Why we do the work: Academic leaders discuss what matters most
By Heidi Bostic, Annmarie Caño, Bonnie Gunzenhauser, Michelle Maldonado, and Daniel Press
What a difference a year — or three — makes.
We all became arts and sciences deans at Jesuit institutions in 2020, each of us joining a new university. Since then, we have forged a bond through good times and not-so-good, providing mutual support and advice.
Out of this sharing we wrote two previous essays for Conversations. In 2021, “Deans New to Jesuit Education Find Their Way Together” focused on opportunities and mission. As new deans during the COVID-19 pandemic, we learned to rise to the occasion to meet needs that we did not expect when we signed on for these jobs. The challenges renewed our resolve to support the various communities looking to us for leadership inspired by our common Jesuit educational mission. In 2022, “Toward a Hope-Filled Future: Deans’ Reflections on Leadership and Transition” described moving from reactive to constructive leadership and leaning on the power of persuasion, patience and perseverance. It proved to be prescient, as we emphasized leading from the messy middle while witnessing significant leadership churn.
We decided to write one final essay together in the hope of inspiring others to lead while providing guidance to those who hire and support leaders.
Today, just two of us remain deans of arts and sciences (one of whom is now also dean of a second college). Two of us have become chief academic officers. One of us has decided to re-enter the faculty ranks to support Ignatian leadership formation in other ways.
Regardless of what we are doing now, our responsibilities are different from what they were in 2020. On the one hand, this has made for work that is never dull, which suits our collective need to continue making a difference in Jesuit education. On the other hand, our individual discernments have led to what looks like, on the surface, different leadership trajectories.
The turnover reflected in our group is manifest across the AJCU, not only among arts and sciences deans, but in other leadership roles as well. Studies can reveal reasons why deans stay or leave, including perceived support from upper administration, the continued belief that they can make a difference, and the quality of relationships with faculty and staff.
We decided to reflect on our different paths by asking:
What is this work we do and why is it worthwhile? Why should others take up the mantle of leadership in Jesuit education? How can others support this work so that our individual institutions and the AJCU can sustain its commitment to transforming society by developing “people for others?”
Guided by the Mission
Each of us continues to be inspired by the mission of Jesuit education and the practice of Jesuit pedagogy, all the while knowing that it is a privilege to work in this field.
The father of one of us was a long-serving university librarian. When asked what he did at work every day, he would simply reply, “I think.” It was a little glib and simplistic, but the gist was that he had been given the great privilege of stepping out of daily transactions around production and consumption. In his bubble of thinking, he could ask questions most people didn’t have time for, or more precisely, ask how he could support people who ask questions — a little bit like a dean.
Thus empowered to think, we attempt to be “contemplatives in action,” reflecting on why we do things a particular way and to what end, and then choosing an action. Ultimately, we are idealists who seek to make our institutions better. Perhaps this is through greater fiscal responsibility, curriculum enhancements and innovation, fundraising, and so forth, yet in every case the actions are rooted in reflection and understanding of what is needed. Our vision of the possibilities in higher education guides us and keeps us going.
Success and Belonging for All: Cura Communalis
One way we pursue these aims is by promoting the success of all in our care. We work for student success, to be sure, yet also a sense of belonging for faculty and staff. All of us share a commitment to enlarging the circle and making space for different perspectives, including those that may vary according to race, gender, ethnicity and other aspects of identity. In doing this work, we have also learned that we need to identify our own support networks, because it is often a challenge to lead strongly in a positive direction that some might not like.
To persevere, we care for all members of the community in the here and now. Doing so means translating the cura personalis — care for the whole person — we know so well into a cura communalis — care for the whole community. Caring for our communities means listening deeply to our faculty, staff and students; listening to respond, to care, to empathize and if we can, to transform.
That transformation can be elusive for faculty and staff, but just as vital as it is for students. We’re good at doing this for our students, but tend to focus less on doing it for everyone else. Maybe we should see ourselves as deans of the faculty, in addition to our other leadership roles.
From Less to Magis
We do this work to effect positive change. A lot of our time over the past three years has been marked by “less:” reducing, canceling and eliminating. How might we pivot to something more constructive? How do we now go from the “less” to the magis?
