Sympathy For the Devil?
It has been ashamedly a very very long time since I have written about my experiences on the 5th floor of PC as Faculty Fellow in the Office of the Provost; perhaps long enough for newly hired folks to not know anything about this blog and wonder why these words are coming into their in-boxes. It has been just over one year. Maybe what has stopped me from writing is the simple fact that last time I wrote, I entitled my blog: The Dark Side and extolled our leaders for doing their jobs. Maybe there seemed nowhere to go from there. Maybe the politics of this country and the world are so bleak that it is hard to pause here. But, our corner of the universe matters and we all have our jobs to do. So, I am here, as your Faculty Fellow (aka #spy in the Provost’s Office, looking in…still…from the outside) and perhaps you will indulge me once again.
I want to start this blog, these words, with a simple thought: my deepening impression that there are no “sides” here (out there? YES!). I increasingly believe that there need not be a culture of divide or animosity, whether buried deeply or bobbing at the surface of faculty and administrator relations. I have come to believe, with some conviction, that there is much common ground and no one is out to “make a buck”, “pull the wool over anyone’s eyes” or take advantage. No evil plots and certainly no lazy.
Of course some of us may well disagree with the university’s response to the presence of FIU Turning Point USA on campus or be frustrated by the rhetoric about four-year graduation rates or, as some have expressed, the placards on the wall. I might worry if we didn’t. That is our job, as faculty, as the heart and soul of this institution. It is our right and our responsibility and our privilege: to speak out, to protest and to let it be known when we are outraged.
I believe, though, that we are heard, maybe not in the ways that we would like always and maybe not with results, but our concerns and ideas do not fall on deaf ears, even if decisions seem wrong, short-sighted or even – once in a while – make us want to leave FIU. I would suggest, however, despite all of this, there are real enemies out there and they reside well beyond our campuses.
There are factors and policies and opinions nearer and further away that impact our FIU, the way we do our jobs and most certainly our students. We keep hearing about how there is deep structural and institutional change afoot in the academy; it is true. And, as the Provost said recently, if you are Stanford or Chicago or perhaps even the University of Michigan, that change will not impact you so quickly, if at all. Private and semi-private elite institutions have the resources, the political will, the alumni base and the sheer force of gravity to stay as they are, if they choose (for better or worse). They can stay in the twentieth century, with all of the admirable values of liberal arts education, faculty first with a sprinkle of ivory tower. The choice, though, is there’s to make.
We/FIU, do not/does not have that luxury. That is a fact (I have come to see). The notion of “resistance” to state metrics or the changing nature of education in the twenty-first century seems deeply wrong-headed and a tad foolish and will serve to undermine FIU, its funding-base, its reputation and ultimately the value of the degree. Resistance to what is happening, although perhaps partly admirable in principle, will not serve our students, whom we all strive to do right by each and every day.
Instead, the question is, how does FIU manage within this ever-changing data-driven, metrics-driven environment, where our individual institution’s mission is simply not considered by those doling out the big bucks. It matters not that FIU is the largest Hispanic-Serving Institution in our nation; that our students work, take care of multiple generations and are constantly under incredible pressure. We are held accountable the same as all of the twelve Florida public universities.
And so, our leaders, must respond. We, as faculty members, must respond. The other day, the Provost told a story about how he was challenged by a faculty member about the intensity of the focus on the metrics. The faculty member asked him: if 40 million dollars are at risk in this game and it takes 30 million dollars to be number two in the state, then why not just forget all about the metrics and go on our merry way? Why focus so much institutional energy when there is so little to gain? Well, as the Provost responded (and makes sense to me), it is not only the dollars and cents, but also the reputation of this institution, including a multitude of challenges that would come from working at an institution labeled as “low performing”. Plus $10 million.
There have been some committees and processes and now a whole new Strategic Plan set up to meet the challenges head on, both Tallahassee-generated accountability measures and local goals for our students, for us, and for the community at large. Strategic Plan 2025: New Horizon has 4 pillars (student success, preeminence, highest research, and financial base); 13 workgroups with 195 people directly involved, of which 105 are faculty members or approximately 54%. Each of these committees is set up to meet metrics and to push research and student success goals even farther than before; each committee is charged with moving FIU forward and continuing to do our great work while also (and sometimes despite) the pressures bearing down from outside.
As I re-instate this blog, reporting to you what I see from this particular vantage point, perhaps we can meditate on the fact that we seem to have a Provost who is willing to entertain any and all skeptical comments and a faculty who is generating more research dollars, publishing more books, graduating more doctoral students, teaching in increasingly innovative and responsive ways than ever before. Perhaps, maybe even, there is something here to celebrate.
What do you think?
Rebecca