Collegiality, the Game

Collegiality, the Game

"No wonder academic politics is so vicious, the stakes are so small."

Collegiality, the Current Literature

"Collegiality," shot back a friend when, desperately seeking a definition, I asked him for the meaning of this term we take for granted, "is like pornography. I know it when I see it." So let us begin, in proper academic fashion, with a literature review to provide a suitable context for the game that is the focus of this paper. Although both terms are robust in the archives of both Google Scholar (8550 hits for collegiality vs. 23,300 hits for pornography) and Google (333,000 collegiality vs. 6,260,000 pornography on June 13, 2005), to provide a succinct and generally applicable definition of either presents problems. While it may be hard to talk about pornography without sounding salacious, it's hard to talk about collegiality without sounding sanctimonious, smug, self-serving, or servile, however sincere one may be.

Straight men. Nevertheless, serious and straightforward studies of and commentaries on collegiality abound. A sampling of recent titles includes the following. In "Do You Have to Be a Nice Person to Win Tenure?" Piper Fogg, defining the term, says maybe yes, maybe no. Collegiality, her sources make clear, "should not be confused with congeniality. 'Congenial' means agreeable, sociable, or companionable; 'collegial' refers to productive relationships with colleagues" (A9). These range on a continuum from highly involved professional collaboration, to simply neutral, to downright disruptive or threatening—to others' work or their persons. Fogg quotes Martin Snyder, who drafted the AAUP's 1999 statement "opposing the use of collegiality as a fourth criterion in tenure": "'[A]re we dealing with someone who is truly disruptive, or are we dealing with someone who is outspoken? A genius may be hard to work with. Are you going to get rid of him?'" (A5). Mary Ann Connell and Frederick Savage's "Does Collegiality Count?" (2001) concludes that though faculty are divided on the issue, the courts are unanimous: "They won't protect truculent professors" (1).

Other works proffer advice on professional survival, which invariably includes collegiality, ranging from a dollop to a heavy dose. In "Mentors and Muses" (2002), Angelique, Kyle and Taylor present "New Strategies for Academic Success"—in particular, how to set up a New Scholars Network at one's school. Philip Glotzbach's "Conditions of Collaboration: A Dean's List of Dos and Don'ts" (2001) includes "Focus on the real work," "Do the work," "Cultivate a flexible, Socratic spirit,""Trust but verify," and don't "bash" (18-19). In "Getting Tenure" (1996) Marilyn Gist addresses issues of research impact, "Teaching Effectiveness," and "Organizational Citizenship"—including "participation on committees, attendance at meetings, presence in one's office," supervising students, and participation in national professional organizations (187-89). In "Lessons Learned Along the Way: Twelve Suggestions for Optimizing Career Success," the opening chapter in Frost and Taylor's wide-ranging book on career success, Rhythms of Academic Life (1996), Arthur Bedian extrapolates on how to succeed in a business school career by really trying. In addition to doing top flight research, he emphasizes collegiality: "Work with good people," "playing to each other's strengths." He quotes Nobel laureate Herbert Simon:

To make interesting scientific discoveries, you should acquire as many good friends as possible, who are as energetic, intelligent, and knowledgeable as they can be. Form partnerships with them whenever you can. Then sit back and relax. You will find that all the programs you need are stored in your friends, and will execute productively and creatively as long as you don't interfere too much.

(qtd. in Bedian 5).

In addition Bedian advises, Do your fair share of service work at home to avoid resentment while becoming a player on the national and international scene, in both research and in the professional associations. For it is in big-time collegiality that the major rewards and recognition lie (5-7). Recommendations such as these fulfill the desires for success ingrained...