No blaming the victim in this week’s discussion of meetings! If you’re in your first job, you might well be attending your first department meeting soon, and I wanted to offer some advice. Some people will say that junior faculty should be seen and not heard; conversely, some junior faculty are paranoid enough about their tenure chances that they shy away from commenting publicly on anything more controversial than approving the minutes or adjourning.
I don’t agree with this advice–if you’ve got something to contribute, or if you don’t understand something, there’s no (lasting) harm in speaking up. But keep in mind these discursive guidelines:
- Every department has at least one person who answers every question by saying, “When I was in grad school at [a fancy school], we addressed this problem in X, Y, Z ways.” Don’t be that person. You’re not a grad student anymore; other people went to prestigious schools; you should think for yourself.
- Many departments also have a person who says, “Harvard does it this way–we should try that!” Harvard has different resources and students, and isn’t a public school.
- If there’s a policy or requirement in your department that seems genuinely weird, ask a senior colleague why it was passed before challenging it. 90% of the time, the answer is: “That was the best compromise possible in the face of the civil war being waged by Professor X against Professor Y.”
- On the one hand, you shouldn’t be balked by claims that “we’ve always done it this way.” That’s not really a reason. On the other hand, past practice does matter–it often has evolved in response to institutional pressures that aren’t immediately apparent.
- Listen for evidence, not things that “everyone knows.” “Everyone knows the dean has it in for us.” “Everyone knows department X is after our lab space.”
- A special warning about jokes, whether innocent or sarcastic. It’s not that academics are humorless, but you can take it as read that once you get about 10 faculty members together, at least one person will misconstrue your joke, particularly if they don’t know you well. Use with extreme caution.
Got a pet peeve from department meetings? Tell us about it in comments!
[by flickr user Editor B / cc licensed]
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6 Responses to What not to say at a department meeting
Ethan Watrall - August 27, 2009 at 8:15 am
One of my biggest pet peeves is people who pontificate just because they want everyone else to know how insightful or thoughtful they are – when they really aren’t saying anything but “look at me, look at me…aren’t I awesome?” Don’t be that person. If you’ve got something important to say, focus on that…don’t just talk because you want people looking at you. Besides, if you are known for only speaking up when you’ve got something really important to say, people will probably value your input more than if people know you more as a “talking just to talk” kind of person.
Matt - August 27, 2009 at 8:31 am
Love your point about weird policies being the result of compromises between Profs. X and Y. Trying to get a sense of the playing field and of departmental history should be part of every new academic’s initial game plan. Just ask a senior faculty member about how certain policies came to be; chances are you’ll be treated to an in-depth treatise on the subject! And, as a result, you’ll know whose toes you’re stepping on when you contribute your ideas to the discussion.
Nels - August 27, 2009 at 10:30 am
I have a department of only three people, which is usually pretty great. What bothers me about this post? I think I’m the one who does all of these things, except perhaps for “everyone knows” since I’ve actually been around less time than the other two even though this is my seventh year.
Billie - August 27, 2009 at 10:59 am
What a timely post! I have my first faculty meeting tomorrow. Hopefully, most of us know that we can’t t barge into an existing group with an in place dynamic and pontificate about how the department should handle things . . . but on the other hand, too many people hold on to the idea that they can’t contribute to the group. I’ve heard too many new faculty members state something like: “I’m not saying ANYTHING about ANYTHING until I get tenure.” Both these extremes can be harmful to the new faculty member. The balance suggested in this post is helpful. The department hired you (or the new faculty member) because you had something to contribute to the department and because they liked you . . . just be cautious about giving too much too quickly. (And I’m taking my own advice tomorrow afternoon.)
Midwinter - August 30, 2009 at 11:29 am
Any time someone asks a question in our department, there’s a group of people there to give us a departmental/university history beginning with THE FOUNDING™ and ending with WHY THAT QUESTION WAS JUST ASKED™ but they never actually, you know, answer the question or indicate why it was that the issue was never resolved properly. It also eats up a good 15 minutes of a department meeting.
We also have our fair share of pedants. Once, I changed the name of a course to put it in line with the rest of our courses in that sequence, and after it passed unanimously, the department spent 20 minutes debating the preposition in the title.
Ugh.
Kathy - August 31, 2009 at 9:26 pm
My 2 cents: if you know of a big issue being discussed (this goes for any committee meeting), go with bullet points in hand. Some people in my dept have that spiraling tangent-style that has too many points. One in particular speaks for 10 minutes and no one really understands her main point. Don’t be that person. Jot down notes. It’s different speaking in front of your colleagues than in a classroom. (And, by the way, I’m not so sure that that person knows she’s spiraling — don’t be the person who attempts to clarify: “so what you’re saying is…..” Leave it up to Sr. faculty who can more delicately suss out the point. And, try not to make faces of confusion…)