Imagine Higher Ed
In June 2022, as part of the #MYFest22 festival offered through Equity Unbound, I led a workshop called Intro to Emergent Strategy based on the teachings of adrienne maree brown. brown argues that we are living within someone else’s imagination, their idea of what the world should be, and that in order to create a more life-affirming world, we must first imagine it. We need to engage in imagination battles.
Today, feeling a little wiggly and unsure of my next steps, I wandered back to the Google Jamboard that we co-created during the session. Attendees from around the world shared responses to questions I adapted from brown’s book Holding Change.
Here are the questions in list form in case you’d like to reflect alone or with colleagues/students:
- What I Want Most for Our Species is…
- What I Want Most for Our Children’s Children is…
- What I Want Most for Our Planet is…
- The Higher Education in Service of Our Vision for Our Species, Children’s Children, and Our Planet is Filled with…
- I Long for a Higher Education That Is…
- To Realize the Vision for Higher Education I Most Long for, What Must I Practice?
- What I Most Need from My Community to Help Realize My Vision for Higher Education is…
- As We Work to Realize Our Visions for the Future of Higher Education, the Strengths I Can Offer to My Community are…
- The Next, Most Necessary Step (Think Small!) for Me to Move Toward This Vision of Higher Education is…
I felt the urge to aggregate participants’ responses in an article to help my brain gain some clarity. Note: I’ve done my best to write the responses and images as they were shared, including when there were repeated answers.
May it be of benefit.
Thank you again to #MYFest22 organizers for creating space for this discussion.
What I Want Most for Our Species is…
Calm
to learn to listen to each other
respectful
PEACE
Healing
to grow the fuck up
To be still (I just read the Overstory, so that should make sense if you have!)
Care for each other (image of koalas hugging)
to BREATHE DEEP and live in harmony
caring
connection
A safe and nurturing climate for all
One day without trauma
Learning to live in harmony with the world
Connection
kindness, empathy, care
Exploration
Peace
Community
(image of futuristic city where trees are growing from buildings in abundance)
awareness and action
Enlightenment
Love — so much love. And joy.
For us to live together in harmony and love
Humility
recognize connection to other species
A peaceful, responsible and abundant life
Survival and thriving
Positivity
Peace. And acceptance (with boundaries). And emergence.
(image of young boy playing a guitar)
(image of a drop of water creating a ripple)
What I Want Most for Our Children’s Children is…
community
Freedom to be their whole selves
Safety from fear and oppressions
peace
home
healthy planet to live on
Trees, water, fertility of earth
a future
Nature
To PLAY together and CREATE together under the most beautiful and bountiful trees
for them to inherit a livable world in balance with nature
to feel they can have children without fear
solidarity
balanced prosperity
less anxiety about the future
A just livable world
to be able to live together in harmony and love…
Freedom, opportunity, and the ability to *live*
Joy
Learning from the past
A healthy planet
a livable planet
Safety
to not face the impacts of climate change
The world to be livable
Joy
acceptance
agency
A healthy world to live in
(image of a tree lined path)
safety
A world they can live in safely
clean air, water, shelter, love
A feeling of security in the future
What I Want Most for Our Planet is…
To REGENERATE
stewardship
Biodiversity
Humans to let it be
Sustainable Energy
for people to care about it
Reclamation of green spaces
for it to survive humans
be respected
Diversity
to be left alone
Health
peace
(image of butterfly)
balance
Recovery
Balance
harmony
health and peace
Health
Healing and growth
(image of flourishing trees)
symbiosis
BALANCE
reciprocity
humans to recognize interconnectedness
For sustainability…vibrance
move toward sustainability away from extraction
harmony
sustainability
to be appreciated
The Higher Education in Service of Our Vision for Our Species, Children’s Children, and Our Planet is Filled with…
socially just care
Love and respect
an appreciation of beauty
HUMILITY
a turning away from excess of excess
imagination
Permission to fail and try again
Curiosity, Responsibility, and Stewardship
People encouraged to pursue education grounded in their personal sense of purpose
art
equitable opportunities
Voices
freedom
(student) agency
curiosity and joy
accessible spaces
empathy
(image of heart made up of smaller images of fruits and vegetables)
Co-CREATION and IMAGINATION
intentional adaptation
music
Deep understanding
caring relationships
humility
Learning driven by the LEARNERS!
Pitfalls and barriers but a new generation who can change things
equity
curiosity
growth
no fees
values-based learning opportunities
Cooperation
more and more art!
