competition isn't always beneficial

collaboration to advance

I sit at Denver International Airport awaiting my flight back after a smashing afternoon ‘exit talk’ my son presented yesterday. It awes me that his mind works as it does but that isn’t exactly news to me, either. His dissertation advisor apparently introduces each exiter with three words. My son’s were deep, inquisitive and creative. The cartoon invitation I showed yesterday appeared on a cake at the reception afterwards so his creativity spurred at least one colleague.

I understood 37.45% of the talk but he succeeded making it accessible to that level. (first book length publication CRAFTING EXIT SEMINAR LECTURES FOR DUMMIES?? Might be a top seller).

No, seriously it went exquisitely well and he obviously is adding to the intellectual understanding of how we model rescues for various biological groups. A term my colleagues at NDU used to employ was ‘knowledge creation’ which my son obviously is doing in a burgeoning interdisciplinary field.

I adored his lab cohort with whom we spent about 45 minutes before the presentation, then a couple of hours afterwards. They not only brought two cakes, they laughed with him, teased him about the unicorn tiara, made a concerted effort to assure us that most talks are not as highly attended (2 empty seats in a room of 60+ on a snowy Friday afternoon in April), and they were just overall engaging young scholars, two women and three guys.

Afterwards, over a beer, he noted how much he appreciated the supportive nature of the lab, Dr. Brett Melbourne (at left above) with whom they all study, and the overall nature of the Evolutationary Biology Department at Colorado. In particular, he said it was not cutthroat at all and it was definitely collaborative in the face of underfunding.

I actually turned to look at him, repeating what he said. Seriously? I have been in multiple departments and that lack of cutthroat behaviour simply wasn’t always the case. Indeed, at my first teaching post in an idyllic New York private college, two Economics professors would not ride the elevator together for two floors because they hated each other and it flowed down to undergraduates (bad form, guys). Many Faculty Senates (or whatever term the institution uses) seem echo chambers for the weakest egos in the institution as people bloviate over hurts (real or imagined) leading to anything but collaboration and support.

My son even revealed that as much as he loved his undergraduate and master’s experiences at the College of William & Mary, he overheard two Biology faculty members with an office door open. One said, ‘You know, I had a dream last night that Joe died. Wouldn’t it make this a much better place that operated far better if he died?’ My son had obviously not forgotten this incident.

I am not naive to assume the University of Colorado is always a happy place. State universities, even flagships, are under financial stress all of the time as expectations continue climbing in the face of ever more draconian attempts to undermine seemingly everything universities embody.

Let me be clear: I personally don’t endorse or agree with many things that happens at universities but I do believe we need the open environments to promote free thought. I am not endorsing stupid s**t, to quote others, where individuals gratuitously employ offensive language or behaviour to act out. I didn’t like it when my son (or daughter) did it as kids and I see many adults as pretty childlike all too often. But, we need preserve the opportunity to explore new ideas—period. Otherwise, we run risks that we begin imitating other societies which scorn, if not downright fear, multiple viewpoints. Oh, and those are the very societies we claim we don’t want to become, aren’t they?

I am fully aware that controversies increasingly engulf universities. A friend in Minnesota asked me months ago to comment on the case of removing a faculty member over a free speech issue. I failed to write about it, more because I felt overtaken by events. But, freedom of expression is a cornerstone to what allowed the innovation, the inquiry, and the cooperation building this country over four hundred years: please do not let less frequent but real stupidity make your forget that.

I also appreciate there are fine lines between free speech and stupidity. I was both a Dean of Faculty and a Provost. The nuanced questions that arose were not easy and I may not have made good decisions. But, I would prefer erring on the side of letting people use their own analytical skills to filter out rubbish rather than me providing them answers on what they should and should not hear.

Universities have become the foci of free speech by confusing the assumption that voices are erasing alternate views. I am not sure I buy that based on 49 years’ experience at all levels. In the end, however, it must remain the individual’s responsibility to think about what she hears as much as the institution’s obligation to censor. The slippery slope of censorship is terrifying as much as are the offensive or hateful ideas/behaviours(and I have experienced and listened to lots of offensive stuff but I have the ability to tune it out).

More worrisome to me is the seeming correlation of underfunding state universities to penalise them for supporting ideas that offend some. The absolute strength of the United States, embodied in so much of what we breathe, live, and die, is freedom of expression which can be manifested in research. We are a huge bunch of folks so we cannot nor should we assume everyone will agree but it is folly to legislate ideas; it does not work.

The complement to that is faculty and students must be responsible stewards of the resources they receive, meaning financial and physical resources. Education is a privilege; none of us is entitled to anything. Faculty and students, in my radical view, have an obligation to pay back to all of us by passing it forward.

Meanwhile, back at the University of Colorado, the supportive, collaborative cohort in Dr. Melbourne’s evolutionary biology lab are embarking on careers in a field they are mastering and expanding hourly. Their ability to work together, respect and appreciation for each other’s unique contributions, is so gratifying. I hope it lasts.

I am retired now from the drama too often entangling universities and eroding the conributions we so desperately need to advance, if not merely preserve our society. I don’t miss the ego or drama nor the idea of entitlement (every academic I know puts on her clothes the same way after earning a doctorate or advanced degree as she did in high school). We are part of a community and a society which works better when we seek ways to collaborate rather than merely compete for the sake of one-upping each other. I know my son likely encounter less desirable cohorts in future and he will be ready for them but it seems such a waste of good minds, doesn’t it? FIN