The Power of Saying ‘Yes’ to a Small Assignment

At the beginning of an academic career, your first offers for administrative work might seem trivial. They may not carry titles or prestige, and you may be tempted to reject the job, assuming that it is not worthy of your energy. Yet these early opportunities can be transformative learning experiences that propel your career in unexpected ways. They teach lessons about leadership, collaboration, and the inner workings of higher education that may not be gained otherwise. As noted in my book, “Portrait of a Presidency: Patterns in My Life as President of The College of New Jersey,” I first learned this lesson when I accepted the role of executive secretary for the Missouri Philological Association (MPA) at Central Missouri State University (CMSU, now University of Central Missouri). I had joined the university as an assistant professor only 4 years earlier.

My First Small Assignment

In 1976, senior faculty in the English department at the school concluded that it would benefit the department to launch a scholarly organization where colleagues could share research at an annual conference. The focus of the organization was regional, and the submission process was open. Not only was the submission process noncompetitive, but the subject areas were broad: literary criticism and historical analysis of British, American, and Modern Language authors; philology; and linguistics. The goals for establishing the association were to elevate the reputation of the CMSU English Department and to broaden opportunities for its faculty to share research.

The officers of the Missouri Philological Association (MPA) included a president, a vice president, and an executive secretary. The executive secretary assumed most of the administrative management of the organization, including receiving the presentation abstracts, organizing the presentations into sessions, and managing the logistics of the conference. In the first years, all conferences were held on the CMSU campus, which required partnering with local lodging establishments to block out rooms for those participating from other institutions. Eventually, the annual program was hosted at other regional institutions across the state, which added to the logistical responsibilities for the executive secretary — not only for lodging but also for scheduling the sessions themselves at another institution’s facilities.

Frank Patterson served as executive secretary of the MPA for the first five years of its existence, and when he stepped down, he asked if this was a job I would be interested in assuming. Frank was a mentor and supporter throughout my early years at CMSU, my first job, and I was flattered that he had thought of me, but I was reticent to accept. I began my decision-making with questions: What exactly would I learn from this job? How would it benefit me as a developing scholar and academic? Why would I want to add this responsibility to my heavy teaching load and burgeoning scholarly career? In the end, I decided to accept the job because Frank recommended I do so!

Seeing the Bigger Picture Behind My “Small Assignment”

Despite my initial hesitation, assuming this job was a very important first step in learning about administrative responsibilities as well as in expanding my understanding of the complexity of academic disciplines. Through this experience, I:

• learned about a wide range of literary and non-literary topics
• became adept at seeing patterns in what seemed to be disparate topics as I organized the submitted abstracts into sessions that made sense and would attract audiences
• learned how to work closely with colleagues across the region and on my campus
• gained experience working with staff as well as faculty
• learned how to work a light table to create the image for the university publication office to produce the program.

One particular lesson had less to do with the subject and more to do with developing the ability to work with administrative assistants with a wide range of skills. The published program included abstracts of each proposed session. Some were not in English. For the publication, I was staffed by the departmental assistant who did not read any language but English. In order to proofread and assure that the publication was accurate I had to ask her to spell out abstracts in Spanish, French, or German rather than reading them. It was excruciating. Perhaps, the most important lesson from that activity was not to lose patience with her. I came to appreciate a timely trip to the women’s room or to the faculty lounge, just to give both of us a break.

After serving as executive secretary of the MPA, I became more open to considering and accepting responsibilities that broadened my understanding of the academy. For instance, as mentioned in the book, I also accepted the job of associate provost at State University of New York at Oswego. My first reason for accepting was to be able to work with someone who became a remarkable mentor, Provost Donald Mathieu. In addition, however, I was given the opportunity to learn about administrative areas with which I had had little to no previous experience, as I had line responsibility for the registrar’s office and the office of institutional research.

Final Thought

My advice to any young academic, particularly one with aspirations for a career in administration, is to be open to opportunities for learning more about the enterprise outside your classroom and discipline. You will be a better teacher and scholar for opening up to the full complexity of the academy. And if you should decide to take the administrative route, you will be better prepared to assume new responsibilities. A job might seem small or pedestrian, but being open to opportunities will most likely provide you insights and education that will make you a better member of the academy. It will surely make you a better administrator.