Chair Talk 4.10 - Looking Forward

Chair Talk 4.10   Looking Forward
Congratulations to Prof. Jessica Summers, who will be the next Chair of the Faculty.  It is good news that there was competition and a choice.  It is also good news that we had a better-than-usual turnout of voters.  Turnout was still only 22%, so we have a way to go. 

It has been an exciting four years, filled with ups and downs, successes and failures.  I’d like to believe that the increased turnout at this election was one of the successes, though it could also reflect concerns about specific issues that arose recently.  Whichever played the dominant role, it is clear that the task of fully engaging faculty in the business of shared governance remains a challenge.  It will be my goal to help the incoming Chair in whatever way I can during this transition period, as she begins to bring new energy and ideas to this and the other tasks she will engage in her role as Chair.

I introduced these Chair Talks to express my opinion about things going on at the University and beyond.  The Chair of the Faculty does not speak for the university – nor can the Chair express opinions that reflect what all faculty think and feel.  This would be an impossibility, as not surprisingly, faculty have many different opinions.  In past years I have written frequently about a number of issues, including the importance of diversity, why it is essential to fully value and support career track faculty, and the critical importance of academic freedom.  I received negative emails from a number of faculty for emphasizing these and other issues too, but these emails did not stop me from returning to the themes I wrote about, because I consider them very important.  It has been my position that the Chair of the Faculty must stand for something, and be willing to take the consequences of that stance.

Hope you have all had a rejuvenating spring break – we are enjoying our two granddaughters in Australia, one barely two months old.  Upon my return I will be meeting immediately with Chair-elect Summers to start the transition process, and to map out the ways I can be of most help to her.  Please join me in congratulating Prof. Summers, and in helping her as she assumes the mantle (or is it the mace?) of faculty leadership.  That can be done most effectively, in my view, by participating as fully as possible in shared governance.  It’s a struggle at the best of times, but without this struggle we would have no voice at all.

Lynn Nadel