The name of a familiar retailer glowing from a big-box storefront can provide a source of comfort for students and families arriving on campus for the first time. That's one reason more colleges are inviting companies such as Target, large grocery chains and others to set up shop.

Four ways to address the shortage of trades workers and other facilities employees on campus today (and tomorrow). Campus leaders can choose the best routes to take based on their institution's culture, location, needs and goals.

By not letting our students wander through the academic disciplines, we may be doing them a disservice. We may be depriving them of opportunities to see the world in multiple ways and to value the perspectives of other disciplines and cultures, says guest columnist Ned Ladd, a professor of physics and astronomy at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.