What does your exterior say about you? Grabbing interest with some Street Art

July 27, 2011, 5:19 pm

The exterior of my library building is quite boring. Function triumphed form with each addition that was added over the years. My campus has some very intriguing architecture, but the library would be low on the list if there were an official ranking. Granted we’re attempting to change that very soon, but for now it is forgettable facade, despite being the tallest building on campus. I believe that this is common occurrence with many older buildings—we can all be envious of the newer structures that patrons find inspiring.

I was pondering this problem as I walked to a meeting across campus. What do each of the buildings say to me as I encounter them? What impression does the exterior of the library make on new students or visiting families? As they tour the campus or during the first week of the quarter when they are excited about classes and meeting new people – what is their conscious and subconscious impression of the library?

Obviously the space is probably much larger than what they had in high school. But forget about what’s inside— does the exterior make an impactful impression? Does it plant a seed of perception? If the building is appealing does it formulate a potential positive experience? Or if it’s drab and boring does that influence expectations of what they’ll find inside?

If a library looks old then do they assume it’s outdated with old technology and old forms information, whereas, if it’s modern and interesting does that make them more inclined to want to study there and use the services?

And what about recruitment? When I sit at tables for orientation and related events the questions parents ask are revealing. Ten years ago they asked how many books do you have? Three years ago they asked how many computers do you have? Last year they asked why do we still need libraries?

It’s a much different conversation when you are able to show a nice interior photo that allows parents and students to envision themselves using the library. If you have exciting space it could subconsciously influence enrollment. Is the same true about the exterior? Is the library a symbol of the campus? Does it instill confidence of an intellectual atmosphere? It’s the difference between “and here’s the library” vs. “and here’s the library, cool.”

MAKING AN IMPRESSION
So back to the story. I’m walking on campus and I’m wondering how we can make a splash with our building. It’s in the center of campus and has great visibility. I’d wager that nearly every student passes by it at least once a day. Can I turn the building into a billboard? Can I incite emotion? I don’t necessary want to promote services, but I want to try and build a brand idea.

Banksy popped into my head. Obviously his talents are not available, but what about another artist or a class? I thought about the bathroom art project that we hosted last spring and called upon the student for ideas. I told her that I wanted to explore some type of artistic statement that would generate good word of mouth and make a positive intriguing impression on new students. I wanted her to help me give the library some personality.

The student’s name is Gabrielle Dimaranan and she is fantastic – her blog

Here are two of her ideas:

I love the use of elements from the periodic table to spell out library. I’m surprised I have not seen this before. Who knew that with a mixture of Lithium, Bromine, Argon, and Yttrium that you could have a LIBRARY?

She also imagines taking photos of a keyboard to spell out Davidson, the namesake of our building.

And…

The second idea is a large colorful brain on the front sliding glass doors. In her words “this is meant to play upon the movement of the doors to signify the expanding of the mind.” Students would be entering an intellectual space by visiting the library. It builds upon the “portal of knowledge” concept. The doors would part, welcoming visitors into our domain. It’s a transformative statement.

I want to move on both of these ideas because they are exactly the type of impression that stands out. Will it result in a higher gate count? Maybe not, but in all likelihood they will raise awareness about the library and present us in a fun off-kilter unexpected way. In short, it will make us appear a little less boring and hopefully signals a welcoming attitude.

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mbelvadi

“Teachers cannot do their best work in an environment where they are not respected” – true indeed. But as applied to higher ed, this article says absolutely nothing new – we have seen dozens of article in CHE in recent years pointing out the failure of the entire higher ed system to respect and reward good teaching (as compared with good grant writing, e.g.). The consequence is that undergrad students see lots of poor teachers, but they don’t see the hidden reason for it (most undergrads are completely disconnected from the research functions of the university, much less the publish-or-perish processes), and quite reasonably blame the teachers. What we need, and this article doesn’t offer, is ideas on how to solve this, and presenting one “teacher of the year” award per school just won’t do it.
chedie

I agree we should not blame the teachers, but the colleges of education who educate them deserve plenty. I teach introductory and university chemistry courses to woefully unprepared students every day. None of the teachers who are supposed to prepare students to take courses like mine are required to take a single course in my department. How can teachers colleges claim to prepare teachers to teach chemistry without requiring them to take a university chemistry course to graduate?

iris411

I cannot agree with you more. Many of the Graduate students in education of science still have trouble to do the basic arithmetic: they mess up the priority order of multiply, divide, plus, and minus. I’m not even trying Trigonometric yet.
To teach college science, one needs at least a MA in corresponding discipline. I don’t see how that’s going to happen at all.

