ARCHIVE - August, 2001

An Invitation to Communicate
Tom Mayer, Department of Sociology

This electronic journal is an experiment. Its aim is to increase communication between faculty members at the University of Colorado. From thirty two years of observation, I conclude that communication among CU faculty is considerably less than it could and should be. I hope that increased communication will deepen our collective sense of belonging and community. Of course these hopes may be ill founded. This journal, which we have tentatively named Shared Governance: Pleas and Provocations, may have no effect upon communication among CU faculty. And even if it does increase communication, this need not generate any greater sense of community among our faculty. Yet I think the experiment is worth a try. After all, nothing comes from nothing.

Why, one might ask, should we want more community among CU faculty? Is it not sufficient to function as an array of competent and productive individuals? What does community add to individual research and teaching performance? Most faculty members, I believe, would like the University of Colorado better if there were greater communication and a more robust sense of community. CU would be a lot more exciting if one's peers constituted an enthusiastic sounding board for ideas of all sorts. Such interaction would surely improve both teaching and research, because prompt and thoughtful feedback enhances both of these endeavors. Even in this age of technical specialization, a sense of collegial responsibility plus a determined effort can generate relevant comments on any and all subjects considered at this university. Sustained intellectual interaction is almost certain to generate unexpected and valuable insights.

Then there is the question of power. Faculty at the University of Colorado had very little collective power when I arrived here 32 years ago, and – with due apologies to faculty governance – we have even less power today. Lack of communication is associated with lack of power. Without regular communication a group cannot develop a collective identity. Most professors, I would bet, do not believe the CU faculty exists as a corporate entity: it is merely an aggregate of contentious individuals. There is a well known political theorem stating that power implies existence and, conversely, non-existence implies non-power. While I am not so credulous (or optimistic) to think that an electronic journal will build faculty power, I do suspect that the road to power leads through communication.

This electronic journal is sponsored by the Boulder Faculty Assembly, but the editorial collective (i.e. the BFA Communications Committee) will practice complete journalistic freedom. We welcome any and all communications likely to be of general interest to faculty members at the University of Colorado. We ask that communications be brief (500 words or less), clearly written, and non-slanderous even when passionate. In the near future it should be possible to respond immediately and electronically to opinion pieces appearing in Shared Governance: Pleas and Provocations. For the moment, however, appropriate responses will appear in subsequent issues. The frequency of this journal will be determined mainly by the volume of contributions: more contributions mean more issues. Contributions may be sent by e-mail to Thomas.Mayer@Colorado.edu, or in hard copy to Tom Mayer, Campus Box 327. Please help our journal exist.

IN THIS ISSUE:

The opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors, and do not represent those of the Boulder Faculty Assembly, CU faculty at large, or the University of Colorado.

Responses to these articles are welcome. We are developing our capacity to collect responses on-line. In the meantime, please send your comments via e-mail to Thomas.Mayer@Colorado.edu.

Click here for the names and contact information of the membership of the BFA Communications Committee.