Are you with me now? A J Ryder Professor Wagstaff: “Tomorrow we start tearing down the college.” Professor; “But. Where will the students sleep?” Professor Wagstaff: Where they always sleep in the classroom.” Horsefeathers The Great Escape Clause Here we are in the midst of the 2026 college graduation season, and the timing of Harvard faculty’s latest move on grade inflation could not be more telling. Harvard is now capping the number of A’s awarded in a course to 20%, with a

Are you with me now? A J Ryder It’s great to see so many old friends—and for those of you I’m meeting for the first time, where have you been all my life? This was my opening remark at our Impact Campaign meeting at the Stuart Foundation. Lots of old friends showed up and I’m so glad they did. Mario DeAnda who a decade ago worked as Director of High School to College Transition for BPL was there. He is presently working at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. We had a gre

Are you with me now? A J Ryder “I believe in Starts. The rest is inevitable.” – Joey the Lips from The Commitments. – “The Lord blows my trumpet.” This TGIF is as much about beginnings as it is about “still muddling through.” At first glance, those ideas may seem contradictory, but this week they felt completely connected for me. My time in New Jersey with Charlie was all about both starting something new and working through the uncertainty that comes with it. In fact, our ne