In this post I discuss some of the tough choices I had to make as an administrator. Making tough choices is just that – tough!
For me, with the exception of career changes, most of the difficult decisions I’ve dealt with involved other people. I suspect that’s true for many of us.
How do we define “difficult” in regard to decisions? Some criteria include things like the amount of risk involved, how impactful the choice is on yourself and others, and how hard it is to choose between options because of competing criteria.
More directly, many difficult decisions involve unpleasant outcomes for yourself or someone else.
All of these criteria have applied to decisions at different points in my life.
What follows are some difficult decisions I’ve made. The decisions are not in order of difficulty but are scattered out across both my professional career and personal life.
Career change
The decision to make a dramatic career change near midlife was certainly difficult. My time in industry had been a struggle financially, with several job changes over a twelve-year period. Thus, we were not in a good position financially to live for three or four years off teaching-assistant pay and student loans.
Deciding to pursue a Ph.D. in my late 30’s was certainly a risk. Why so? For starters, program admission isn’t guaranteed. The best programs, which produce the best placements, are very competitive.
Moreover, not everyone who starts a Ph.D. program finishes, with non-completion rates in the 40-50% range by a number of estimates, depending on the academic discipline. Of those that do finish, not everyone is successful in the promotion and tenure process as an academic. In short, there are lots of opportunities to fail.
Truly, the career change decision process was a family activity. Additionally, it was fairly involved.
Cyndi and I prayed about the change for months. I researched programs and likely career paths. We got input from multiple sources. And, we visited several programs for face-to-face interviews. I was accepted by two programs; we chose the University of Georgia.
So, it was a difficult, high-risk choice. The outcome? After a thirty-year academic career, I believe the outcome was very positive and rewarding for me professionally and for us as a family.
Proverbs 3.5-6 is a familiar passage in regard to seeking God’s leadership. One admonition there is to trust wholeheartedly. Also, don’t rely on your own ability to make sense of things! We receive God’s direction in our lives when we learn, over time, to trust Him. proverbsforprofessionals.net
Personnel decisions
Some of the most difficult decisions I had to make as an academic administrator involved personnel.
In one case we extended an offer to a faculty member and the candidate accepted. Then, we were unable to get the candidate to produce the needed hiring materials in a timely manner. As a result, I pulled the offer after consulting with the university attorney, human resources, and with my supervisor.
Administrative hiring
In one department chair hire, the candidate accepted our offer. Soon after, the candidate expressed concerns about a family member’s health. Following multiple conversations with the candidate and my supervisor, I let him know that he was released from the obligation so he could stay in his present position. As it turned out, several years later that same candidate reapplied and did take the department chair job.
Tenure choices
I made a couple of promotion and tenure decisions that were unpopular. In one case, I supported a faculty member for tenure when there was faculty push-back. Why? Because I saw nothing in the record that would argue against the granting of tenure. “Not liking someone” simply isn’t an adequate reason for a department-level tenure denial. That decision was supported up the chain by the provost and president. The faculty member had a very productive, if somewhat “prickly” career for years to follow.
In a promotion decision for a full-professor candidate, I voted No as dean based on what I believed to be an inadequate research record. The other decisions before me in the review were mixed. As it turned out, the provost did not support me in that decision.
Academic dishonesty
I was consulted on, or dealt directly with, multiple instances of faculty academic dishonesty while I was an administrator. In one case a faculty member resigned. And, in another case, the dean made a non-renewal decision. In a third case I required the faculty member to issue a letter of apology to a co-author. That one could have gone either way, as what was viewed as carelessness by some was viewed by the university attorney as an offense worthy of dismissal.
From Proverbs 18.17 we learn that there are at least two sides to every story. So, be careful about making snap judgments. Instead, gather balanced views from the various sides of an issue. proverbsforprofessionals.net
Some pleasant decisions
On a more positive note, it was gratifying to participate in a faculty hiring decision. Then, watch that faculty member grow professionally. As an administrator, I wrote a number of letters in support of tenure and promotion for junior faculty. All of those decisions were supported by the provost and president.
During my terms as interim dean and dean I was able to write promotion letters for those same faculty member when they went up for full professor. It was certainly enjoyable to engage with faculty members as their careers progressed.
Student and staff issues
Obviously, some student issues I dealt with as an administrator were unpleasant. Issues included things like academic dishonesty (e.g., cheating on an exam), a decision to remove for dishonesty a degree that had been awarded previously, and several negative decisions I made regarding appeals such as graduate school admission.