5768

That administrators share responsibility and blame is but the first step. They will do even better when they step up to the plate and defend the place of education in society rather than apologizing for it to their legislators. Teachers themselves must be empowered to speak out on behalf of ideals that transcend individual students, schools, and agendas. When ideals and idealism return to the life of both schools and the public, so will education.
kosboot

I am surprised the respondents blame the institutions. I think Mary Churchill’s article makes clear that for things to change, the general culture of the United States must change. This is much, much more than any college – or even all academic colleges — can do.

After World War 2, the country in general was swept up with the feeling that improvement of one’s self could lead to better things. Today, we now have an extremely large segment of the population who disbelieves this, and whose disbelief is reinforced by many leaders, not to mention media and culture in general.

I don’t really see a solution, other than an increasing split in the US population between those who believe in education and those that don’t. Perhaps future culture wars might change this.
glasspen

Check out the Kansas City Public Library.
http://twitter.com/brianmathews Brian Mathews

Wow! Now that’s a statement! Thanks for sharing that.
lgfr9229

i saw this today, pretty great! http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2011/07/shepard-fairey-unveils-new-mural-for-west-hollywood-public-library.html
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C-o-f-f-e-e

A colleague who went from head to dean also showed me his AWWOC principle. Worked well as another small step (literally). It stands for administration while walking on campus; he simple says ‘ let’s go for a walk and talk about that’ and has his laps gauged for different durations of time. Gues what–when you reach the office with him again, your time is over! Polite yet effective, and gets hi some walking in (and fall colors). His staff know the acronym.

Turning Outlook of course does wonders. And I agree with jimislew on the awareness of staff circumstances. That said, are they called to really reflect/vision/dream? Maybe not. And maybe they should?

lesboprof

The coffee thing had me laughing out loud. Unfortunately, I don’t drink coffee, so that won’t work for me.

I also can’t do much of the AWWOC principle, though I could set more time limits on discussions. But I have learned that there are some things that must be addressed right away and with a finesse that requires time and thought. So, even sacrosanct time must be interrupted occasionally.

I do like the idea of including staff and faculty and students in the dreaming/visioning process, but the issue here comes down to who is responsible in the end, which is ME. This is all good food for thought, though.

cbres

My goodness, Lesboprof, does all this sound familiar! One thing, besides some of the good suggestions already posted, that I’ve done to combat the isolation of my own office is to have my assistant schedule meetings in the other person’s office. That way, I can walk across campus to a meeting instead of having meeting after meeting in my office. I can build in bathroom breaks that way, too!

I agree that reflection is part of what you are supposed to do. You’ll surely do it not only on the job, but at the movies, in the shower, etc., etc. Good luck!
djr46074

My suggestions are similar. I leave the building for coffee breaks and lunch and I use these opportunities to pause and reflect. I schedule a significant number of meetings in other buildings/offices. I try not to schedule back-to-back meetings unless that allows me to consolidate my unallocated time. I schedule at least one hour of closed-door time per day and I TRY to allot two hours to my research group per day. And I don’t feel guilty about not letting others have control over my schedule.

