Blurring boundaries

I've had several experiences that have been rolling around in my head for the last couple of weeks and they just came together this morning. The first experience was on August 17, 2007 - Miami's new student convocation day. We had David Eggers, author of What is the What on campus to speak to all our new students about Sudan and the child-refugees who fled due to the violence that has gripped their country. The second experience was ordering a piece of music that I've wanted for quite some time - Ellis Island by Peter Boyer. The final experience has been the process I'm undergoing to obtain my visa to work abroad in Qatar for the next three years. I'll explain how they connect...

What is the What was a fascinating book - at least from my perspective. Although written by Eggers, the story is that of Valentino who walked through the deserts of Sudan and Ethiopia to pursue a life free of fear, intimidation, and deprivation. Alex, one of Valentino's childhood friends, was also present at Convocation and told of walking across the desert without food, poorly clothed, and in fear of being captured. Both Valentino's (as told in the book) and Alex's stories were more than any of us in the audience could ever imagine in terms of hardship. After listening to these heart-rending stories, faculty and staff led discussion groups with new students. I had a group of about twenty-five men and women. I opened by having them introduce themselves as we got started but, instead of just saying who they were, I asked them to comment by alternating between a. What excited you today, and b. What troubled you today? The responses that troubled students were most telling - didn't like getting up so early, too hot, couldn't find the discussion group meeting room...

I've heard excerpts from Ellis Island by Peter Boyer numerous times on the radio. I've always been moved by it but never got around to purchasing it until last week. It arrived from Amazon and I ripped into it, taking it to my basement where I have a 70s-vintage sound system to die for (it really is extraordinary). Hearing this music for the first time was almost more than I could bear. It is a combination of symphonic interludes punctuated by brief statements of the real-life experiences of immigrants who came to the U.S.A. through Ellis Island. In case you are American and didn't realize it, 40% of Americans today had relatives who came through Ellis Island in the early 20th century. The music and stories tell of the hope of coming to America and the strife of crossing in boats, enduring illness and poor living conditions, and arriving in America to begin their new lives. The stories aren't always positive but they are all triumphant.

I've discovered that applying for my visa to work in Qatar is an exercise in empathy. Although I've been working on it for over two weeks and spending most of my spare time trying to understand the nuance of how to do this, I realize that, in many ways, my process is so easy and well lubricated by privilege. I can hardly imagine trying to obtain a visa if I really needed it for economic or political reasons and I had no system of coaching and the means (privilege) to get it done. I will get my visa and I don't really have to worry about being denied so my experience with applying for the visa is little more than an inconvenience - rather than a matter of life and death (Sudan) or economic desperation (20th century immigrants to the U.S.A.).

These three experiences spurred me to question what isn't working about our world. Why is it that America can be a nation almost entirely composed of immigrants with 40% knowing the stories of hardship of their immigrant parents or grand-parents, yet be so eager to close the borders in order to control the population and its corner on privilege? How can citizens of the U.S.A. be so unaware of the struggles of many people around the globe - Colombia, Darfur, Sudan, Iraq... And, how can we complain about getting up too early or being uncomfortably hot or not understanding the visa application process when we want to travel, study, or work abroad?

It's all about perspective - where we came from, understanding and empathizing with others, opening ourselves to know the world in which we live. The coming months will no doubt stimulate much more reflection about perspective and I look forward to sharing that with you and hearing your thoughts as well.

All sheets to the wind...

Have you ever heard the phrase "...all sheets (or three-sheets) to the wind?" Although the three-sheets image is used in reference to a variety of things, the term all or three-sheets to the wind actually comes from sailing. A sailor's dream and greatest exhiliration is when the wind is strong, but not overwhelming, and when the sails (i.e. sheets) are all out into the wind. It is in these moments when the efficiency of the sails, the boat, and the sailors are all at their peak - truly exhilirating.

Well, I've decided that Qatar is probably my "all sheets to the wind" time. Since I announced the decision to join the Qatar Foundation staff on Monday morning, I've had moments when I felt very confident and others when I pondered the possibility that I was over-running the capacity of my boat. Then I revert back to the fact that everyone who works for the Qatar Foundation and Education City is "all sheets to the wind" and how incredible it will be to join them.

