Next Gen Leaders

The writer is a current chancellor

Because I grew up in a working class family prone to addiction where I was not only the first to go to college but also the only one to graduate from high school, there are lots of opportunities for me to be on the receiving end of side eyes, raised eyebrows, and aggressions micro and huge. 

These are issues on the daily when in various circles I navigate to do my job. 

Here are some examples of how my working class upbringing can trigger uncontrollable facial reactions (often of disgust) in the higher ed circles I now enjoy the privilege to travel in:

My childhood family vacations, when they occurred at all, involved pitching a tent in state parks (which I remember with fondness; this is not a complaint). 

I have never been to Hawaii, although from what I hear, Hawaii isn't all that and you should really go to the Caribbean).

Asked where I do vacation, I said to the national state and national parks driving distance from my home. The reply was an incredulous, "that’s all?”

When I told a colleague that for a big birthday I rented a house halfway between myself and my extended family so we could all be together (even though for some, going on the trip meant they lost out on pay because they work jobs that don’t earn vacation time), a colleague was appalled I didn’t go somewhere more exotic with just my spouse.

On a visit to the statehouse, I was the only woman in the entire building wearing a skirt to the knees and bare legs. It actually never occurred to me, although it should have given the state I live in, that I needed to have my legs covered in 2024. To add to it, the tattoo on the top of my foot showed and attracted looks.

I did not have horses growing up, nor does my current family have horses.

I am proud to have been a public-school kid.

My child is also a public-school kid who participates in sports through the Y.

I still shop the sale racks. Clearance racks are better.

I cannot sit on some boards because the expected “modest” donation is too high.

I am still repaying my student loans. The payment is equal to my mortgage.

My car is older than my kid.

As we know from Michelle Obama, the U.S. presidency is expensive. That's true for other elected offices and it's true for chancellors and presidents.  

Courting the community through dinners, gala attendance, travel is expected and not necessarily reimbursable—especially if you are a woman who cannot throw on the same tux event to event.