There is so much about this interview to love. I will just say that it is right on time for where I am right now, and I am grateful that I came across it. Thank you for having a conversation that "needs to be had" on a regular basis. BRAVO!
Another great interview! The topic of transforming a liberal arts education into a "liberal education" sounds like an interesting topic. Would love to hear more about that, since from my observation the liberal arts always seem to need a leg up in every modern epoch. My alma mater (Humboldt State) recently became a polytechnical university while my other alma mater (The American University of Paris) was, at that time, phasing out traditional humanities courses to prioritize international business degrees. (This was eight years ago, so maybe it's changed) Including my degree program: very sad, for a university in a great literary city who had writers as school presidents. I wonder how much this is a part of the greater problem your blog focuses on: is it as topical as it is administrative?
Good to hear there's a lot of interest in the book club: a great idea for bringing this literary corner of Substack together. I'm excited, the only caveat being that the earlier I know which book will be read the better. So I can have it shipped to where I am. But other than that, I'm generally open to reading both fiction and nonfiction about any interesting topic under the sun. Also, let me know if you want to give the Czechs a shoutout. I can give some good Czech lit recommendations.
Thanks, Felix! My read on the "liberal education" comment was that it was a political dig, not a remark about the future of the liberal arts. That is, the administrator in question was parroting a conservative line about woke indoctrination, or some such thing. William Cronon takes some pains in his classic essay, "Only Connect," to explain that the liberalis in the artes liberalis stands for freedom. And that the breadth represented by the liberal arts, which was formerly available only to aristocrats, is now meant to be liberating for all. I guess I've been unconvinced that ditching survey courses in disciplines like literature, religion, and history in favor of more niche courses built around skills outcomes is maximally liberating. I believe the employability piece can be achieved with internships and such, in combination with the traditional liberal arts, and that real harm is done when we dispense with knowledge that doesn't have obvious cachet within capitalism. But this is really not a popular view among administrators right now.
I'll write soon about the debate over gen-ed requirements. And I just finished the AMC series "Lucky Hank," based on Richard Russo's novel "Straight Man." It nails the problems with higher ed far more accurately than the Netflix series "The Chair." Stay tuned.
Appreciate the note about the book club, too. I'll try to give a few weeks' notice. We're all likely busy over the summer, but I think a July or August launch might make sense. I'll keep everyone posted!
Excellent interview. I didn't find it surprising that a clueless administrator was the tipping point in pushing out this talented faculty member. To quote a retired faculty friend of mine: She never found one student who chose a college because of an administrator ... yet there are more of those than faculty these days.
That last sentence says it all. I have my doubts about whether students are still choosing colleges because of teachers, but I think there is no doubt about whether students are more likely to keep in touch with their teachers or their administrators.
This was a great interview--and full of useful suggestions. I have to admit that I started down the LinkedIn route and then got discouraged. This post has me ready to dive back in!
I should have commented on an earlier post but when you said that Higher Education does a poor job of managing talent, you really affirmed something I noticed when I moved from industry to academia. What administrators expect from faculty is is a never ending fountain of their time, directed at both trivial and important tasks with no distinguishing between them. I couldn't take home my industry tasks. We had to have our data locked up and our desks clean at the end of each day. I also was afforded flexible hours in industry, as she mentions. However, what was missing was the ability to to my own original research. And, like academia, industry can suffer from overconfident leaders who don't listen. I'm sorry this happened even at a good school like St, Kate's. Do they have a Board of Trustees populated by non-academics?
Yes to the lack of distinction between the menial and the weighty in academe. I'm not sure about the Board at St. Kate's, but you could ask Gabrielle directly, I suppose? I think most Boards are populated by non-academics these days, though.
Hi Joshua, I've known about your work for some time and I'm glad I finally took the time to read through this interview. I enjoyed learning about Gabrielle's story, thanks for sharing this.
I’d love to join that LinkedIn group, if I could connect with her?
