Interim Provost's Calling - January 2024

"Every moment is a moment of research — stay curious." –James Acheson, Costume designer

In higher education, we tend to define research rather narrowly. We think of it as creating new knowledge and dedicating ourselves to disseminating it for the greater good. Sometimes we substitute “scholarly activity” or “research and creative expression” to better encompass the wide range of activities on our campuses in the new knowledge arena.

Some of you who know me know that I have been a quilter for 25 years. (I took up the hobby as a way to make friends when I first moved to Ohio State, and it worked!) I echo Mr. Acheson’s view of the world. There is inspiration all around us. I see patterns in floors and wallpaper and the outside of buildings. Organic patterns emerge in flowers. The walkways of the Oval would make a beautiful basis for a quilt.

I have a long-time colleague who believes that the key characteristic of a successful graduate student is “terminal curiosity.” By that, he means that the future academic desperately needs to understand how and why things work, to see the pattern beneath the pattern, to figure out how to depict something in art, dance, or music, or to generate research questions based on a casual observation about a patient or phenomenon. I believe he’s right. Take the time this month to indulge your curiosity, if even for a moment. Soon, you might find it becomes a lifelong habit.

Karla Zadnik

Interim Executive Vice President and Provost

Glenn A. Fry Professor in Optometry and Physiological Optics