Executive Commentary
From Crisis a New System?
This is written on Monday, January 18, 2010—Martin
Luther King Jr. holiday. I’ve just been told that we sold extra
advertising, so now there is a page for my “Commentary.” The
one I wrote previously is now in the NACAS Quarterly, so I have one day
to think anew.
The MLK holiday reminds me of the major heroes who sacrificed their
safety, position, often friends and family to make a better America. No,
not 1776—more like 1956 and 1966 as freedom marchers and others
fought and clawed for a reality of fair racial and gender treatment.
Indeed they created a new reality by forcing the old bigoted
civilization to look in a mirror and admit it was wrong.
Yesterday, I worked to help fundraising efforts for the American Red
Cross efforts in Haiti. I know colleagues who are preparing to respond
there, and I am so proud of our friends at the University of Miami who
have sent about 100 of their top medical staff to run early field
hospitals amid the chaos. I’m aware of groups from Stanford and
other of our institutions who are stepping up to offer similar
efforts.
I have some understanding of reactions to disaster. My wife and I have
volunteered in various disasters for the American Red Cross. We both
worked during the Florida hurricanes in 2004, and Sue visited
International Red Cross tsunami efforts in Indonesia. Never before had
we seen the infrastructures of police, firefighters, healthcare, as well
as the availability of easy access to food, water, communication and
shelter smashed—with the resulting need to create new systems.
In these instances, we rebuilt better racial harmony (better, not
perfect), survived the hurricanes and built better disaster systems, are
still rebuilding those areas wracked by the tsunami, and we will rebuild
Haiti. Why? Because with crisis comes the opportunity to create new and
better systems.
I am still a pessimist for higher education. From Friday, January
15:
“Across the nation, state tax collections in the first three quarters of 2009 posted their steepest decline in at least 46 years, according to a report this month from the public policy research arm of the State University of New York.” [Colin Barr, senior writer Fortune magazine]
“It’s surprising that political leaders don’t seem
to be taking seriously the magnitude of the problems,” said
Reschovsky. [Economist Andrew Reschovsky, a professor at the University
of Wisconsin in Madison]
“You would hope it wouldn’t come to this, but it might take schools closing and programs being eliminated to create a sense of urgency.”
These changes, added to anecdotal information that we at NACAS get from
around higher education, mean that crisis, often interpreted by me as
the declaration of financial exigency and tenured faculty cuts and even
campus closings, could change the higher education landscape.
What is a higher education association, especially one of auxiliary
service professionals, to do? One suggestion, based upon my experience
with disasters, is to look at systems beyond your single campus.
We’ve prepared national, state and even association systems. The
problem is that so much of what we do is community-related. Last
weekend, during “off-time,” I visited the research triangle
that includes Duke, North Carolina State, North Carolina, Durham and
Wake Community Colleges, among many higher education institutions. They
are very different, yet very similar too. In normal circumstances, each
would have its own auxiliary service system.
But these are NOT normal times, and we are very close to crisis
circumstances. I wonder what we, as an association, could do to
encourage higher education institutions to explore more community-based
cooperative systems. Could we expand self-operations to achieve greater
economies through greater cooperation? Could we work with our
outsourcing partners to do the same? Might we even have hybrid systems
that would bring unique solutions to our joint challenges? Is it
possible to both compete and cooperate in our communities at the same
time?
There are many reasons to respond to each question with “Of course
not. We haven’t ever done it that way, and we’ve always been
successful.” But these are extraordinary times, and I can relate
that new and possibly more effective and efficient systems often do
arise out of crisis situations.
If it could be done, the advocates would have to be you! We at NACAS may
be able to help—but you are the stakeholders. It’s your
association and your decision. What is a higher education association,
especially one of auxiliary service professionals, to do?
Please agree or disagree to bob@nacas.org.

