Dear Faculty Relations 鈥撎�I find my department鈥檚 faculty meetings irksome.听The chair never calls on those of us who are pre-tenured, and as a result, only the senior members of the department shape important policy decisions.听My other junior colleagues say, 鈥淲hy talk?听Someone will hold it against you when you come up for tenure.鈥� Are they right?听I am frustrated at being seen but not heard.听鈥� Seen but not Heard
Dear Seen but not Heard 鈥撎�I hear you.听Your frustration and the anxiety of your pre-tenure colleagues are understandable.听That being said, I don鈥檛 think you ought to sit tight and remain silent for seven years before sharing your thoughts about how your department functions.
You can contribute effectively to your department鈥檚 conversations without running the risk of antagonizing your senior colleagues by seeking advice, finding allies, and reaching out directly to your department chair.听Because every departmental policy discussion has a back-story, try to find out what that back-story is.听Ask a trusted senior colleague for insight:听who has favored (or opposed) this policy in the past, and why?听If asking a colleague these questions puts you in an uncomfortable position, it鈥檚 always possible to seek outside advice.听A consultation with the Office of Faculty Relations will help you navigate issues like this.听In the longer term, you could sign up for the ACUMen mentoring program to work with a senior mentor from outside your department.听Their advice will help you think through challenging departmental dynamics.听
You should also consider the benefits of chatting with your department chair to share your ideas about departmental policy.听Stop by her office and say, 鈥淚鈥檓 excited that we will be discussing grad student recruitment at our next meeting.听I think this is a great opportunity for us to expand and re-think how we recruit students to our programs. I have been reading about this and I would love to participate in a real conversation of how we can accomplish this.鈥� She will be impressed by the care with which you have thought through this issue and will be much more likely to call on you at the meeting.
Have a question on how to handle a difficult situation? !听 Or you can.
Written by Martha Hanna, PhD, Director of the Leadership Education and Advancement Program (LEAP), Office of Faculty Affairs;听Professor of History, University of Colorado Boulder, September 2021