Governance
On page 76, of all the qualities listed there, which do you most value in your university president and why?
A university president should above all be responsive to students, faculty, and administration. While being accountable and transparent about issues on campus is also extremely important, without the assurance that the president will respond thoughtfully to a request or question, how can anyone be confident that change, when needed, will happen.
Responsiveness is essential to campus initiatives because it allows the flow of ideas of campus sustainability and action to take place. While a president may have all the ideas for how to successfully transform a campus, community inclusion is critical for true success, as success is a collective opinion on a campus. While some groups on campus may feel that increasing campus sustainability is the goal, others may also be concerned for the university’s income and expenses. Thus responding to the concerns of other on campus ensures a higher success rate of change.
Dr. Thomashow uses the word Anthropocene. What is your understanding/interpretation of the word and what implications do you think it represents?
The Anthropocene is a time era, in which we are currently living, where humans have dominated the globe, changing the dynamics of the natural world. Since humans had learned that they have the ability to alter the land around them to suit our needs, there has been a continuous cycle of misuse and manipulation towards the planet. Regardless if this ability was a conscious knowledge, this implies humans also have the ability to change the planet for the better.
While humans have been better known for exploiting the land and resources the earth provides, the antithesis of this statement implies that humans have the full capacity to utilize the planets finite resources in a sustainable way. The Anthropocene may connotate some negative characteristics, it also allows humans the opportunity to bring positivity to it as well.
What leadership qualities can you exhibit to spark transformational change?
One of the most inspiring qualities in a person is passion. Passionate people have a way at pulling the strings in peoples hearts and spreading the desire for change. Leaders with passion for their goals, whatever they may be, often have a better chance at encouraging participation from the community in effecting change. Motivation, similar to passion, proves to others how serious not only this issue is, but how serious the leader is about solving it. Without the motivation to start a project and complete it, change can’t happen, simple as that.
While passion is important, to truly spark transformational change, a leader needs to have clear goals and reasoning for these. A leader needs to convince others that change must occur, and that cannot happen if the people don’t know why it needs to happen or should happen. With good reasoning, planning, and management of the goals intended for change, it is easy for people to get behind a cause. I guess this can be summed up to a leader’s understanding of people’s problems day-to-day on campus, or anywhere.
What dichotomies do you most relate to on pages 95-99 and why?
On campus, I have great responsibility within the Honeybee Conservation Club, and some in the Sustainability Office. Throughout my time working in these areas, I have realized that pushing events to happen, or changes to occur can be harder when there isn’t collective feelings of motivation and interest. Responsibility and authority are dichotomous jobs a person in leadership ought to have simultaneously. When making decisions for the Bee Club, I think it’s my responsibility to collaborate as much as possible with the other board members. But sometimes, deadlines creep up on us, and someone needs to make a decision, which is where authority plays an important role. While concerting everything the club does may seem ideal, it can be tricky when not everyone is on the same page or has enough time.
Timing and finesse are both also important when governing change. Timing is everything, but without a clear plan on how to convince the people needing convincing, timing is negligible. I have realized that ideas are fantastic, and especially when they arise when needed. But often those ideas need someone to enact them. Without the finesse, without the action, these ideas probably won’t happen.
What questions remain for you about university governance specifically, or leadership in general, after reading this chapter? How might you find the answers to your questions?
This chapter focused a lot on the faculty and administration’s ability to bring change on a campus. But is it just as easy for students to do the same? I hear all the time about things students would ‘love to change,’ but when it comes down to it, no one thinks they can do it. Is that true?
The president of the University of New England has fantastic responsiveness and accountability. I have heard that he is welcome to students detailing dilemmas on campus, and is willing to help out. I suppose he would be a good person to talk with. Also, upper classmen of universities who have invoked transformational change may have fantastic advice.