Sure -- just connect or message her on LinkedIn? https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriellefc
There is so much about this interview to love. I will just say that it is right on time for where I am right now, and I am grateful that I came across it. Thank you for having a conversation that "needs to be had" on a regular basis. BRAVO!
Another great interview! The topic of transforming a liberal arts education into a "liberal education" sounds like an interesting topic. Would love to hear more about that, since from my observation the liberal arts always seem to need a leg up in every modern epoch. My alma mater (Humboldt State) recently became a polytechnical university while my other alma mater (The American University of Paris) was, at that time, phasing out traditional humanities courses to prioritize international business degrees. (This was eight years ago, so maybe it's changed) Including my degree program: very sad, for a university in a great literary city who had writers as school presidents. I wonder how much this is a part of the greater problem your blog focuses on: is it as topical as it is administrative?
Good to hear there's a lot of interest in the book club: a great idea for bringing this literary corner of Substack together. I'm excited, the only caveat being that the earlier I know which book will be read the better. So I can have it shipped to where I am. But other than that, I'm generally open to reading both fiction and nonfiction about any interesting topic under the sun. Also, let me know if you want to give the Czechs a shoutout. I can give some good Czech lit recommendations.
Thanks, Felix! My read on the "liberal education" comment was that it was a political dig, not a remark about the future of the liberal arts. That is, the administrator in question was parroting a conservative line about woke indoctrination, or some such thing. William Cronon takes some pains in his classic essay, "Only Connect," to explain that the liberalis in the artes liberalis stands for freedom. And that the breadth represented by the liberal arts, which was formerly available only to aristocrats, is now meant to be liberating for all. I guess I've been unconvinced that ditching survey courses in disciplines like literature, religion, and history in favor of more niche courses built around skills outcomes is maximally liberating. I believe the employability piece can be achieved with internships and such, in combination with the traditional liberal arts, and that real harm is done when we dispense with knowledge that doesn't have obvious cachet within capitalism. But this is really not a popular view among administrators right now.
I'll write soon about the debate over gen-ed requirements. And I just finished the AMC series "Lucky Hank," based on Richard Russo's novel "Straight Man." It nails the problems with higher ed far more accurately than the Netflix series "The Chair." Stay tuned.
Appreciate the note about the book club, too. I'll try to give a few weeks' notice. We're all likely busy over the summer, but I think a July or August launch might make sense. I'll keep everyone posted!
Excellent interview. I didn't find it surprising that a clueless administrator was the tipping point in pushing out this talented faculty member. To quote a retired faculty friend of mine: She never found one student who chose a college because of an administrator ... yet there are more of those than faculty these days.
That last sentence says it all. I have my doubts about whether students are still choosing colleges because of teachers, but I think there is no doubt about whether students are more likely to keep in touch with their teachers or their administrators.
This was a great interview--and full of useful suggestions. I have to admit that I started down the LinkedIn route and then got discouraged. This post has me ready to dive back in!
That's great to hear, Liz!
I should have commented on an earlier post but when you said that Higher Education does a poor job of managing talent, you really affirmed something I noticed when I moved from industry to academia. What administrators expect from faculty is is a never ending fountain of their time, directed at both trivial and important tasks with no distinguishing between them. I couldn't take home my industry tasks. We had to have our data locked up and our desks clean at the end of each day. I also was afforded flexible hours in industry, as she mentions. However, what was missing was the ability to to my own original research. And, like academia, industry can suffer from overconfident leaders who don't listen. I'm sorry this happened even at a good school like St, Kate's. Do they have a Board of Trustees populated by non-academics?
Yes to the lack of distinction between the menial and the weighty in academe. I'm not sure about the Board at St. Kate's, but you could ask Gabrielle directly, I suppose? I think most Boards are populated by non-academics these days, though.
Hi Joshua, I've known about your work for some time and I'm glad I finally took the time to read through this interview. I enjoyed learning about Gabrielle's story, thanks for sharing this.
Thanks, Mark! Glad you found the conversation useful. I'll have more in this vein coming up.