Love story part three, Calling Mary Poppins

Higher education has a tendency to reward longevity. Tenure and long terms. Inside candidates and “loyalty.” New academic hires are expected to socialize into their department, get tenure, and stay for the long haul. And most do. And there is something to be said for that. Long-termers and inside people have an understanding of the culture, an awareness of the history, and (hopefully) a deep appreciation for the institution.

But not everyone is like this; not everyone wants this; not everyone gets to have this. Some of us are more like Mary Poppins — whether we mean to be or not.

Mary Poppins arrives with the wind, where she is needed. She catalyzes profound change. She makes things better. And when she is done, when the wind changes, she flies away to where she is needed next. She doesn’t stay, but her arrival and actions rock the boat. Her presence matters, even if only for a short time.

Longevity may indeed bring stability, but I would argue that academia today needs more Mary Poppins’. We need the outsider perspectives that shake us up and bring important and lasting change. There is value in having new ideas and new people at every level and in every role.

The question I ask is how can we better pave the way? We need the perspective of those who have experience elsewhere (or those who are simply different) but when we actually have it we tend to crush it, stifle it, marginalize it, force it to conform or — failing all that — punish it or force it out.

This isn’t ok. We need our Mary Poppins’. We should embrace, not reject, them. So what if they have had multiple roles at a number of institutions? (Or even, gasp, have worked outside of academia?) Rather than shy away, we need to look at what they have accomplished, even in the short term. We need to look at what they can bring that may in fact be sorely needed.

We need this because academia needs change. We need to better recognize and reward true innovators and change agents – intrapreneurs, catalysts, and visionaries. Those who are determined to do more than talk about how we need to be better and do better, who take steps and action toward the transformation necessary. We need people who will help us go beyond empty pronouncements and pompous proclamations (the all-too-common executive tendency to say the right things, but ultimately do little that is real or authentic). We need people willing to look hard at the systems and structures and power dynamics that keep us stuck, and lead us in the things that will unstick us.

We need to welcome the Mary Poppins’ among us. They show up where they are needed whether the need is recognized or not. And they do what is necessary to heal the system. To leave it better than it was. To show us what could be instead of what has always been. They come and they leave, and that’s ok. They should not be punished or avoided for failing to spend decades at one place. They bring needed perspective, and ideas, and — yes — disruption. They catalyze change. And that is a good thing.