Around Campus” is the regular blog of Fairfield University’s Vice President for Administrative and Student Affairs, Mark C. Reed. He is away this week, and asked me to pinch hit on the blog for him. Never one to shy away from expressing myself, I said I would be happy to do it. Here is what I have been thinking about.

I was watching Disney’s 1994 animated movie The Lion King with my five year old son, Chris the other night. Admittedly, my mind began wandering almost immediately, but I did happen to catch the lyrics from the Elton John song The Circle of Life. It was really the title itself that caught my attention: the circle of life. It’s a term we often use to describe the evolutionary process of our life, and how it is more cyclical and sometimes repetitive, than we are often aware of. I thought about the circular or cyclical nature of life, and indeed how life on a college campus is cyclical in nature.  

Things that are old are routinely borne anew on a college campus, albeit in different contexts, in different settings, and with different and fresh faces leading the charge. It could be the strategic plan, or our examination of governance, or even the recent objections students have raised to the off campus lottery (something I have become intimately familiar with this past week!). These are all new things, and yet ask anyone who is a student of Fairfield’s history and they will tell you that strategic planning, audits of our governance processes, and even student protests (I ran one myself when I was a student!) are nothing new to this great campus.

Some point out that the circle of life phenomena is a problematic one because it says something about our capacity (or lack thereof) to learn from past experiences. I think it is fair to say that we can all do a better job of learning from our past. However, I am also reminded that being in a constant state of flux is what makes institutions of higher education, and Fairfield University in particular, both unique and special. We are never far from having completed some initiative or another aimed at improving ourselves when the circle of life comes into play, and we begin the process of renewal all over again.  

When does a University stop reinventing itself? The answer is probably, never. It can be maddening, perhaps understandably, for those who have been at an institution for any length of time ,to see initiatives at change. It strikes at the core of what is comfortable and expected. It is particularly taxing when change is being advanced by those who are new to the institution. The response being, “what does someone new know anyway?” Well, we learn time and again that those who are new know a good deal, or at least bring different perspectives and a fresh way of looking at things to the table. The worst that any of us can do is to quell those perspectives, particularly if they come in the form of student voices. To be certain, those who are new can also learn a great deal from those who are not. And that is the circle of life here on our campus: a 360 degree continuum of communicating, listening and learning. If we can check our biases at the door, and focus on our listening rather than speaking skills, the circle of life will play itself out once again. And in that process, we all do the institution itself a great service. Change is a challenge. Being called to task is a challenge. Altering the way we do things is a challenge. But it is what makes us unique here at Fairfield. I did end up falling asleep half way through The Lion King. My son nudged me awake. He hates it when I fall asleep on him. Understandable. I am getting a little older, as is he, which means he can stay awake later and I cannot! But we are both desirous of carving time of our busy schedules for each other. As I get older, I realize that relationship-building more than other things is the one thing I tend to want to concentrate more and more of my energies on. It is a challenge, as is the circle of life. But being in the circle of life, and knowing you are there, is what makes for the most important of experiences – those that are transformative. They lead us towards continued states of improving ourselves, our school, and hopefully, our world.

Thomas C. Pellegrino
Associate Vice President and Dean of Students