From Rachel Toor
Doug and I will be at the AAC&U annual meeting next week in D.C. Come to the Inside Higher Ed booth and say hey. And tell us how you are doing.
Last week, at the Council of Independent Colleges' Presidents Institute in Florida meeting, a couple of former presidents invited a couple dozen current presidents to meet me (and see Doug). Outside. On a patio. By the ocean.
When I talked, it was to struggle to explain what The Sandbox is (I’m better in prose than in person) and to complain about how much I hate the ocean. Too noisy. Too untidy. Too many unseen dangers lurking.
When I listened, which is mostly what I did because, really, who wants to hear someone complain about the ocean, I heard stuff that threatened to provoke a white woman's tears. A smart friend said conversations about recent events were a kind of Rorschach Test. Everyone sees something slightly different.
Here's what I know: the canaries in the coal mine usually come from a particular demographic. Remember the '80s when all the problems of society could be laid at the (tired) feet of the "welfare queens"?
Memes and neologisms are popping up. Now certain leaders can live in fear of "getting Gayed" and receiving a "Pritzker call."
What makes me sad in conversations is when people get all self-righteous and finger-pointy instead of focusing on the real threats to higher ed. When even those who think of themselves as allies aren't willing to stand behind their colleagues and say, We see you and are here for you.
And then stand up for them publicly.
If you are a president and do not feel threatened in your job, I am happy for you. Truly. There is a lot of work to be done to save higher ed.
To everyone else: we see you and are here for you. Thank you for choosing to do an impossible job during a horrific time.
Let us know how we can help.