To help maintain balance, I try to be very disciplined and waste as little time as possible. I watch very little TV. To keep up on the news, I listen to podcasts and recorded satellite radio programming while cooking, cleaning the house, doing the laundry, and working in the yard. Finally, I try to read and respond to routine emails early in the morning or late at night (at home).
drvpellegrino

I am a campus and academic turn around specialist. I have been Provost for nine colleges, Dean of two, and Vice President for 18 of those years. The loss of time with family and friends is the greatest liability. The sense of balance is achieved when we commit ourselves to serve students despite the risk of loss and, then, walk away, put it away, and stay away from for what brief time you have to restore compassion for yourself. I take what moments I can and turn them around for me. If the problem is I can not find the time, then it is my problem to turn that around and make the time.
Hope you find that space for your journey. It is your journey and you are resonsible for living in the moment.

drvpellegrino
http://allaroundhighereducation.com
11144703

If Lesboprof is out, why the pseudonym, especially in the academic world where the vast majority of its people (like me) want equal rights for all? Just curious…

lesboprof

I am not using a pseudonym to hide my sexual orientation. Everyone who knows me, in my life and in my work, knows I am a lesbian. I work for LGBTQ rights in my personal and professional life. I chose this pseudonym years ago when I started my blog, to allow myself a different voice and a way to reflect on my experiences in higher ed. I decided to maintain it when I moved the blog to the Chronicle, as I wanted to have the opportunity to reflect in a more open way about being a new administrator without having my colleagues fret about what I was writing.

11144703

“as I wanted to have the opportunity to reflect in a more open way about being a new administrator without having my colleagues fret about what I was writing.”

Fret? Some colleagues are going to fret one way or the other no matter what you write, as you surely know.

Your colleagues know your identity, so why not the rest of academe?

So my question: when will lesboprof start to keep it real?

By the way–and I should have mentioned it in my first post–wonderful column.
lesboprof

I am not sure I buy that, 11182967. I am expected to do planning, visioning, and reflecting as part of my leadership job. Just like staff, I should be able to do this work on work time, and not spend all my time walking, mowing the lawn, and walking to my car thinking about work stuff. And honestly, I am probably not coordinated enough to manage it.

I do agree that some of this is the transition to a 12-month, FT gig. And the job is a lot like drinking from a proverbial fire hose, with little time for reflection.
lesboprof

Jimislew: Yes, I have long been aware of many of the challenges faced by professional staff, who suffer indignities of working in cubicles and people following their time to the minute. I try to encourage different expectations with the staff who report to me, including getting out of the office for meetings (and even conferences) that will help them grow professionally. That said, I agree with seannotkelly that the staff who report to me are not responsible for much visioning and reflection on the direction of the department. Their jobs are more circumscribed most of the time, and unlike me, they do not do our work on weekends and weeknights. They also have federally required breaks that I often do not take as an EPA staff member.
music_librarian

Some of us faculty/staff hybrids feel the same way. I am responsible for “visioning and reflection on the direction of the department,” but I have to do it on top of everything else.
lesboprof

I think there is something to setting up some alternative locations for working. I do not have another office, so outside, or a coffee shop, may be my options.
lesboprof

I like both of these suggestions, and I may have to try them and see how they work. Thanks, Barbarashell.
kgodwin

I have to agree with 1192967 here. I’m a staff member, not an administrator, and we don’t get “paid to think/reflect”, either. Nor do we get paid to have vision (and yes, all of these things are in my job description). I get paid to produce. And some of my best ideas about how to measure what come when I’m mowing the lawn (takes about 2 hrs so there’s a lot of time for that), working on my house, or just driving to work.

You probably did this before when you were “just” a faculty member…you just didn’t notice it as much because you weren’t expecting to have work fit neatly within a 9-5 schedule. The more diffuse your work schedule, the less likely you are to notice that you’re “working” when you aren’t “supposed” to be working.
jimislew

hmmm… those federal breaks sound pretty good to me . True, their duties are probably limited to a set list (file forms, process x, route emails, route students, other duties..) but they are also little vaults of information and bitterness. This can be a positive thing!

Example time: Staff member monitored requests for admission into a major. When I asked how they did that we found that a good chunk of time was spent processing forms that no one looked at but the office that submitted them. That process was later put back on the submitting department (who had to take responsibility for monitoring them) and we saved a chunk of time/life.

Ok, so that doesn’t really prove my point but allow me to spin it. If that staff member had time for reflection and for input into the process they might have arrived at the same conclusion I did (part of my staffy job is to make “business processes” better on campus so my “time for reflection” is built into my circumscribed duties – win, so are weekends – fail). Good article, and thanks for the response. Everyone needs time to reflect; gravity wasn’t “discovered” while planting fields.