I, department chairman (part 1)
Sometimes, it seems I should collapse under the weight of all the hats I wear. Luckily, not all of the hats are massive…
But as a department chairman, a middleman between administrative interests and faculty needs (both real and very really perceived), there’s some weight there. In a humanities department, there is one advantage over other departments: humanities faculty know at some level that it’s silly to claim objectivity. This understanding is so much a part of contemporary academic humanities culture that claiming to be “objective” is like painting your head red: people will just assume something’s amiss.
So our faculty members each individually claim to be acting in the best interests of the department (see my [last post->http://www.thinkfetti.com/archives/11] about voting), but when the votes are examined, it becomes clear to an observer that no one is acting objectively. In the current department situation, there are several faculty members who want the next departmental hire to be in their own discipline. Given the workloads and individuals’ desires to improve their lots, that’s hardly surprising. What is more interesting is how far faculty members go to convince others — and themselves — that they only have the best interests of the department at heart. And they succeed, part-way.
I’m in an interesting spot as chairman, because I too am thinking I’m being relatively “objective,” although I know I must be just ignoring some of my subjectivity. But my discipline, music, is not one that particularly stands to gain from any hire. My subjectivity is probably diminished in that area. In a Chinese philosophical interpretation (read Taoist), I’m happier because I don’t stand to gain. I’m more valuable because I’m less important.
Now, I’m certainly not claiming perfect objectivity - my wife teaches in the same department. But I’m not trying to sneak some result through because it would be beneficial to her, either. So let’s just face it: the goal shouldn’t be to work towards some impossible “objectivity.” It makes more sense for me, someone who happens to be the chairman at this particular point, to just try to do what I think is best. To do that, I owe everyone in the department my efforts and my thoughtfulness, not just my instincts (as I wrote [earlier->http://www.thinkfetti.com/archives/8], thoughtfulness is a necessary element of ethical action). I’m willing to offer that, and that’s exactly what I’m giving.