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NCAA News Archive - 2007
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Use change to gain understanding
The following is reprinted with permission of the author from the quarterly NCAA Division III Newsletter.
“Those who expect moments of change to be comfortable and free of conflict have not learned their history.”
Change. So much has been written about change. Who leads it, who welcomes it, as well as who resists it and why — all are topics of great scrutiny.
This past year, I’ve been part of an institution that has experienced significant change. We entered the 2006-07 academic year as a single-sex institution with the name of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, yet before the end of the fall semester we became a coeducational institution named Randolph College.
Through this transformation, I’ve had much opportunity to observe institutional change and the impact it has on the individuals who make up our college. Most sadly, I’ve seen an institution that previously had taken great pride in our honor code and our strong sense of community become divided and untrusting of its own members.
The first stage brought much campus chatter about “whose fault” it was that we had to change. Conspiracy theories became lunch-time talk, and “we vs. them” became a part of our common vernacular.
History informs us that strife causes us to categorize others based on our perceptions of who and what we believe they represent. Oddly, though, throughout the last several months as we’ve begun to implement the transformation of our college, it has become clear that we do not even know who “we” or “them” really are. As individuals, we had neatly put every member of our institution into the “we” or “them” category as if there were only two types of persons on our campus — those for change and those against.
Our response to change caused us to lose the very strength of the institution that we cherish so much — respecting and welcoming a diversity of opinion.
While observing human responses that we will not look back on with great pride, I’ve also observed persons who had not previously evidenced leadership step forward to negotiate compromise and create trust. I’ve also seen that through the process of discussing change, we’ve learned so much about who the collective “we” are and what we value as an institution.
It is with great irony to me that at this moment in time, our Division III membership is studying an issue that also could result in significant change.
Each of our Division III members has much invested in the current discussions around our membership structure, and there is no doubt that we will experience the pitfalls and opportunities that come when significant change is entertained. I hope as we work our way through our deliberations that we keep in mind there is no “we” and “them.”
We are a diverse collection of individuals who represent a diverse group of institutions. In the end, through our careful study of the issues, we will learn more about who we are and what we value as Division III members.
This learning process may result in significant change, or we may decide on minimal or no change. However, the opportunity of studying our membership structure is an opportunity that we should not resist. Quoting Kurt Lewin, “If you want to truly understand something, try to change it.”
I’m looking forward to the vigorous discussion and passionate voices as we study and make decisions about our collective future. With the goal in mind of listening to our diverse opinions and discovering our core values, the result matters less than the process.
Valerie Cushman is director of athletics at Randolph College, which changed its name from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College July 1. She is chair of the Division III Management Council.
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By Valerie Cushman
Randolph College
Randolph College
The following is reprinted with permission of the author from the quarterly NCAA Division III Newsletter.“Those who expect moments of change to be comfortable and free of conflict have not learned their history.”
— Joan Wallach Scott
Change. So much has been written about change. Who leads it, who welcomes it, as well as who resists it and why — all are topics of great scrutiny.
This past year, I’ve been part of an institution that has experienced significant change. We entered the 2006-07 academic year as a single-sex institution with the name of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, yet before the end of the fall semester we became a coeducational institution named Randolph College.
Through this transformation, I’ve had much opportunity to observe institutional change and the impact it has on the individuals who make up our college. Most sadly, I’ve seen an institution that previously had taken great pride in our honor code and our strong sense of community become divided and untrusting of its own members.
The first stage brought much campus chatter about “whose fault” it was that we had to change. Conspiracy theories became lunch-time talk, and “we vs. them” became a part of our common vernacular.
History informs us that strife causes us to categorize others based on our perceptions of who and what we believe they represent. Oddly, though, throughout the last several months as we’ve begun to implement the transformation of our college, it has become clear that we do not even know who “we” or “them” really are. As individuals, we had neatly put every member of our institution into the “we” or “them” category as if there were only two types of persons on our campus — those for change and those against.
Our response to change caused us to lose the very strength of the institution that we cherish so much — respecting and welcoming a diversity of opinion.
While observing human responses that we will not look back on with great pride, I’ve also observed persons who had not previously evidenced leadership step forward to negotiate compromise and create trust. I’ve also seen that through the process of discussing change, we’ve learned so much about who the collective “we” are and what we value as an institution.
It is with great irony to me that at this moment in time, our Division III membership is studying an issue that also could result in significant change.
Each of our Division III members has much invested in the current discussions around our membership structure, and there is no doubt that we will experience the pitfalls and opportunities that come when significant change is entertained. I hope as we work our way through our deliberations that we keep in mind there is no “we” and “them.”
We are a diverse collection of individuals who represent a diverse group of institutions. In the end, through our careful study of the issues, we will learn more about who we are and what we value as Division III members.
This learning process may result in significant change, or we may decide on minimal or no change. However, the opportunity of studying our membership structure is an opportunity that we should not resist. Quoting Kurt Lewin, “If you want to truly understand something, try to change it.”
I’m looking forward to the vigorous discussion and passionate voices as we study and make decisions about our collective future. With the goal in mind of listening to our diverse opinions and discovering our core values, the result matters less than the process.
Valerie Cushman is director of athletics at Randolph College, which changed its name from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College July 1. She is chair of the Division III Management Council.
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