The Decline of Collegiality

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of stress.”
II Timothy 3:1

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Hebrews 10:24-25

“In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat--for He grants sleep to those He loves.”
Psalm 127:2

“I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.”
John 10:10b

I have a question for those faculty in their later years—how does faculty collegiality and interaction today compare to what you experienced early in your career?

If it is anything like what I’ve heard from my conversations with others, you will probably say that there is no comparison. Faculty are largely isolated from each other and the enjoyment of a relaxed conversation about various topics, both scholarly and otherwise is virtually non-existent.

Part of the idea of scholarship is the informal chatting over tea or coffee about ideas and research. This has been replaced with the ‘departmental seminar,’ where there is a few minutes for coffee and donuts and then sitting to listen to an outside speaker drone about their research for an hour with a few minutes for questions. If you are lucky, the speaker spends their day moving from office to office for a few minutes conversation, and then maybe a handful go out to dinner for more discussion, but more often than not, folks show up, get some caffeine to help fight drowsiness then back to their office to sit at a computer for a few more hours and the talk leaves the mind forever.