Yesterday I solved two issues at work, very elegantly and fast. It’s sad to think that, once I stop being Department Chair, all of the expertise that I accumulated in the past 6 years will go nowhere. The new person will have to figure everything out from scratch. Of course, I explained the basics, but things come up every day that are new and unpredictable. You need to know whom to contact and what procedure to follow to get them solved.
There are people who are lifelong Department Chairs because “nobody else wants to do it.” I would never agree to such an arrangement, and I am happy that in six weeks I will move away from this appointment for good. There are great positives in moving on. For instance, all of the other Chairs are being forced to undergo a mental health specialist certification. It’s a terribly bad idea but people are not extremely smart, so they are agreeing to participate. I no longer need to care about their idiocy because from now on I am once again responsible only for myself. I can chart my own strategy and will not have to spend much time around people who are not students at all.
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