My term as dean is done!
In the 1950s, social scientists observed that as people aged they seemed to be less socially engaged. Psychologists used that observation to develop disengagement theory in gerontology, the notion that aging brings about an inevitable retreat from social interaction in preparation for death. When I first started studying gerontology in the late 1980s there was considerable criticism of this theory. Rather than disengagement being voluntary or inevitable, it was the result of social structures that devalued age and limited opportunities. People didn't want to disengage, they were forced to.
Today is my last day as dean. (Technically it is Sunday and I turned in my keys yesterday, so I'm not in the office today.) It occurred to me that over the last few weeks, months really, I had been slowly disengaging from that role. I gleefully removed scheduled meetings from my calendar, advised people to send their emails elsewhere, and cleaned up my office and files. People have stopped by to thank me or, more often, to ask for one last favor. There were some tears yesterday as I said goodbye to my budget manager with whom I've worked the whole 8 years. We have shared many crises and triumphs. But, overall, the last day was not as traumatic as I might have imagined. In many ways, I stopped seeing myself as the dean a long time ago.
Maybe disengagement is not so bad after all.
1 comment:
If a few words here and there were changed, I could have written that second paragraph myself 5 years ago. Best wishes on whatever "next" brings you. Give yourself grace to figure that out.
H
Post a Comment