Given how much we are called upon to manage conflict and scarcity, we could easily forget that colleges and universities are sites of contemplation, discovery, expression, creation and dialogue. Maybe we do what we do because we are still drawn to these activities and want to understand, support and promote them.
We accept that the proverbial trains need to run, they need to run on time, and ideally the ride should be smooth. They should take us to where we all aspire to go. Institutions require some chief conductor, however titular they may be (we know that at best the administrative functions of a college run smoothly without a dean’s constant attention). We also find ourselves cast as ombudspersons, trying to make peace. This is a form of caregiving.
Meanwhile, most position descriptions for our roles invoke some kind of course-setting, initiative-building vision to which we will steer our colleges. Are we really driving the train, or is it more accurate to say that we try to inspire others to pursue a noble cause and set a course toward a bright, shining future?
Perhaps most crucially, toward what future do we aspire? Is it one in which the deficits have all been made up? A future college in which there are plentiful resources and a perfectly diverse faculty, staff and student community? Will all the buildings be as green as can be, functional, beautiful and spacious? And maybe a Nobel laureate in many departments?
Ultimately, and perhaps more modestly, we hope that there will be something here that wasn’t here before, because we were able to bring the team together. Focusing on the team, we move from the traditional definition of leader as “problem solver” to empowering others so that they can solve problems. And when the greater magis project seems out of reach, we help our colleagues discern and enact what is possible in the here and now.
Again and Always, the Mission
We do this work for the mission. While some of us have shifted in our roles, a thread that continues to unite us is a commitment to academic leadership in Jesuit higher education. That commitment is reflected not only in our own particular roles, but also in our desire to initiate and be part of a broader conversation with our colleagues. This sense of vocation and commitment to Jesuit higher education feeds the often-difficult work we are called to do. To lead with integrity, we must feel aligned with the vision and values of our institution and its leadership.
No longer new to our universities and no longer isolated by COVID-19, we have begun to connect more deeply with faculty, staff, and fellow leaders. And while there is a sense of comfort in being settled, some of us have also experienced moments of being misunderstood or misrepresented, especially when our very identities may signal unwanted change for some.
We continue to hold onto the hope that marked our second essay while also understanding stubborn realities. There will always be challenges to this hope, especially when resource constraints and fear of change arise. Our hope is expressed in a deep commitment to the mission of our institutions and to faculty, staff and students. We all believe in the transformative potential of Jesuit education. This is what energizes us.
Parting Thoughts
In sum, we try to emulate, however imperfectly, St. Ignatius of Loyola, who was both visionary and pragmatic. We do this work thanks to our ideals and commitments: to belonging, to the magis and to the mission. We do this work in a context of differences. And we do this work understanding that leadership happens in many different roles and from many different places across the organization.
Our first three years as arts and sciences deans at Jesuit universities called upon us to help our institutions remain stable, centered and focused. We began at the outset of the pandemic, determined to guide our colleges towards safe harbors. But changes continue! The leadership churn across the AJCU and beyond is only a surface manifestation compared to the larger seismic shifts.
As the pandemic diminishes in urgency, the rise of artificial intelligence portends more stress and re-thinking. Political forces also shift the ground below us — in light of the June 29, 2023, Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action, we can stand with our AJCU colleagues and renew our commitment to recruiting and supporting a diverse student body. However, doing so will present new, destabilizing challenges, similar to those the University of California faced after Proposition 209 was passed in 1996.
For those already in leadership, you can (and should!) seek leadership development, for yourself and for others — as an aptly-titled Inside Higher Ed essay puts it, “A Title Does Not a Leader Make.” For those of you considering a leadership role, our message is that it’s hard and good. It’s needed. You can lead wherever you are; seek out a group like ours to sustain you. Together in hope, through the trials and the triumphs, we can all remain mindful about why we do the work.
Heidi Bostic is dean of the Helen Way Klingler College of Arts and Sciences and College of Education at Marquette University. Annmarie Caño is professor of psychology at Gonzaga University. Bonnie Gunzenhauser is interim vice president for academic affairs at John Carroll University. Michelle Maldonado is provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at the University of Scranton. Daniel Press is dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Santa Clara University.
