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By Lawrence Henley
When you take a job at a university, being on committees and doing work
related to them comes with the territory, generally speaking. No sooner are
you settled in than you learn that your predecessor had a seat on a certain
committee — and you’re expected to do the same.
Then you get a phone call, letter or email inviting you to join another
committee. Next, you miss one meeting and find out they’ve elected you
chairman while you were gone. Then you’re asked to participate on an
employment search committee, and an honors society also snaps you up. Before
you know it, you and your calendar are up to your figurative necks in
committee meetings.
For whatever reason (the usual one cited is that it’s the Socratic way of
getting things done), universities don’t function under a top-down
decision-making process — which isn’t to say that most schools don’t have
strong presidents, provosts and deans, because most do. However, literally
thousands of employees and students present and future will feel the effects
of the myriad decisions that must be made, and it’s believed that the
involvement of the many (the “intelligencia,” if you will) supercedes the
insights of the one. Things work this way at public and private schools, so
there’s no escape anywhere in academia.
It Keeps You Running
I’ve been on as many as seven different committees and/or searches
simultaneously. I’ve served on everything from the campus facility use
committee to the parking and traffic committee to the committee on cart
usage. It seems like no sooner does one committee finish their work, you
find yourself appointed to another one. Naturally, the better job you do,
the more the committee structure wants you for its next appointment. One
standing committee I’m on (commencement) brands its operatives as “lifetime
members.” That’s right, you can only get yourself out of the loop by leaving
the institution, doing a really lousy job or dying.
 How
many thousands of hours have I spent in committee meetings? Let’s see — at
peak it’s roughly four to eight hours per week, times 17 weeks in a semester
times two, plus occasional summer meetings, times 18 years. The sum comes
frighteningly close to two entire years of my career devoted to these
meetings. Fortunately, some are fun; unfortunately, some are downright brain
numbing.
The negative side of the question we know all too well: long weekly,
bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly and even semi-annual meetings. There we are, a
dozen or more of us slouching over a conference table, plodding through an
agenda, sometimes rehashing the same dead horse issue in three to four
consecutive meetings. How do you get the guy from the philosophy or physics
department to agree with you on everything? And, of course, committees lead
to homework assignments and even subcommittees, which lead to even more
meetings. The meetings begin to self-multiply exponentially.
Further problems occur in those weeks during mid-late semester when your
facility is working overtime to begin with and then you have those three
committee meetings taking you away from things you need to deal with in your
own backyard.
What’s the Alternative?
Of course, many high-profile agencies such as the U.S. Congress and state
governments work in much the same manner, as do associations such as IAAM
and Arts Presenters. I can’t exactly blame the history of the committee game
on the universities alone. However, the amount of focus given committees
when it comes to working out business for college campuses seems hideously
excessive at times.
Couldn’t a single, central authority get down and dirty to get the job done
expeditiously and with improved efficiency? What happened to top-down,
followthe- leader means of accomplishment? These are things I often ask
myself.
But enough on the negative; let’s examine the positive side of committee
systems. Committee decision-making tends to ensure that all points of view
will be taken into consideration. The inclusiveness of the committee means
of progression tends to be part of a consensus-building approach. Decisions
made by consensus usually take a lot longer to arrive upon — but they tend
to be those that do the most good and last the longest.
Get in the Game
So, you ask (after the complaining, negative picture I’ve painted for you),
what personal gains and benefits are in the committee game for you?
Committee involvement gets you into the mix with other departments and
agencies at the university. Not only that, it looks great listed on your
annual merit application (committee participation is often considered an
overload). You’re seen as a team player with more than just your own
operation on your agenda. Many times the connections you make or strengthen
through committee involvement help you tap into resources or provide
problem-solving help for your facility that you wouldn’t have access to
otherwise.
You can also learn through committee networking of news that will affect
your department in the near future. I’ve found that colleagues I’ve met
while serving on committees will hear of a new development regarding changes
on campus that could affect me, relay the item to me, and then call or send
me an e-mail to give me the heads-up.
 When
the game works, it really works. It does feel good to know that you’ve been
part of the solution, rather than the opposite. Another thing that feels
good is the recognition you receive when authority notes your participation.
Occasionally, you’re even thanked — sometimes in writing!
What’s the best part about the committee game? You’ll meet some of the best
people on campus (and some terrific friends) through the course of committee
work. Committees do add lots of work to your plate while devouring valuable
hours from your precious calendar, but they’re part and parcel to the
collaborative role we play in the life of our university.
The bottom line is that committee service helps you to become more than just
another employee — it allows you to become interwoven into the fabric of
your institution.
Lawrence Henley is director
of artistic programming and production at the Performing Arts Center at the
University of Nevada at Las Vegas. |
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