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This resource is available only to Insider members

The Sandbox newsletter is an exclusive benefit of our paid Insider membership. Insiders have access to a unique blend of exclusive data, analysis and emerging best practices. Explore the member benefits here.

February 10, 2024

The Real Housewives of Academe

Whose labor is considered important and serious?

By  Rachel Toor

The Sandbox

Inside Higher Ed Insider
image of presidents scaling mountains

From Rachel Toor

Because I teach creative nonfiction and specialize in the personal essay, I think I know a fair amount about the intimate, often awful, details of my students’ lives. But my view is limited compared to that of those on the front lines: student affairs people.

Last week I went to Vegas, baby, for a "State of the Profession" conference hosted by ACUHO-I for a selective group.

There, upper-level housing folks heard from experts about the usual big picture problems in higher ed, the ones many of us can list as easily as singing our ABCs.

Leadership must look up to focus on those issues, while many toiling away on campuses—faculty and staff—are sinking under daily burdens. They often don’t have the luxury to pay attention to problems facing our industry, let alone think of higher ed as an “industry.” 

They see stuff the rest of us may miss. At the conference we heard that something like 20 percent of students say they've used financial aid for online sports betting, and 30 percent of those have opted not to buy food at some point so they could use the money to bet. 

We heard about problems caused by AI (deepfakes) and got confirmation that higher ed has been a late adopter in terms of harnessing its power. People: there's a big honking wave coming for us all.

I tried to get out of the invitation to speak because I'm better on the page than I am in person, and I didn’t think I had anything of value to offer. When I said this to a former president, he reflected back to me the things I’d been learning—and writing about—for The Sandbox and said he thought it could be helpful for others on campus to hear, especially if they want to support their leaders.

Instead of standing at a podium playing my guitar at them pontificating, I suggested I come with a comms person and we have an informal chat about what we each hear from presidents. She gives tough love and tells leaders how to solve problems; I mostly listen and say, yep, yep, yep, and it's not just you.

Even though the session was at the end of a long couple of days, people were interested. They asked questions about how to talk to a president about a direct report who is mismanaging their team, and how administrators can partner with the president to educate boards. (It seems everyone knows they need help.) This group is kind, earnest, and reflexively supportive.

When we asked how many wanted to pursue a presidency, one person out of a hundred raised her hand. Many don't even want VP roles. Burnout among students affairs staff is a real and serious problem, as you no doubt know. 

We see how hard the presidency is these days. The truth is, for most of us in higher ed, our jobs have never been more challenging. 

If you need a little bright spot, if a happy-cry would provide some balm in Gilead, you can spend one minute watching and listening to the numinous Tracy Chapman being worshipped by country singer Luke Combs in this clip from the Grammys.

Honoring Those Who Get Shit Done

The writer is a current chancellor

A while back, I was a semifinalist in a presidential search. I had decades of leadership experience in higher ed and served as a provost responsible for a vast portfolio.

When I didn’t make the final cut, I asked the search firm for feedback. They said my experience read to the search committee as only “operational.” They didn’t see me as a strategic or visionary leader. 

They also thought I used “we” too much. It was difficult for them to see what I had done myself. 

Funny. After a mock interview in an aspiring presidents' institute, I’d been told I used “I” too much. Women who do this can come off as unattractively arrogant. 

So, when I entered an actual search, I had to think hard about how to present myself as a candidate. 

Perhaps I could have been clearer in that first high-stakes interview, but it’s hard to come across as a visionary leader and someone who gives credit to those whose good work makes your success possible in sixty stressful minutes. 

Now that I’ve had time to reflect, I believe using “we” is correct. If I’m ever looking for another leadership role, I will use continue to say we with pride—and also highlight things that were my ideas and show how I provided support to others.

Here’s my reasoning: I grew up in a single income household with lots of siblings. It was clear to me even as a kid that my mother was the one who got shit done. She was transportation specialist, accountant, facilities manager, police, tutor, counselor, cook, custodian, and crisis manager. 

She was, in other words, a housewife.

My father used to say that he made all the important decisions in the marriage: who should be president of the U.S., if the Broncos needed to make a trade, and whether our state should raise taxes. 

My mother, he claimed, made the less important decisions: where we would live, what we would eat, and how we’d pay for it all. My father said this as a joke, but no one laughed because it was true. 

Much has been written about how difficult the college presidency is these days. Yes, it is, and it’s certainly harder for some than it is for others. As a straight white woman, I enjoy privileges others do not.

But you know who’s working under conditions of intense pressure, demoralization, and frustration? 

The real "housewives" of academe: the provosts and senior vice presidents, as well as the many vice provosts and associate vice presidents. As we have seen recently, tragically, the group of leaders one-level-down from the president/chancellor are suffering even more burnout than presidents themselves. 

These folks bear much of the responsibility for managing daily operations, as well as having to handle incidents requiring emergency response and crisis management. They carry heavy loads but without appropriate levels of authority, support, or recognition. Their work is largely behind the scenes. 

Presidents and chancellors get to stand up and take the bow for all the successes of a college or university, yet they often fail to acknowledge the leadership—and the intense and often emotionally hard work—that happens in the offices that report to them. I’d even go so far as to say that many presidents get to where they are by implicitly taking credit for the achievements of their staff.

Unsurprisingly, this group of higher ed housewives includes a high percentage of women and people of color paid a fraction of presidential salaries. 

Those of us who have risen through the ranks know that higher ed leadership is a team sport, or so we’ve heard and often say. At the level one step down from top roles are people who get shit done. 

Acknowledging their work publicly, to boards and faculty, alumni and donors, will help pave the way for the next, more inclusive wave of leaders when we need them most. 

Forward this email! Spam your fellow presidents, trustees, neighbors!

Please feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone you think might be interested in reading The Sandbox (or to presidents who would be willing to write for us for no money and no byline). To sign up, people just need to click here. 

JOIN TODAY

The Litter Box

We believe in diversity, equity, and inclusion. We believe in access. We know the field isn’t level but think everyone should get to play—not just those with pedigrees and good breeding but also the scrappier ones who may have had a rougher start in life. This applies to institutions (community colleges as well as research universities), leaders (the Ivy-all-the-ways and those who came from less “traditional” backgrounds), and animal companions (we're not speciest).

Ruby Gessner

Ruby Gessner, support staff for IHE's CEO.

The Sandbox

Not your typical weekly newsletter. This is a space where presidents and chancellors can say what they really think without fear. Everyone is welcome to read, but only those who have been in the top job can submit to us. The Sandbox, by Rachel Toor, is an exclusive benefit of our paid Insider membership program.

 

 

The Sandbox Archive

‘President Resigns Abruptly’

May 10, 2025

‘A Council of Sheriffs’ and Other Ideas to Help Save Higher Ed

May 3, 2025

Former Presidents Are Eager to Step Up

April 26, 2025

It’s All About the Benjamins

April 19, 2025

Presidents Get Real About Their Challenges and Fears

April 12, 2025
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