Monday, August 8, 2016

Our OpEd on Why We Are Stronger Together - Brexit and the Upcoming US Presidential Election

I have been back from beautiful Oxford, England for exactly one month. The memories of the Visiting Fellowship at All Souls College at Oxford University will always be with me from the cameraderie of the Fellows, the wonderful staff and delicious meals, the gardens, my office, and historic Oxford (plus I got a lot of research on supply chains completed).

While in Oxford, we engaged in numerous discussions over meals and afternoon tea and being there during the Trinity term was truly a historic time. The referendum take place on June 23, 2016 and we awoke to the shocking news that Great Britain had voted to exit the European Union (known as Brexit), although Oxford overwhelmingly voted to Remain. Also, we were all anticipating the nominations of the US Presidential candidates. Indeed, many of the conversation would include US politics and Hillary Clinton  or the latest on Trump.

As a researcher and educator but also a blogger I believe that it is very important to share information, commentary,  and opinions with the public.

While still in Oxford and reeling from the vote and the impact that it would have on the British economy and even research funding (plus one of my former doctoral students from UMass Amherst and co-author is a financier in London so we had some great insights as to the possible ramifications of Brexit),  my husband and I sat down that weekend and we wrote the OpEd: Why We Are Stronger Together. We submitted it exclusively to the Daily Hampshire Gazette (DHG) and we received the response quickly on a Sunday with the Editor telling us that it would be published the very next day since he liked it so much.


The  page on which our OpEd appears can be viewed here.

The direct link to the article is here.

One can also read it here.

Our OpEd ends with the following: We are  all stronger together with the free flow of people, ideas, services, and goods.  This enhances the education of our students and the resilience of our communities.

My other commentaries, OpEds, and Letters to the Editors can be viewed on the following page on the Virtual Center for Supernetworks website at the Isenberg School of Management.