The Joy of Administration

April is still a ways off so, no, I’m not trying to pull anyone’s leg. I really do find joy in academic administration…let me explain.

My administrative work began as a department chair about 10 years ago when my dean asked if I’d consider serving. Honestly, I was a bit wary of some percolating challenges at that time, and I never felt particularly drawn to administrative work. Nevertheless, as I was the only faculty member for whom it made sense at the time to chair, I acquiesced to the request. My department actually was (and is) quite healthy. In retrospect, I believe my positive experiences with a cohesive department allowed my budding interest in administration to grow more healthily than my peers whose initial administrative experiences were fraught with strife and conflict. Because I was blessed with the bandwidth to focus on departmental initiatives, I enjoyed the relational aspects of administration such as recruitment and hiring of faculty, external partnerships with employers and graduate schools, internal cross-disciplinary connections, etc.

After a few years as department chair, faculty governance was the next role in academic leadership where I found myself. The draw to faculty governance is feeble for many faculty, I think, as it can feel like “just one more thing” that stands in the way of many of our first love – mentoring students. And yet, if the academy is to have healthy shared governance – which I believe directly supports that first love – faculty must be willing to step into the gap (and, as no one else ran for that governance position, I may have been pushed into that gap…). In my 3-year term cycling through the faculty moderator roles, we navigated declining enrollment, academic freedom concerns, an interim presidency, the welcoming of a new president and provost, and more. Though these issues were complex, working more closely with my faculty colleagues across the university was remarkably rewarding. Moreover, having a closer connection to the administration – particularly, my provosts – gave me a much deeper appreciation for chief academic officers. The weight they carry of balancing so many, often competing, priorities is a load that was hard for me to comprehend until I helped to shoulder some of it myself.

More recently in my professional journey, I was asked to serve as the interim dean of my School. Given the timing of my predecessor’s return to industry, I was unable to move my course load around and ended up teaching four courses that fall semester as well as fulfilling the role of a dean. Needless to say, the experience was hectic and I was doing my best to survive. And, yet, in the chaos of inheriting some significant challenges, trying to balance two jobs while attempting to be a present husband and father (oh, my wife changed jobs that November, and my family moved that December) I found so much joy.

I am now closing in on the end of my second year in my service as dean and I have thought to myself “Maybe I just haven’t set aside the rose-colored glasses…?” Relatedly, last summer my brother asked me a question that has stuck in my mind “So, do you actually like administration?” He wasn’t casting aspersions upon administration (he serves as a recruitment and admissions director for a university), but he knows better than most how I’m wired. I am a sensitive soul, and I try hard to be at peace with others, as Paul urged (Rom. 12:18), as much as it depends on me. Unfortunately, the challenges that arise in administration can push the locus of peace control externally…the phrase “faculty-administration divide” exists for a reason. The launching and sunsetting of programs, discerning equitable loading across very different departments (and Schools), classroom locations and course enrollment disagreements, advocating for departmental needs, and disagreeing with colleagues over serious matters, among a host of other issues that have surfaced in my short time as dean have brought another level of stress, frustration, heartache, and sorrow (for which I, indeed, have my share of culpability). Yet, the Lord has blessed me with abiding joy through it all.

“Don’t you miss the students?” is a common question from my faculty friends. As I mentioned, my first love was teaching students, and to be sure, I still love my time with students. Their love for Jesus, their energy, their curiosity, and their joy are contagious. And…I love being with my faculty. More time with my administrative colleagues (my fellow deans, senior leaders, and our Board) has been wonderfully enriching as well. Yes, it is true that I don’t know the students quite as well as I did when my responsibilities were mainly teaching, but I do know my faculty and administrative colleagues much better. I would not know nearly as much about artificial intelligence, trusses, residual entropy, ARIMA processes, access control, or the biochemistry of glucose metabolism outside of my administrative duties involving faculty. Nor would I understand as well budgets, the art and science of advancement, student housing needs and “dorm culture”, the amount of planning required for an excellent chapel experience, among other university-wide phenomena outside of my administrative duties of serving on the President’s Cabinet. All this is to say, I believe the Lord has granted me joy in my administrative role through the deepening of relationships with amazing colleagues who I barely knew just a couple of years ago.

“Because I want to help people” was the most common response I got from Freshmen in my Foundations of Exercise Science course when I posed the question “Why did you choose Exercise Science as a major?” My admittedly corny response was “Ah, that’s good…you know, those people in Education, Engineering, Psychology, and Finance…they certainly don’t want to help anyone!” If I’m lucky, I get a few chuckles, but focusing their attention on their “why” helped students to think more deeply. I doubt many students on our campus would say that they don’t want to help people through their professions. They are simply planning on helping people through a different vocational calling – teaching, building safe cars, counseling, or wise retirement investing. And, so I pray it is with me. “Do I actually like administration?” Absolutely, I do! I receive so much joy from hiring incredible faculty, working with competent chairs and administrative staff, helping guide colleagues through the tenure and promotion processes, working with fellow deans to facilitate interschool collaborations, and supporting my senior leaders in fulfilling the vision we believe God is revealing. Is it easy? Not at all. Is it fun? Often, but not always. Do I miss the classroom? Yes, but I teach one class a semester, thankfully, so I’m not completely separated from the joy that comes from directly interacting with my incredible students. Administration is simply the latest way I believe God has called me to serve His Church—and my greatest joy is sharing the inexpressible joy of Christ (1 Peter 1:8) with every part of my university.