I’ve only used the photo of our library cat up there as clickbait…
Can you believe that last week marked three months since I started at Maynooth. I certainly can’t. Weirdly, it seems like I’ve been here for a lot longer. Which is exactly what one of the team said to me: “God. Only three months. It seems like waaaaay longer.” I know I’m still getting used to the Irish tone, but…
We’ve squeezed a lot into the three months, which is where I’m assuming that particular colleague was coming from. Interestingly much of this time has been focused on refining the boundaries of the role. There’s no real history of these sorts of exec roles in Ireland and so it’s new for everyone. When I started, my new world included Student Services, Student Skills and Success (which includes careers, placements, experiential learning), Centre for Teaching and Learning and Critical Skills (which is a series of modules, based on the American model, to support students in their transition to HE – plus they’re also now awarding-winning having picked up the 2024 Arqus Teaching Excellence Award). So four amazing units filled with wonderful people. But then a month or so ago we all agreed that our Sports Offer should also sit here. That’s because it’s a key aspect of the wider student experience, and also has a significant contribution to make to teaching and learning – for example through placements and internships, clinics, and student mobility. I’ve discussed on here many times the importance I place on sport in our wider student-focused work, so I’m delighted. We’re already plotting our path to LA2028. I mean, how hard can it be to develop Olympic athletes?
It’s been a really interesting three months. I do like to put myself into areas of work that are new to me. I like the challenge and I don’t like to feel too comfortable for too long. This probably points to some deeper issues that we best just skim over. So the fact that I now get to work with such lovely new people and think about new challenges is wonderful. This is a much more strategic role than being Dean. There every day is can be problem-solving and fire-fighting, which is great, but its nice to be able to focus on a wider-scale and longer-term project. Although it is also taking some getting used to. I was actually asked the other day what the key difference is when you move up to the exec team, and one of them is being a step removed from the action and having to resist the urge to just get stuck in.
And of course at the same time that I am settling in to a new system and a new way of working, everyone here has to get used to me too. It goes without saying that I’m an absolute delight, but I do recognise how unsettling it can be to have a new boss parachute in. What I’ve also had to do is explain my academic work to everyone. I’m so used to everyone knowing what I do, that it’s been a bit of a shock, really. The still below from Buffy pretty much sums up how it’s gone…
Eventually they’ll just accept it…
And the new role has also given me some exciting new opportunities too. For example, I’ve been to chat to embassies; I’m working much more with the Student’s Union and in fact in November I will be heading to Boston to give a talk to an international conference of Student Unions (“Can you talk about how your career has developed and changed over the years?” “Of course. Basically you want my Eras tour…” “No, that’s not what we-” “Do I get three hours too” “What? No…”); next month I’m talking to other university leaders about our approach to addressing AI in our teaching, learning and assessment. Again, its great to be able to talk about new things and highlight the great work going on here while feeling some of that nervous energy that spurs you on.
I also have a new commute, and so I’ve been reading a lot more too. I’m actually a very slow reader, and tend not to read for pleasure because it takes me so long and so much effort. But the commuting has got me getting stuck in more than ever before. Lets see, there’s been Winter’s Gifts (supernatural deaths), Ted Chiang’s Stories of your Life and Others (science fiction deaths), Godkiller by Hannah Kaner (religious deaths), The Wager (seafaring deaths) and currently The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo (historical Japanese deaths). Now that I’ve written it out, I can see a disturbing trend. Okay, so I’ve also read some comics too – mainly the Witcher (grumpy man solving murders) and Batman (grumpy man solving murders). Aaaand, we’re back to the Buffy screengrab above aren’t we…
Lets end with something more positive and less corpse-y. It turns out, I’m also growing as a person. Not only am I sitting next to a copy of Usborne Irish for Beginners, but as many know, I famously do not like cats. Because they’re terrible. I have a whole twenty minute lecture on it. But we have a campus cat here (he has his own social media account, documentary and is a genuine tourist attraction) and I’d say we’ve gone from mutual indifference to mutual tolerance over the three months. See, growth!
