What if …

You Boldly Made Change on Your Own Time?

There are traditions of practice that have been around for so long that they appear to have become almost a shared language of sorts. If you were to speak to a colleague in the profession and share that you were planning commencement, housing selection, RA training, orientation, course registration, etc. they would understand what it all means. Your campus culture, institution type and size of enrollment will impact what the actual intricacies of the planning and what the final implementation looks and feels like, but just like if you said to someone that you were planning a surprise 40th birthday party for a friend or family member, they would understand what you were doing. 

While we may understand and appreciate the mechanics of these traditions of practice, and the ‘why’ or the theory that drives them, we may be missing the big opportunities to make necessary change. When we are so ingrained in these traditions of practice, do we consider if the work has actually become either ineffectual and/or complicit in maintaining inequities? Ask yourself, what would it take in your organization to initiate a big, innovative change is not only reimagining a practice but rebuilding it?