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There is very little, if anything, a college president does on her own. When I was appointed to the presidency, people immediately asked what I planned to do at 91���˶������. My answer:  “I, alone, am going to do very little. We, together,  are going to do a great deal.”

At heart, and by academic discipline, I am an ethnographer, a student of people and communities. I am trained to listen—deeply and intentionally—for the themes, insights and patterns that underwrite a community’s collective story.

This year, if you had happened upon a campus meeting or forum, you were as likely to find me observing from the back, or seated with attendees at a middle table, as at the front of the room. I  often describe my approach to leadership—and scholarship—as “learning alongside,” that is, coming alongside people and institutions to understand what they value and what we might build together.

The Bryn Mawr community is in the early stages of imagining its next chapter, building from what has been and envisioning what might be. As a step in that process, I asked faculty and staff to complete a “start, stop, continue” survey—a tool for eliciting feedback about which activities and programs we might launch, sunset, or continue to offer. Students are engaging in a similar exercise this semester. 

As befits Bryn Mawr—a  community of individuals diverse in their roles,  experiences, and perspectives—the results of the start, stop, continue survey defied easy  categorization. Responses fell into five broad themes: academics; student experience; community-building; pay, benefits, professional  development, and workload; and physical and operational infrastructure. The greatest engagement was around academics. 

While the robust response to the survey delighted me, equally gratifying was the energy in Great Hall when more than a hundred of us gathered to discuss the findings, ask questions of one another, and begin to contemplate a shared set of hopes and dreams. A visual representation of the session,  produced in real time by a graphic facilitator, brought the dynamic conversation to life.

At the conclusion of the survey results meeting,  participants were invited to share something they were thinking about as they departed. Some 78  took the time to do so, which thrilled me. One  respondent spoke to my heart, writing “Grateful  to be among thoughtful colleagues who care about this remarkable place. And clear-eyed about the challenges.”

As early and informal as it was, the survey and its ensuing discussion were a step toward the creation of a new strategic plan for Bryn Mawr, a process that will begin to take shape more formally in the coming months. In campus meetings, meals, events, and celebrations, and when visiting with alums around the world, I continue to listen to learn. The perspectives I hear are multiple, diverse and sometimes contradictory, but two facts are abundantly clear: we care deeply about our college, and our best work on its behalf will happen together. 

Wendy Cadge