One of the other things that I've realized over the last couple of days is that, besides my "all sheets to the wind" experience, I have become a quintessential example of Deeper Learning in Leadership. It's actually kind of scarey because I feel that something happened as I conceived of and wrote the book. It transformed and clarified my thinking in ways that made me aware that maybe there was more than I'm presently doing to make a difference through higher education. And, like the "calling forth" of the presence experience (which I describe in Deeper Learning in Leadership), new awareness emerged, I began to talk and write about it, and it eventually took form in the Qatar Foundation possibility and decision. I don't mean to become overly mystical, spiritual or abstract but this really was profound. I think the process of seeing, sensing, presencing, and now beginning to enact are what has been happening.

Commitment to change and off to Qatar

As you've noticed in my blog and as those of you have interacted with me lately have noticed, I've been talking about Doha, Qatar, and Education City a lot lately. I started talking about it when my daughter, Darbi, chose to take a job there working with one of the branches of Education City - Carnegie Mellon University. We put her on the plane on Sunday night, August 5, 2007, to begin her new life in the Arabian Gulf. We had to gulp when we sent her off but we know it will be an incredible experience for her. When I graduated from Colorado State University in 1973 and moved to Maryland, I thought I was taking a big jump in going so far from home - I wasn't even close to what Darbi is doing but she is like many young people today - boundariless in so many ways.

Darbi has committed herself to change and now I find that I will as well. Our decisions have been completely independent but we're ending up in the same place - Doha, Qatar. After thirteen years at Miami, I will leave this fall to join the Qatar Foundation as Assistant Vice President of Education for Faculty and Student Services. The Qatar Foundation "educates citizens who will participate fully in the nation's emerging democratic processes and engage respectfully, confidently, and constructively with people from other countries and cultures." I will work with faculty and student services for the current six branch campuses (Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Georgetown, Northwestern, Texas A&M, and Virginia Common Wealth) and the others to come. It seems unimaginable to have such an extraordinary opportunity and I have to keep pinching myself to make sure it's for real. The great surprise is that I thought I would remain at Miami but I always said that if something extraordinary should ever come along, I would consider it. And, did it ever?!

My future work at Education City will be focused on contributing to a campus culture that is holistic, diverse, connected, innovative, and is purposely visioned to transform the lives of students and of the Arabian Gulf region. Student affairs work as we've come to know it in most institutions in the U.S.A. has become hampered by bureaucracy, administrative divisions, and structures that inhibit the real purpose of this work - enhancing community that creates deeper learning for all. Education City is composed of branch campuses, each of which embraces the responsibility for creating high quality learning for students. My role with the Qatar Foundation will allow me to work with and through others, providing necessary resources and processes, and engaging in the necessary and catalytic work that will create learning opportunities for students, staff, and faculty. The ideas we will use in Qatar haven't even been dreamt as yet; I will work with colleagues to make up what this extraordinary place will be.

As the months unfold, I will continue to blog on the Qatar Foundation experience. The theme of the blog, "Pursuing Leadership," will necessarily be my continuing focus. I will be pursuing a type of leadership that is truly informed by 21st century issues and I will learn with my new colleagues as I take on this new challenge. I will also pursue cultural learning, travel, and adaptation I've never had the chance to do before - a true commitment to challenge myself. Come back and follow this continuing journey and engage with me as I discover. As a starter, you might want to learn a little more about Doha and Education city - amazing things are happening.

As a side-note, I would like to acknowledge and express my appreciation to my wife, Diane, for supporting me in this amazing venture. She is my lifetime partner and love; when we committed to provide each other space to be and do what we were called to be, I never imagined it would allow the expanses to which we've gone. My daughters are role models and enthusiasts all the way. Some of my friends and colleagues have not been as surprised at my decision to move as I expected; the irony is that evidently my family and some of my colleagues saw the yearning that I could not see - something yet more challenging to fulfill what has already been a deeply rewarding career. I appreciate all your support while the possibilities ripened and I will be forever indebted to the colleagues from whom I've learned and who will continue to be part of the global network that is now binding us all together.