area. Among the benefits of the position change is being able to drop in for breakfast or lunch at Portsmouth -- a 15 drive from Durham and one of our favorite places to visit on a brisk morning. As Randi's pic shows, it is an interesting place with plenty of charm -- and even more presidential politics. I am really loking forward to the change.... NewHampshire