Ph.D. in Patience Required

Parents Forum
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<p>An interesting LA Times piece about the challenges of choosing a new college president:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-na-collegeprez31aug31,1,287749.story?ctrack=1&cset=true%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-na-collegeprez31aug31,1,287749.story?ctrack=1&cset=true&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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[quote]
At a "meet the candidate" forum, the slender, gray-haired classicist said, he was taken aback by how brash some students were. The first student who interrogated him, Hexter said, wanted his vision for Hampshire, admonishing him not to "use any of the usual cliches, like 'excellence,' or 'distinctiveness.' "</p>

<p>"I felt myself almost stagger backwards, because it was so, so disrespectful," Hexter said. "It was so direct. There was no deference at all. But I was also refreshed and excited that a student would feel comfortable asking a question like that."

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<p>I'm trying to figure out why the candidate would be taken aback by that question? Seems like a perfectly reasonable question to ask of a potential Presidential hire. I don't see the disrespect at all.</p>

<p>My daughter's school just hired a new Dean. They held a "fireside chat" open house with each candidate, with free pizza to entice students to just stop by for a few minutes and talk with each candidate informally. I really enjoyed hearing my daughter's impressions of meeting each candidate and the issues the students raised. The students were pretty aggressive in passing along their comments with a lot of e-mail exchanges between students and the search committee. Interesting process.</p>

<p>I'm sure that the students would have been described as "brash" in their questioning, but that's a great thing. Anyone looking to be a dean of the college should have a sense of the students and their expectations. Probably the best new-hire orientation a dean could have.</p>

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<p>I'm sure that this is the part the candidate found disrespectful, especially if the tone of voice was snippy--the question itself is a perfectly valid one.</p>

<p>I often tell my kids, What you have to say may be perfectly valid, but it is how you say it that can rub people the wrong way.</p>