As a higher education scholar, my colleagues and I probably spend more time than many reading trade outlets such as the Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Education, and Change Magazine, just to name a few. Since my areas within the field are governance, leadership, and faculty development, perhaps my mind goes there without trying very hard. The potential downside is that there is so much to take in right now it feels enormous many days; the upside is that at a local level, there is much to do and progress is being made. That progress may be small steps and overshadowed by pressing matters, but it is also true that people are coming together to support each other in ways that go against the stereotypes we often hear of the isolated academics in their ivory towers. Certainly, the recent University Outreach and Engagement Awards Ceremony belies turning inward and instead presented an incredible array of large and small efforts making a real impact across the state and the world. Taking a pause to look around shows countless examples of working groups, task forces, and committees across rank, classification, and discipline coming together to address central issues that have plagued us for years. And several new initiatives have been launched this year intended to do the same! It is inspiring to see that, even when feeling overwhelmed and overburdened, faculty and academic staff (and support staff and students!) are standing up and coming together to think in new ways about the future we aspire to build together.
Please do not misinterpret this to be a Pollyanna-ish diatribe; it isn’t, and I am certainly feeling quite as tired as so many of you. Yet, all of this is as much a function of organizational change and revitalization as it is overcoming chaos. In my academic home, we used the phrase, “living with ambiguity” when students always wanted to know the end before they had completed the first term of graduate study. A student even gave me a cement block with the words adhered in tile to remind me that this is academic life, and life in general. We may not always know how it all ends up, but we can continue looking to the future and asking ourselves, “so, what next?” Of the things about which I have a choice, which is not everything for sure, what do I want to do next? Where do I want to put my energies, passions, expertise, and time? And how will my involvements feel fulfilling and like forward progress rather than just spinning wheels, again?
As we are coming toward the end of the term, perhaps it is a good time to ask, what’s next? Students going through commencement will certainly be doing this as they go on to new adventures. Maybe there are ways for each of us to consider our own next steps: in teaching practices, research paths that have been recently altered, different ways to stay true to one’s commitments, leadership opportunities coming into view, choices that help take the next step in careers, or simply how to be sure to get out in good weather and take in the changing campus scenery. After all, the end of the term is coming and fall semester is several months away. What a time to consider, “what’s next?” See you in the fall!