Issue 26(2)
Encouraging
Civility as a Community College Leader.
(2005)
Paul A. Elsner and George R. Boggs, Eds., Community College Press
90 pp., $35.00, (paperback), ISBN # 0-87117-362-X
Review by:
Becky
Bailey
Office
of Student Services
University
of Louisville
School
of Nursing
Stephen
L. Carter, a Yale
University
law professor,
wrote Civility: Manners, Morals, and the Etiquette of Democracy
( 1998) . In it Carter defines civility as "the
sum of the many sacrifices we are called to make for the sake
of living together" (p. 11). This definition is cited in the book
Encouraging Civility as a Community College Leader,
a collection of the personal experiences shared by community college
leaders who discuss how incivility affected them and the colleges
where they worked as CEOs, directors, or presidents.
Authors
of the book, Encouraging Civility as a Community College Leader
, provide four personal accounts of incivility written by
leaders in the community college system. This book points out
that incivility can be overt unmistakable rudeness or something
as subtle as people who are habitually late. Because community
colleges are a foundation for our larger society, they should
be at the forefront of civility and its expectations for our behaviors.
The
accounts represent a variety of incivility that range from non-supportive
behavior and verbal abusiveness to threats against the life of
the leader and their family. Each contributor offered insight
into the history of the incidents along with the personal background
each brought to the college system they served. In some cases
campus reaction may have been more accepting had the contributor's
background or the social environment had been different. For example,
one woman felt that the college community would not have reacted
in such a negative manner if the appointment had been filled by
a man. Each leader sought to explain why they were met with incivility
and how they chose to respond.
The
book points out that students and employees of community colleges
can not be expected to know acceptable behavior if that behavior
is not outlined in a code of conduct. However it is important
that boundaries be set through codes of conduct that do not violate
laws such as the free speech expectations set forth in the First
Amendment. Martha Gandert Romero
wrote that the community colleges work to maintain an environment
where civility and conflict can exist together. There is an energy
generated by conflict where we have the opportunity to exhibit
civility and grow or turn against one another. Community colleges
should provide a setting where individuals are free to express
differences without creating a damaging environment.
Overall,
contributors acknowledge the need for a code of conduct and a
forum for conversation about acceptable ways to confront differences
with respect. A recurring theme throughout the book was that community
college leaders must understand the causes of incivility and find
ways to model civility on campuses and in the community. The contributors
hope community college leaders will address incivility, not tolerate
it, nor ignore it, but confront it and model a better way to cope
with our differences.
Although
this book is written from the perspective of community college
leaders such as presidents, directors, or CEOs, civility is a
valuable topic for all. The civility challenge for an academic
advisor will be on a different level than addressed by the contributors
and was not the purpose of this book. Still, these are valuable
accounts of acts of incivility encountered by college leaders;
advisors interested in how these leaders dealt with incivility
issues will find this book of interest.
Reference
Carter,
Stephen L. (1998). Civility: Manners, Morals, and Etiquette of
Democracy. New
York :
Basic Books.