Generosity
Recognition that we are all teachers and learners (whether we are faculty or students or not)
reverence
critical thinking
relationships, justice, care
disruption
Love, Understanding, Growth
Full Accessibility
I Long for a Higher Education That Is…
JUST and IMAGINATIVE
open
equitable
Free
diverse
open
fun!!!!
Liberatory
caring
Grounded in the context of its community
equitably cares for everyone
Truly open to all
Cooperative
agentic
equitable and open
caring for all
Broken-down silos
Welcoming
less predictable!
Based in the real world
Inclusive
without barriers
welcoming
Accessible and available
is spread through the world like a fragrance
creative
free
Equipping and freeing
Inclusive
that values staff (not just faculty and students)
meeting learners where they are
in the service of the public good
emancipatory
Thrilling
a place where everyone can grow in the way he/she desires
process and praxis-oriented
Emancipatory. Joyous. Emergent.
acting consistently with its professed values
Practices IHE
To Realize the Vision for Higher Education I Most Long for, What Must I Practice?
diversity
Speaking up
LOVE
presence
accessibility
to listen
openness
I literally don’t know :(
building community
Hang on to the dreams
understanding
patience
relaxing and getting others to relax and slloooowww down
allyship
self-care
Speaking up even if it means I’m uncomfortable. Asking questions.
Don’t take on more than I can reasonably take on
Speak truth to power
wisdom and love
being slow
Openness; respect; valuing
Deep listening
prioritize people over money
I must always make it relevant
REFLECTION
Slowing down and making space
YES! I don’t know either
Vigilance
Persevere when there are setbacks
continued curiosity and willingness to learn from my mistakes
Teaching my students that care is important in teaching
Form relationships
prioritizing value-based work
LISTENING
Being an Ally
intentionally equitable hospitality
listening
care
understanding
participatory methods
care and justice, constant learning
Creating a welcoming environment for my students
What I Most Need from My Community to Help Realize My Vision for Higher Education is…
good listeners
fewer rules
Someone to listen
Fair pay for adjuncts
REST
Acceptance
solidarity
TIME
Forgiveness
Opportunities for reflection
celebration
support to abolish structures that constrain us
Courage
space to take risks and support
time to listen
to be okay with slowness
to be OK with limited productivity
innovation
Shared enthusiasm and passion
voices of students
faith
courage
Time and Energy
recognising difference
adjuncts for actual adjunct work, not precarity paraded as permanence
risk taking
Less time on what doesn’t matter
True dialogue
understanding
diversity
connection
flexible work arrangements
Shared values
Time to Process
recognition and valuing other’s contributions
attention
equity focused practices
collaboration
As We Work to Realize Our Visions for the Future of Higher Education, the Strengths I Can Offer to My Community are…
Left/Right Brain Balance: highly creative but also analytical
snarkiness (with laugh-crying emoji)
willingness to reimagine everything
flexibility
Coffee
optimism
openness
The security to fight
acceptance of all
So so many dreams
listening
Empathy
Vision
pattern recognition
Making connections across contexts
Love
dreams
humor :)
community awareness
curiosity for others’ thoughts
the ability to listen
Compassion
Listening and honoring lived experience
I don’t know
end user experience focus
IEH, Analysis, Desire to grow
Tenaciousness
care
the ability to think outside the norm
i can make a mean infographic
student-focus
student advocacy (with graduation cap emoji)
courage
Intentional Equitable Hospitality
plurality of perspectives in my head
information design
CARE
love
collaboration
solidarity
The Next, Most Necessary Step (Think Small!) for Me to Move Toward This Vision of Higher Education is…
love my working space
stay positive
REFLECTION
bring it up with colleagues
more long walks throughout the year (not just in the warm months)
stay connected
Raise my voice
To keep showing up
Ask Karen to do this again
Read Emergent Strategy
sharing with colleagues
Connected with a like-minded imaginator
die my hair purple
finish my dissertation
ooooh yes! rest!
(image of person kayaking)
rest
support students & accept them as they are
Give encouragement to those who are trying to change things. Listen to them and ask them questions.
Find a dream buddy in my space
Make time to think
+1 on Finishing my dissertation
Patience with others
meetings at the coffee shop
REST
creating an open textbook
Block time on my calendar and HONOR it and protect it with my life
Thinking smaller, bite sized, Wordle-like ed dev next year rather than leaning on traditional (longer) models. Protect time!
Rejuvenate this summer in community with #MYFest
Truly listen
Hug a friend at work
Focus my energy with discipline this week (as in don’t waste it on meaningless stuff).
speak with a colleague
go slow to go fast
recharge in nature
bike to work :D
accessibility MYFest
#MyFest
