Friday Fragments

Earlier this week, I thought it might be a breath of fresh air to hear stories from readers of times that college administrations really got it right. My only stipulation was that the stories couldn’t involve a huge infusion of money; anyone can be popular through spending. The request for great moments in administration didn’t yield much. I’m not sure what to make of that.

One wrote in with a story of a beloved local interim dean who eventually got ratified as the permanent one, after an unfortunate experience with an external hire. A second mentioned uncommon transparency in the face of a tough financial year, after which they were able to turn things around. A third mentioned a college that allowed administrative support people to continue to work from home a couple of days a week even after things mostly returned to normal. Finally, one mentioned giving faculty just enough summer support to make it easier to apply for grants, which gradually became self-sustaining.

As I think about it, part of the issue is that many administrative tasks are sort of like editing. When they’re done well, you don’t notice them; things just sort of work. They’re only noticeable when they’re done badly. This doesn’t do wonders for the public image of administrators.

J. K. Galbraith made a similar point in The Affluent Society about government spending. When you’re driving and you see a sign that warns of construction ahead, you probably don’t say to yourself, “Oh happy day, such privilege to bear witness to the forward march of progress!” It’s probably something closer to “Ah, &%*(#)%. Construction.” When the road is smooth and clear, you never see a sign saying, “Your tax dollars at work.” As public relations strategies go, that’s exactly backwards.

This may be why administrators have a fondness for packaging various actions in bundles with clever acronyms. Cheesy branding is better than no branding at all.

The struggle continues.

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Also this week I shared my unease with certain uses of language, like using “calendar” as a verb. My wise and worldly readers had plenty to share:

• “Onboarding” as a verb.
• “Gifting” as a verb.
• “Folks” as a plural. (I’ll admit I do this.)
• “I feel” to mean “I think.” Yes, yes, yes. In my observation, it’s sometimes used to indicate tentativeness or mild uncertainty, but there are much better words for that.
• “Relatable” to mean emotionally accessible, rather than comparable. This one doesn’t bother me, but I can see the argument.
• “Could care less.” No, it’s “couldn’t care less.”
• “Irregardless.” No, it’s “regardless.”
• “Journal” as a verb. Again, not my issue, but I can respect it.
• “Reveal” as a noun, as in “the big reveal.” I’ve used this because “revelation” seems a bit overstated in most cases.
• “Biweekly.” It has two distinct and mutually exclusive meanings. It needs to pick one.
• On the other hand, “adult” as a verb has some fans. “Adulting” captures something that’s hard to describe any other way.

Other than vague crankiness, I’m not sure that there’s a common denominator, but I’ll admit feeling better that I’m not the only one with verbal pet peeves. Part of adulting is learning to let them go.

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Last weekend, as I drove The Girl back to UMD after Easter, she fired off an instant classic: “I wish I was the kind of person that daily affirmations work for.”

Yes and no, but that’s a writing prompt if I’ve ever seen one. Wise and worldly readers, have at it!