As students we have a limited perspective of Pepperdine. We are on a train passing through this institution and so we understand that we are nearsighted our grasp on deeper University issues fleeting.
As future alumni though our perspective matters because we are the future donors whose potential contributions will help our alma mater thrive.
From this perspective we offer some thoughts on the turbulent rift between some faculty and upper administration that culminated in the recent failed vote of no confidence in Provost Tippens.
Although the faculty ended up affirming their confidence in the provost 113 to 30 — along with 22 faculty members abstaining and 51 not responding — that the vote even happened at all is a powerful sign that pockets of deep-seated mistrust still exist despite the commendable efforts to mend relationships and move forward.
Despite our limited perspective we can’t help but formulate our own opinion of the tenure denial the conflict the mistrust the vote itself and all the implications therein.
Our opinion determines our present and future participation in Pepperdine; our likelihood to give back in future years is directly tied to our love for the university.
Lasting loyalty to this institution comes from our personal experiences with those that make an impression on us. Usually those interactions are with our professors. If this happens as it’s supposed to we’d be more likely to see Pepperdine as an institution we are connected to and one worthy of patronage.
We don’t like it when our favorite professors get stepped on or think they have been. We are in no position to judge whether their sentiments are justified or baseless but our perception of the administration is largely shaped by our closest faculty’s relationship with the administration. They are our primary window into the inner workings of the university.
There are some faculty members at this school who feel repressed by the administration. There is fear. There is anger. There is hurt.
There’s no way we are going to understand this mistrust whose fault it may be or how to fix it. But we do know that it is unhealthy and we doubt that those who feel the most constrained are going to be convinced by promises of reconciliation.
There are more faculty members at this school who have a healthy working relationship with the administration. There is trust. There is contentment. There is amity.
We suspect those in this camp are going to be the ones most eager to link arms and go forward in very much the same collaborative manner as they have for years.
Provost Tippens wrote to the Graphic “The vote encourages me to redouble my efforts to listen well to work hard on behalf of the faculty and students and to serve with all my heart in a cause that is bigger than any one of us.”
This is a commendable sentiment. We hope he is met with encouragement in striving toward this even from his harshest critics. We also believe that his commitment to listen well should extend to even those who voted against him.
This means seeking out criticism asking for it and listening.
Political preoccupations at the university level can only serve to distract from a professor’s No.1 priority: instilling a love for learning in students. After all if you instill that love for learning the education takes care of itself.
We aren’t paying for knowledge at a university; knowledge is a free commodity these days. We misunderstand our education when we think it’s defined by doing well on tests and earning a GPA. There is something bigger that takes place. What the university provides that no other website or book or library can provide is an environment where those who love to learn can come and uncover reality together.
If a professor’s role is to form relationships with students they can’t be distracted by the emotional turmoil of university politics. It’s a tough line to walk because faculty should also feel free to speak up when they differ with the administration. This vote was evidence that this happens here at Pepperdine.
Faculty members with history at other universities have said that politics at Pepperdine are demonstrably more civil than those at other schools. This is commendable though we should never settle for relative best.
Missing pieces in the puzzle make it impossible for us to fully characterize this political turmoil and that’s okay. But it’s in the administration’s best interest to have us like what goes on at our university. We are the ones expected to give back.