A Telling Tale from the World of Educational Entrepreneurship

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. -Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken

I have a Ph.D. but I’m not a professor even though some people here call me that. My career path away from academia was a conscious decision. While I don’t worship at the teaching, research, and service altar, the holy trinity of academia, the degree, and everything it represents has served me well in my multifaceted public, non-profit, and private sector career. Here’s an illustration of my logic and the benefits of that decision made long ago.

At a colleague’s request, I sent a draft chapter about a timely and controversial issue in the industry of international student recruitment to a colleague. His/her response:

It is interesting material, we enjoyed reading it, but it is more like a news report. It would take massive editing to put into a style appropriate for the Handbook. Moreover, it looks like some statements have already been published. The Publisher accepts original material only.

We cannot consider your contribution for the Handbook, unfortunately. It was a very hard decision, especially for me. You may be interested in suggesting these materials for newspapers or, for example, University World News.

I apologize for the negative note and for being slow in responding.

Many thanks for your efforts!

My response:

Thanks for your feedback. Don’t worry about the “negative note.” I’m a big boy and can handle it. 🙂 I’ve had plenty of rejections and acceptances throughout my career. _____ is planning to publish this in a two-part series. 

It might interest you to know that this is one of the reasons why I’m an educational entrepreneur and not an academic. (My LinkedIn tagline is An academic by training, an international educator & education entrepreneur by trade.) A secondary reason has to do with the petty politics of academia. I can write (and have written) “academese” but prefer to be able to express myself freely and not hide my core values behind protocols aka built-in, externally imposed constraints. 

Writing primarily for a mass audience, my work has reached far more people than had I followed an academic path. (Academic superstars like INSERT NAME OF PROMINENT COLLEAGUE I WORKED WITH are obvious exceptions to this rule.) For me, it’s always been about impact.  

Having said that, I find it rewarding to help Vietnamese academics with their publications, including opening doors. 

Exhibit A: Vietnamese Higher Education at a Crossroads Transformation During the Digital Age (2024)

Exhibit B: Human Resource Development in Vietnam (2021)

You might be interested in having a look at this 2017 interview with me: Capstone Vietnam: Why This Education Entrepreneur Is Excited About Vietnam’s Future. While some facts and figures have changed, my excitement remains. 

Touché, MAA