A personal archive of work and ideas
Ferdinand
Avila-Medina
Educator, student-success strategist, writer, father, and perpetual apprentice.
For more than three decades, my work has centered on helping people and institutions create better pathways for learning, growth, and meaningful engagement.
Selected pathways
Work, writing, and current projects
A brief bio
A concise account of my background, values, experience, and continuing work in higher education.
Résumé
Experience, education, selected initiatives, presentations, professional development, and credentials.
Four Girders
My learning framework and open educational resource for becoming a successful learner in the AI era.
Recent POSTS
Notes from a perpetual apprentice
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Bad Interview, Worse Argument
Ten scholars from Vanderbilt and WashU in St. Louis published a report on the state of humanities scholarship. Anthropology came out worst. Days later, the president of a professional association defended their work, poorly. A reporter wrote an article about it and an honest debate got sidetracked.
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Reframing Reorganizations
What if the first question in a reorganization wasn’t “what changes on the chart,” but “what does this decision tell people about what we value”? Not instead of the org chart. Not instead of the budget. Before them. As the question the others have to answer to before anything ships.
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El marco invisible
¿Y si la primera pregunta en una reorganización no fuera “qué cambia en el organigrama”, sino “qué mensaje envía esta decisión sobre lo que realmente valoramos”? Como la pregunta que otras preguntas tienen que responder antes de que cualquier decisión se anuncie.