Transforming Students: Fulfilling the Promise of Higher Education

6. From Individuals to Institutions

chapter six From Individuals to Institutions Any university wishing to thrive must continue to evolve. But make no mistake—there is a difference between relentlessly creating new initiatives and fostering ongoing transformation. Charlton Ogburn (1957) captured the practice of many institutions when he wrote about his experiences in the Burma Campaign in World War II: “Perhaps because we are so good at organizing, we tend . . . to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.” Sustaining transformation does not mean doing the same thing over and over, but neither does it refer to change for the sake of change. Because newness creates excitement and often media coverage, it is easy for institutions to become almost addicted to change—a very different experience from being committed to transformation. Transformation is often preceded by significant events but is usually only evident in retrospect. In its midst, it may look like chaos and uncertainty , as changes are taking place in small increments, one decision at a time. We must be patient because there will be moments—many of them—in which what is happening looks messy or even misguided rather than inspired or promising. Those involved need to know that as long as they are guided by a core sense of self and mission and are open to what emerges, the successful journey through disruptive events and seemingly chaotic times eventually shows itself to be a critical opportunity for transformation. Like any university experiencing growth, Elon is grappling to manage the tension between its changes and its core identity. It is our hope that this struggle will not be resolved soon. Transformative learning is an openended process; one never “arrives.” This ongoing question—how does an From Individuals to Institutions 99 organization or an individual grow, yet maintain an authentic sense of identity?—is the most essential part of the process. Both problems and their solutions need to be identified from the ground up; that is, they need to emerge from observations and reports of what is and isn’t working in the context of your institution, rather than being imposed from above or imported from external sources. Yet at the same time, it can be very helpful to learn what is working for, or has failed at, other similar institutions. Of course, solutions on one campus rarely can be transferred completely into a new context, but models and ideas can present visions of the possible, allowing creative faculty, staff, and students to devise new or refine existing campus programs to meet emerging needs. The university is what it is because of past actions and practices, and, at the same time, our current actions and practices are creating our future identities. The identity we create is at once stable and dynamic. In order to “stay the same,” we must constantly be responding to internal and external challenges while supporting functions essential to the institution’s integrity. Over time and with practice, the continued integration of dissonance, honest examination, and recalibrating actions will strengthen the university ’s core, representing institutional depth and soul. When a university’s energy is poured into its central purpose rather than spun out on popular trends, the benefits and returns are compounded. In investing in its true mission, the institution challenges individual members of its community to recognize and act upon their own purposes and values, transforming the university into a body that is greater than the sum of its parts. When presented with this “practice what you preach” proposition, some people counter that not everyone needs to be transformed, especially when they are long past their own formative college years. But for both organisms and organizations, there is no such thing as staying completely still; we are always in the process of becoming. The more intentional we are about the processes, the more rewarding the outcomes are likely to be. Stories of Transformation The stories of our institutions are a valuable source of insight. Just as the students’ stories in this book capture transformative learning in a way that theoretical writing alone cannot, the stories we tell ourselves and 100 Transforming Students others about our university reveal truths that might otherwise be inaccessible. We tell our stories in many different ways. Most obvious are the messages we send through formal or public...