The more pressing student issues involved faculty misbehavior, such as careless comments or inappropriate classroom behavior. As expected, those conversations always involved human resources as well as the university attorney.
Come to think of it, I spoke with the university attorney frequently!
Staff conflicts were, thankfully, infrequent. However, it’s an involved and time-consuming process to remove a staff member from a state institution for inappropriate behavior toward another staff member.
At times, I had to referee conflicts between staff and faculty. Most often because of carelessness or arrogance by the faculty member.
In one memorable incident, a graduate student was caught between two faculty members. The graduate student was accused of research misconduct by one faculty member. The student’s story was that she was doing what the other faculty member had instructed her to do. As expected, that was a messy case to decide. After multiple interviews, I ruled against the faculty member who wanted to dismiss the student.
The outcome? The student graduated successfully and began her career.
In Proverbs 1.3 and Proverbs 2.9 teaches that good judgment is bounded on one side by knowing the right thing to do, and on the other side by doing that right thing in a way that’s fair or equitable. Hence, sound decisions exhibit a balance between knowing and doing, as guided by our integrity. Thus, our good judgment drives wise behavior! proverbsforprofessionals.net
Family decisions
Over the course of a long marriage, there will always be difficult decisions. And, there will be, on occasion, very strong differences of opinion about what the correct decision should be.
Those difficult decisions involved members of our immediate family, as well as extended family.
Unfortunately, some conflicts leave deep scars and lasting memories.
I am not going to provide details here, as these issues are intensely personal. But, in at least two situations, they issues involved legal counsel.
Attorneys are expensive!
In another situation, the insurance company threated, but didn’t follow through on, dropping coverage on one of our teenaged drivers. Why? A second accident in a fairly short time period.
The insurance company wasn’t that snippy when another of our teenagers took out a telephone pole while totaling a car! By the way, telephone poles are expensive to install when replaced in the middle of the night.
In 1 Kings Chapter 2 Solomon takes issue with a request from his mother regarding Solomon’s older brother. She called it “one small petition.” Ha! Not small at all. Solomon’s response was immediate and decisive as he saw through the ploy being put forward by his older brother. Some choices involving family are unpleasant indeed. proverbsforprofessionals.net
A (sort of) humorous decision
Here’s a decision I made during a family vacation. Once, at a family reunion, several of us went river rafting – mostly lazy river rafting, no whitewater or helmets! At one point, as expected from a group of inexperienced rafters, we hit a rock.
Several of us were thrown from the raft into the water.
When I came up out of the icy but shallow water, standing, I heard two things. Behind me was a niece yelling “somebody help me”. When I looked up into the raft my brother-in-law said he couldn’t see his wife! I ignored the cry behind me and reached around in the murky water for my sister-in-law. She came up fairly quickly as she was wearing a life preserver.
Once my sister-in-law was settled I looked behind me. My niece was standing in waist-deep water! Although she was cold and wet, there was no eminent danger. Crisis averted!
At times, some decisions are simply more pressing than others!
In 1 Kings Chapter 3, soon after becoming king, Solomon has a conversation with God. God asked Solomon in 1 Kings 3.5 “What do you want? Just ask!” Solomon’s response, in 1 Kings 3.9 was to ask for an understanding character. That is, the ability to listen with his heart so he could function effectively as king (“judge thy people”). What’s the hinge point between listening and acting? The ability to “discern between good and bad.” In short, we must LISTEN – DISCERN – ACT. proverbsforprofessionals.net
Some Takeaways
Sometime, the difficult decisions you must make are largely on your own because of the sensitive or confidential nature of what’s being decided.
However, some difficult decisions you make come through active consultation with family, friends, and coworkers who are close to you.
For a person of faith, we have an outlet for wisdom that others don’t have. When we wait on the Lord, and listen without having already made up our mind, we can be much more discerning and insightful in the choices we make.
I don’t believe there’s any magical decision algorithm that will guarantee perfect decisions every time. In fact, I’ve made lots of really poor choices over the course of my life! All that said, Solomon’s simple model of Listen – Discern – Act works really well in many situations.
While I’m writing this there are four rabbits outside my office window in the front yard. They live in the overgrowth around the creeks on either side of our lot. I suspect their daily decision processes are much less involved than what I’ve described in this post!