My “Job”

I was asked to return as Director of the School of Art, Art History and Design, and I declined and explained it is time for me to move to simply being a professor. For those of you who know, you know.

Here are some thoughts about what I love about my “job”. Depending on your outlook, a university is either a very unintuitive (obtuse) and often contradictory maze of ideological minefields, or it is workshop for a person to make brilliant tapestries woven with passion and deep curiosities.

The value of being a professor transcends mere titles or accolades; it resides profoundly in the dual capacity to foster knowledge and to profoundly impact students' lives. It’s genuinely both a big deal and big responsibility to pursue scholarly inquiry and contribute significantly to the advancement of a field. Yes, there is depth in designing and building bicycles. It’s also simply fun. On a good day, when I hit the points of value of being able to design a bike for a particular place, throw in a whole history of bicycle physics and engineering, and then take a two-dimensional drawing, and with materials, transform that drawing into something that is precise to a half a millimeter, that can be ridden across the country, well then making bicycle becomes a super power. For you and probably the world.

I like to imagine that craftsmanship and intellectual pursuit not only enrich my own understanding but also serve as a catalyst for innovation. Yet, most vital is the role of educator and mentor. The last year-and-a-half not being Director has meant more time to teach better. And the satisfaction I have derived from being more available to students is unparalleled by anything else I have experienced at Iowa in 37 years. It has allowed me to better nurture an environment of flourishing, for me and my students.

So, onward and upward. On to my next bike (below) and adventure, and on to my students’ next bikes.