Hum. I had your experience, I think, Tim. I really wanted to work exclusively on general education, but I was "too divisive a figure" to be given that task. By which the Provost meant, I suspect, that I had strong opinions and everybody knew about them. Oh, and it didn't help that I was a woman with the reputation of arguing for what I thought was right. They brought in one of my genial male colleagues, who promptly accomplished nothing, but did it to grand acclaim. Good times in academia. Then people kept wondering why I didn't stand for all the most onerous elected committees, where I could do tons of administrative work and not be paid for it. And some still wonder why I retired this year. I guess they weren't paying any attention.
Very thoughtful. I flipped switch but never gave up priority of teaching and developing seminars where I worked alongside faculty. I would hope this would still be possible. One instance I learned about seemed awful, however. A Dean invited to teach, agreeing readily, and then given the course that other faculty in the discipline didn’t want to teach. The challenge is to create spaces of active intellectual work that bridge the divide.
Hum. I had your experience, I think, Tim. I really wanted to work exclusively on general education, but I was "too divisive a figure" to be given that task. By which the Provost meant, I suspect, that I had strong opinions and everybody knew about them. Oh, and it didn't help that I was a woman with the reputation of arguing for what I thought was right. They brought in one of my genial male colleagues, who promptly accomplished nothing, but did it to grand acclaim. Good times in academia. Then people kept wondering why I didn't stand for all the most onerous elected committees, where I could do tons of administrative work and not be paid for it. And some still wonder why I retired this year. I guess they weren't paying any attention.
Very thoughtful. I flipped switch but never gave up priority of teaching and developing seminars where I worked alongside faculty. I would hope this would still be possible. One instance I learned about seemed awful, however. A Dean invited to teach, agreeing readily, and then given the course that other faculty in the discipline didn’t want to teach. The challenge is to create spaces of active intellectual work that bridge the divide.