Stranger in a Strange Land

The writer is a current president

There is a culture of being a president and it is weird. People start to treat you differently as soon as you are announced. Some remember you are a person and are genuinely happy for you and others can only see the role and start projecting all their power stuff on you. 

In addition to hearing from the boy I kissed when I was 17, I have had people I have not heard from in 20 or 30 years email me. They ask for invites to the inauguration or just want to reconnect. This isn't unexpected but people are weird. Also, the swag. The swag from vendors of all kinds was unexpected. A cutting board? Socks? 

Part of the culture is meeting other presidents, some of whom are great and some of whom are not. They talk about the size of their houses the way a bunch of boys—oh, never mind. And what is up with the pins? I get the whole living logo thing and maybe it makes sense if you are going to an event on campus or for your institution, but the way some presidents wear their institution’s lapel pins to private events with other presidents is, um, interesting. 

And then there is the actual onboarding. A practical checklist would be so helpful. It's great to be welcomed warmly, but also, there are logistics. Campuses need to be asked to make sure their new president has as much information about the house they are moving into as they might if they were going to an Airbnb. People think you are walking around campus as the new person trying to be impressive. Really, what you need are keys to the house and the code to the security system.

Many of us move with families; thinking about what they need as they move on campus—especially when there are kids—would go a long way.

I might also suggest at onboarding a tour of where the bathrooms are on campus. This sounds dumb but honestly that is the level of stuff you need that many seem to forget you need because of the whole living logo bit (albeit a logo that doesn't need to pee).

The writer is a current president

I was speaking to a former president the other day, who said that a Cabinet member (whom she'd brought over with her to the new institution) remarked that you could tell how the week was going by the number of times the new president was wearing their WTF facial expression :)

For me, I'm feeling both excitement in terms of meeting people from the university community (alumni, faculty, staff, students, emeriti board members) and new opportunities—rolling out new academic programs, creating a university AI strategy, launching initiatives to improve student career development and outcomes, and fostering constructive dialogue and civic preparedness—and astonishment and dismay in terms of, for example, important policy gaps, misguided budget practices, and inequities in the application of policies. 

I have also felt disconcerted and shocked by what former board members, alumni, faculty, and staff have been sharing with me about my predecessors (wholly unprompted by me). After a recent emotionally charged meeting, during which almost 20 years of experiences were recounted, I felt what I imagine a priest must feel in a confessional. I am careful to be neutral but empathetic—how could I be anything else? I wasn't there when anything happened and I've never met most of the people the tales concerned. I try to stay focused on how we're moving the university forward and to avoid being pulled into litigating past events.

When I gave my first address to the faculty and staff as part of the start of the academic year ceremonies, acutely aware of all I don't know about the institution, its history, its practices, and its people, I felt vulnerable. I've since heard my remarks were received well—but that also involves wondering why particular people were telling me this. 

At my "listen and learn" meetings, where I meet with small groups from every unit on campus, I've been warned to expect anger and complaints about past administrative decisions and practices. This isn't a surprise, being rather standard as one comes into a new institution as an administrator (and I had complained, myself, as a faculty member!), but it has a different resonance to me as a new president as opposed to a new dean or new provost. The buck, after all, stops with me now.

And I'm in the throes of evaluating my senior leadership team and discerning if/when I should make changes. This is really hard, especially since all of my "new presidents" seminars and institutes advise us to make such changes quickly rather than slowly. It takes time to get to know people, to see their strengths and weaknesses, and to discern whether or not I can trust them. 

At least I've learned where the bathrooms are.