Hello all,
I hope you had the chance to see some of the Olympics. The competitions, the athleticism, the beauty of Paris, the heartbreak of missing a win by fractions of a second...much of the triumph and tribulations of the human experience is wrapped up in those games. And also, sadly—sexism, gender disparities, and our other fears and prejudices show up on occasion.
As much as I love competition, I value higher education in SUNY for something else—yes, we compete for scholarship funding, student enrollment, research grants, and in sports...and yes, our students compete in their classes for grades and club positions and for places on teams. Nonetheless, our mission is to strive towards excellence for all. To raise the achievement bar for all. We work in an environment that can encourage collaboration and support, so that as many people as possible can make their dreams come true.
For many years, the limited access women were allowed at the table created a false competition that was encouraged by those in power. Even though we knew that the limitations were created and not real, we were trapped inside them. Women stepped on each other in a race to the one leadership seat and the one available promotion. Even when some women gained a seat at the table, we are often still stuck in the frame that there aren't enough seats...we still have to compete, and we can't take time to help someone else because we need to make gains for ourselves.
That can change, and we need to keep making the tables larger.
Competition is one way to push towards excellence. It's built on a scarcity model where there are winners and losers. Cooperation and collaboration is another. It's built on an abundance model, where there is enough for more, and we win together.
For more on the abundance mindset: Karim Benammar: We need to shift to an abundance mindset to solve global problems.
All the best,
Holly
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