Nowhere, Fast

Marking my first anniversary at this job, I've resolved to begin again.

In my former life, I was paid to say what I thought about things, and I rather miss it. When I abandoned my hopeless slog up the Ivory Tower in favor of the Moving Sidewalk to Nowhere that is higher ed administration, I should've seen this coming. Before, there was the constant possibility of someone mistaking me for an authority, and asking me to expound! with persuasive reasoning! and sources! Now, I relish the smallest opportunity to offer an opinion. The most exciting thing I'll be asked all week is whether Slide A is more readable than Slide B.

So. How to make my brain useful again? How to feel like I am contributing the slightest thing to the world?

Introducing: Dispatches from an Ivy League Business School

I've learned a lot in the past year. Not much I could list on an academic CV, perhaps. And obviously quite a bit can't be shared; I work with proprietary and confidential info. But I hope some of what I've observed over the last twelve months--time spent with the world's foremost experts in finance, ethics, marketing, and education--can translate here.

Those experts' ideas are already out there; Ivy League faculty have many platforms for sharing their insights, and I wouldn't be doing much by simply repeating them here. (My bosses would also be annoyed.) The value-added of my approach: I interact with diverse constituents within and without the institution, in ways those experts cannot. I am an Ordinary Person, which they ceased to be long ago, though I speak their language.

This blog won't have a particular agenda beyond exploring the business of academia from my personal vantage point. More than just deciphering what I've gleaned for a nonspecialist audience, I'll offer my own perspective on what these lessons might mean. What is it like to work directly under one-percenters? For the top female academic in her field? With the most driven students on the planet? And most importantly, how can I learn and grow from considering such questions?