Academic Kindness

The world of academia operates on a scarcity model, a mentality that there is never enough of anything. Those of us who work at Universities and Colleges know they are often places full of competition and negativity. There never seems to be enough time, money, resources or volunteers to go around and meet departmental needs and people’s expectations. Because of this atmosphere there is often also a scarcity of kindness!

But what would happen if we switched our mindset to an abundance of kindness model. Abundance focuses a positive outlook seeing the plenty of resources that do exist. Those abundant resources are human creativity and care. What if we adopted an outlook that was positive and creative. What if we took on an attitude that embraces a hopeful belief that if I do my part, there will be more good to go around.

We can live out this mindset through academic kindness. This means seeing colleagues as a potential friend, rather than as competitors. Seeking out opportunities to give, without focusing on what we can get in return.

• Volunteering time to mentor a junior colleague or provide feedback on a work-in-progress.
• Committing to offer constructive & affirming feedback in article reviews, consciously resisting becoming Reviewer #2.
• Attend a colleague’s presentation, and write them an note afterwards about what you appreciate & learned from them.
• Invite a staff person who seems to be struggling out to lunch, and be there just to listen and encourage them.
• Offer to write a reference letter for a colleague applying for a job, fellowship or award.