Jumping Out of a Plane - Overseeing University Curriculum

By Professor Andrew Schaffner

This year was about trying new things for me. Getting right to the title of this article: Yes, I jumped out of a plane. Reckless? Maybe a little bit, but I have no regrets. I joined a few of my BIO faculty friends and took the plunge. Our flight to 13,000 feet was noisy and filled with anticipation as my instructor cinched me tightly to the harness. Above our drop site, wind blasting by the open hatch, we scooted to the opening, and with surprisingly little fear we just fell out and experienced free fall for a very long and very pleasant 60 seconds. As the wind rushed by, small movements of my arms and legs would turn me quickly in different directions so I could take up the fantastic view of the California Coast near Lompoc. It was eerie that I really didn't notice how fast the earth was approaching; how the distant objects were quickly growing closer. Fortunately, my instructor was paying attention to these things and we finished the last five minutes of the ride slowly falling with the parachute to a comfortably soft landing.

My second plunge this year was to chair the Academic Senate Curriculum Committee. This job meant giving up 12 units of teaching to serve the university by overseeing the approval of all curricular proposals on campus. It turns out that in many ways, this job has been more frightening than jumping out of the plane!

In this new role, I have the privilege of ensuring that faculty groups across colleges all communicate and share their curricular ideas with each other; that they consider not only the needs of their department, but also consider how their seemingly internal decisions affect the campus community. I get to be a mediator and help faculty work out their differences. I get to help develop and enforce policy that defines Cal Poly degrees. I get to ensure that students' interests are protected. And, I get to acquire a lot of new managerial skills that I never really paid much attention to in the past.  It's been a humbling and growing experience.

What do these two dives into the void have in common? Teamwork and trust.  Both have really helped me realize how much I depend on my peers for support, and how rewarding it is to share in the experience of fulfilling common goals.