A Matter of Image
The Dean's Musings
This article was originally published in the August 1999 issue of CLASnotes.
UF seems to be very image conscious lately, and it's not such a bad idea. True, some faculty are uneasy about it, and that's also not necessarily a bad idea. The litmus test will be how the image development plays out.
We shouldn't undervalue the attention to image now under way in the upper administration. How we are perceived affects academics in many ways, including the ability to attract the best faculty and the best students. But image also enters into other critical areas such as competition for individual grants, institutional awards, and academic prizes. Anyone who has ever served on national panels knows that there can be a halo-effect associated with certain universities, sometimes making a difference in highly competitive situations. Yes, quality comes first, but name-brand recognition doesn't hurt.
So why should some people be made uncomfortable by image taking on Vice Presidential proportions? It probably sounds too much like Madison Avenue, where often we see corporations attempt to create a virtual image that has minimal coincidence with reality. By contrast, the UF initiative seeks to mold a clear-eyed image of this rapidly changing university, one that reminds people of how far we have come, something even those in the UF family may not all fully appreciate.
The UF of a decade ago was a good place, but a striking contrast to where it has since arrived, probably more so to those outside the university than to those faculty and administrators who worked to make it happen. It is so easy to see the flaws in our own place; we know it so well. And there is the tendency to overrate the imagined perfection we view at a distance. For example, when I arrived at UF, I found some people telling me about programs elsewhere—programs that I knew pretty well—and the message was how much better they were than UF. Often, it just wasn't so. Some of it may be an undercurrent of Groucho Marx: I don't care to belong to any club that will have me as a member. Most of it is simply a lack of appreciation for how good the UF programs have become.
Our true image has to be based on the quality of the faculty, students, and programs that comprise this institution. The quality of UF is in constant flux because we are changing rapidly. The most important element in any quality assessment is the faculty. Consider this: approximately half of the current CLAS faculty here were not here in 1988. Yes, many of the good faculty from that time are still here, but normal turnover and new hires have also injected new ideas, new programs, and new instruction areas into CLAS. And the rebuilding continues—about 35 new faculty will join us this fall, and we anticipate another 40-45 next year. The stimulating effect of these welcome additions is incalculable. It also means that our image needs regular updating to reflect the associated invigoration.
We are not yet Michigan or Illinois, but we are gaining on them. And they are looking over their shoulders at this brash upstart coming up on the rail. I have the opportunity annually to meet in a very informal setting with my fellow Arts & Sciences deans from the AAU public universities. There we candidly discuss common problems and opportunities. It is an interesting calibration point for all of us to share data, complaints, and ideas. Sure, I envy some of their programs, but they also are openly envious of UF's advances and, more to the point, the outstanding prospects that we have for the next decade. Florida represents the future. We are a work in progress that much of the country will be watching with great interest.
Image building is a fragile undertaking. If that image reflects faithfully what is taking place at UF—and that is the stated intention—we will do nothing but gain from the process. Our job in the colleges is to see that image has a hard time keeping up with reality.
Credits
Writer
Will Harrison, Dean
