{"id":3997,"date":"2014-07-16T09:40:09","date_gmt":"2014-07-16T08:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/change-academy\/?p=3997"},"modified":"2014-07-24T17:08:09","modified_gmt":"2014-07-24T16:08:09","slug":"unlike-you-i-never-stop-thinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/change-academy\/2014\/07\/16\/unlike-you-i-never-stop-thinking\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Unlike you, I never stop thinking…’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Image<\/a>
\u201cAssumptions are the termites of relationships.\u201d
Henry Winkler, actor and author<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A\u00a0while ago, my colleagues and I gave a presentation\u00a0 about how university administrators are perceived.\u00a0 The presentation resulted from our concerns about the negative perception of the role of the university administrators, particularly as inferred by members of academic staff.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

One concern is that, by raising the issue, we could potentially create wider divisions with academic colleagues.\u00a0 That is far from our intention.\u00a0 On the contrary, we are all part of a greater team with many different facets.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

Rather than just moan about how we are perceived, we want to actively engage in repositioning the value of our work in the eyes of all staff and students.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the context of the discussion of \u2018inclusive culture\u2019, and specifically professional academics and professional administrators, how are we perceived?\u00a0 If the person reading these lines is an academic they would think of their<\/b> own perception.\u00a0 Conversely, if an administrator reads these lines they would think of their<\/b> own perception.\u00a0 From our point of view as administrators, there is an equality between academics and administrative staff regarding professionalism.\u00a0 Indeed, as my colleague, Catherine Butler, pointed out in her recent blog<\/a>: \u00a0\u2018As professional university administrators, we provide high quality professional services, we have developed an appreciation of academic culture, are sensitive to the needs of a variety of diverse clients, accept responsibility for our actions and share expertise and good practice.\u00a0 As such, the crucial role we play is integral to the strategic success of the University of Kent.<\/em>\u2019\u00a0
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

It appears, however, this inclusive perception is not widespread.\u00a0 Let me give you a couple of examples from my experience of working in higher education administration over the last fifteen years.\u00a0 A senior academic member of staff once told me:\u00a0 \u2018unlike you, I never stop thinking\u2019.\u00a0 I found this offensive on a number of levels.\u00a0\u00a0 Needless to say, that person was wrong.\u00a0 I provide a professional service and I am often preoccupied with work long after my working day, just like many of my colleagues. \u00a0Was this a singular incident or could this be indicative of a widely held perception?\u00a0 Alas, a period of time later, I further overheard another academic member of staff referring to the recent promotion of an administrator, saying:\u00a0 \u2018Oh, but she will always be just a glorified secretary\u2019.<\/p>\n

Aside from my personal interest, even \u2018one-off\u2019 examples like these hint at a more general problem with colleagues\u2019 perceptions of administrators.<\/a>\u00a0 Is administrative work seen as less important? Is it seen as less professional? Does the contribution of the administrator to academic work remain unseen and unheard? If so, why \u2013 what does that say about how that work is valued \u2013 and should it remain overlooked?\u00a0 A negative perception is problematic and needs fixing.<\/p>\n

One output that has arisen as a result of the University\u2019s commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity <\/i>is the \u2018Valuing Everyone\u2019 programme, in which all staff, including academics, participate.\u00a0 \u2018The Dignity at Work Policy\u2019 further supports this ethos.\u00a0 I believe this is an important idea and I would like to see it promoted further.\u00a0 It seems that the University of Kent agrees (http:\/\/www.kent.ac.uk\/hr-equalityanddiversity\/pol-pro-guides\/dignity.html<\/a>).<\/p>\n

In a nutshell, what Administrators want is to be treated as professionals and \u2013 to paraphrase Aretha Franklin \u2013 shown a little \u201cR-E-S-P-E-C-T\u201d.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A\u00a0while ago, my colleagues and I gave a presentation\u00a0 about how university administrators are perceived.\u00a0 The presentation resulted from our concerns about the negative perception of the role of the university administrators, particularly as inferred by members of academic staff.\u00a0 One concern is that, by raising the issue, we could potentially create wider divisions with … Continue reading ‘Unlike you, I never stop thinking…’<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39453,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[118935,119323,118660],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/change-academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3997"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/change-academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/change-academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/change-academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39453"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/change-academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3997"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/change-academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4008,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/change-academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3997\/revisions\/4008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/change-academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/change-academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/change-academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}