My spouse retired after more than 25 years working as an academic advisor at a large land-grant university. I work there too, so they asked me to say a few words at her retirement party. The following is not the exact speech, but it represents the focus of my remarks.
Nancy and I have been married for almost 45 years, we’ve been friends even longer, but in the past ten years we have also become colleagues. I mean that literally. Though we work in different departments, we both work with students and we often consult one another about student progress as we attempt to help them accomplish their academic goals.
I would like to share some thoughts about my colleague, Nancy Davis. I want to talk about three very important traits that I see in Nancy’s work and life.
First, Nancy is competent. Now, I know what you are thinking “Way to be bold, Robb. Wow, competent. Not exactly a resume builder: Top Skills: Competent. Or the kind of thing that you use in a job interview: ‘So Nancy, what would you say is your greatest strength?’ ‘Well, I’m competent!’”
But hear me out. To me, competent people are the people who know their jobs and everything there is to know about their jobs. They never stop learning new skills in order to do their jobs better. And they don’t just have knowledge, they put this vast array of skills and knowledge into practice every day. They draw from their experiences to build their repertoire of skills and practices.
They have an enormous toolbox that they add to each day. And because of this, they are the “go-to” person in their unit or department. Have a question? Go see Nancy.
But competent people don’t hoard their knowledge. Some people use knowledge to gain an edge or to accumulate power. But competent people seek to share their toolbox so that everyone else can benefit. This is why Nancy helped pioneer the highly successful “Nuts and Bolts of Advising” course that has helped trained scores of academic advisors over the years.
Competent people have a profound impact on the culture of their organizations and actually encourage others to develop competency.
Early in my career, I worked in the desert nation of Mauritania, crisscrossing the desert and remote areas to help immunize children and promote child nutrition and health. By the time I got there, the country was just emerging from a twenty-five-year period of severe drought that radically changed the society from a semi-nomadic one to one in which people settled in cities, towns, villages, and small encampments. As we traveled around, we became quickly aware that the villages were almost completely devoid of men, who had fled to the cities in search of paid work. Many had abandoned their villages for good, and the women were left behind to keep the community alive.
My team and I were amazed at the variety of skills and knowledge these women had developed. They not only continued the traditional female work of caring for children and tending gardens and small animals, but also adapted to herding, house repairs, and field work.
They were competent in so many things.
We marveled at these women, and in the long nights under the stars, as we sipped our tea, we debated the best way to describe what they meant to their communities. Variations on the theme included that the women supported the community, held it up, had the world on their shoulders, held the world in their hands, and others. But the formulation we finally settled on, sitting under the vast array of stars, is that these competent women “held up the sky.”
Competent people don’t win accolades; they don’t get their names on buildings. But rest assured that the people who do get their names on those buildings are surrounded by competent people who are key to their success.
But Nancy is not just competent; she is also a person of integrity. Integrity is not just about being truthful; it is about being honest about the hard truths. Because they remain steadfast in speaking the truth, they are people whom others can count on.
Integrity is about keeping commitments too. And many of you have noted that “Nancy just shows up.” She shows up everywhere. You can depend on her.
Telling the hard truths is one of the things that has made Nancy such a successful advisor of students. The truth is, not all students are ready to pursue a degree; some need to make serious course adjustments, and some need to stop engaging in destructive behavior. Nancy never shies away from naming these things, but she says them with grace and clarity.
And, she says them with a commitment: “I will walk with you. I will be here for you. When you are ready to return, I will be here to walk you through what you need to do.” Her integrity means that she always keeps these promises.
When we lived downtown, no Saturday morning walk to the market and the food co-op felt complete unless a former student (sometimes a current one) approached Nancy to thank her for her support. Many of them had been dismissed from school but later returned to complete their degrees. They pointed out specific instances in which Nancy helped them through their darkest hours.
And, finally, Nancy keeps the ends in front of her at all times. She is “ends-focused.” When Nancy gets up in the morning, she does not think about pleasing her boss or making them look good (though because of her work they invariably DO look good). She does not think about burnishing the University’s image, though people like her help make the University the world-class institution it is. No, Nancy wakes up each day focused on helping students achieve their academic goal—to complete their degree. That is her focus.
When a new advising or degree assessment tool is introduced, Nancy does not ask if it will make HER job easier; she asks if it will help her better serve the students. Just the other day she remarked about a new tool (that she will not have a chance to use) “I am not sure it will be better for the students.” Will this support students to succeed? That is always her question.
Nancy’s competency and integrity are deployed every day to help students reach their goals. That is her goal. She understands that students carry the hopes and dreams of their families and communities. She sees the bigger picture of why success is so important, and she pursues it with them.
As I think about Nancy reaching the end of her career, there are two things I want.
One, I want to see my colleague’s name attached to an advising award. Perhaps it could be called the Nancy Davis Academic Advising Award. Given to the advisor who demonstrates competency, integrity, and a clear focus on supporting students to achieve their goals.
Second, I want to be like Nancy Davis. I want people to say of me, “Robb is so competent, he is a person of integrity, and he stays focused on achieving clear ends for the students with whom he works.
This is what I want.
Nanc, thank you for the example you are to me. Thank you for being my role model.
You hold up my sky.
Traveling at the Speed of Bike 