What I’m Reading: ‘Thank You for Being Late’

The world is changing at an unprecedented rate, presenting challenges with which many of our societal structures, like schools, governments, companies, and churches, are struggling to keep pace. In his book Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2016), Thomas L. Friedman explains the convergence of three tectonic forces — technology, market globalization, and climate change — that are prompting rapid transformation. At the same time, scientific progress is outpacing human capacity for adapting to change.

As we prepare students to thrive in a swiftly changing world, grasping the pace of acceleration is crucially important. The changes we see in the world today represent the slowest pace of change our new graduates will face in their careers. In the midst of disruption in many industry sectors, we must instill in students the courage, entrepreneurial mind-set, moral compass, and ethical foundation to adapt to, as well as, lead change.

As an optimist, I am inspired by Friedman’s vision of colleges as adaptable portals of lifelong learning that can spark social innovation and advance the common good.

Julie H. Sullivan is president of the University of Saint Thomas, in Minnesota.