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About: Andrew Maynard’s Dean’s Blog

So, what exactly can you expect from a blog written by an Associate Dean in ASU’s College of Global Futures?

If you’ve reached this page, the chances are that you hit the “about” link on my Dean’s Blog on the Arizona State University College of Global Futures website, and you’re looking for more information about the blog, and possibly even it’s author.

Of course, you may have just stumbled here by accident, in which case, here’s to hoping it’s a happy one and you keep on reading!

About the blog

First off, I should say something about the blog.

I first started blogging in 2007 after being asked by a good friend to contribute to a new initiative on the safe development and use of nanotechnology.

I accepted the challenge, in part as I wanted to hone my public communication skills. But in the process, I discovered just how important the discipline of writing for a weekly blog was in exploring new ideas and keeping my thinking fresh and creative.

Since then, I’ve largely moved on from writing blog posts to focusing on articles and books in my public writing. But I still appreciate the discipline that a weekly deadline brings to my work.

And with the launch of the new College of Global Futures and my role in it as Associate Dean for Curricula and Student Success, this seemed to be a good time to get back into the habit of writing on a regular basis about what’s percolating through my head.

So this is the plan:

I’ll be using this space to creatively explore ideas and insights at the intersection between science and technology, the future, and people; all within the context of my work and my role within the ASU College of Global Futures.

I’ll be writing about what grabs my attention, what I think is interesting and unusual, and what I think is important.

I’ll be playing around with novel and unexpected ways of better-understanding our relationship with the future (expect some weirdness here by the way, and the odd piece that doesn’t work!).

And I’ll be exploring what it means to serve our students to the best of our ability in a college that is focused on the future.

In other words, I’ll be giving readers a ringside view into the inner workings of my often dazed and confused mind as I grapple with what it means to empower others to be designers, architects, and builders, of a better future!

The aim is to publish a new post at the end of each week (although please don’t hold me to account if I miss the odd week).

So if you’re interested in the future and our role in ensuring it’s better than the past (or present even), and you’re curious about what’s going on in my head, be sure to bookmark the blog.

And happy reading!

About Andrew Maynard

Like many people, I really dislike writing about myself as I never seem to get the balance right between what I do and who I am.

So rather than post another car crash of a bio here, I thought I’d offer you two ways to get a better sense of who I am and the things that I do—take your pick!

  1. Full-on academic
  2. Enough with the academic already!