Monday, June 26, 2006

Denise Denton

I knew nothing of Denise Denton, but her suicide as Chancellor of the University of California, Santa Cruz is a sad, cautionary tale for those of us living (or seeking) the high-stress world of the academy.
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4 comments:

DrOtter said...

Makes you think really. If the pressure is this great (hold hands approx. 1 foot appart) at postdoc/seeking tenure track position level, how much is it going to be higher up (gestures wildly with hands)? I always thought that the pressure would decrease a little with each hurdle I got over. I guess it doesn't. That makes me think.

June 26, 2006 at 10:32:00 AM PDT
Vinny said...

This is a tragic story that casts a light upon the solitude of administrative positions.

Leaders have no co-workers. Unless they create a network of leaders outside of their organization, they are at grave risk for mental anguish or worse.

It's not the same, but having been a school leader, I have come to understand that I have few friends, and none of them ar within my organization. Everyone here has an agenda, and they will hold any information you share, even in the reatest of confidence, and hold it. At some time in the future, it becomes capital.

I feel for her family and friends. I'm sure they had no idea of the stress level she lived under. That's the other problem. We get paid to be strong, and to handle the most stressful of circumstances with grace. If I let you know, I haven't done my job.

June 26, 2006 at 10:38:00 AM PDT
ArticulateDad said...

Yeah. It certainly makes one think about priorities, and prioritization. Perhaps the trick is simply not getting caught in a rut (even if that rut appears to be the fasttrack.

(to paraphrase Gertrude Stein)

A rut
is a rut
is a rut

June 26, 2006 at 10:39:00 AM PDT
jo(e) said...

Oh, wow.

What a tragic story.

June 26, 2006 at 11:21:00 AM PDT

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