Education Commons^™

The meeting was tense. Student expectations were clear: They wanted new courses on environmental justice. The president and provost agreed, stating the university could implement these innovations in eighteen months, provided that the faculty would create new classes and move them through governance. The students’ disappointment was palpable. “Can’t you make that happen faster?”

“Who’s in charge?” It’s a question often asked of multilayered organizations. In higher education, institutional power dynamics are complicated by the oft under- understood cultural norm known as “shared governance.” In 1967, the American Association of University Professors endorsed a “Statement on Government of Colleges and …

We’re all acquainted with the question “Are we there yet?”

On a long drive. During that endless transoceanic flight. Sitting through that meeting that drags on. And on. And on. In these contexts, “Are we there yet?” rarely (if ever) proves fruitful. Even if you’re the driver, the pilot, or the committee chair, you may not have much control over the journey’s length. We arrive when we arrive.

There are, however, situations in which posing the question constitutes a meaningful exercise, including when gauging progress on issues of social justice. When it comes to combating society’s -isms and -phobias, regularly …

In higher education circles, happiness doesn't get much play. While there's plenty of talk about student satisfaction, parental expectations, faculty morale, administrative attitudes, and legislative resolve, we don't ask basic questions about what it means to be happy in academia.

Perhaps discussions of happiness in higher ed are misplaced. After all, were not here to make anybody happy; we're here to get stuff done. There's teaching and learning to accomplish. Scholarship to undertake. Committee work to endure. Policies to implement. Dollars and people to manage.

Furthermore, concern about what makes for happy students can lead us toward that education model …