How to Balance a Privileged Scholarly Life with an Overpaid Administrative Career

The tweed jacket hangs heavy, a symbol of the scholarly life I envisioned. I find myself hunched over a desk cluttered not with Eurocentric monographs but with financial spreadsheets I can’t read and HR reports I won’t. Ah, the modern academic. A scholar, yes, but also an administrator, thought leader, mediator, decider, and sometimes even a father figure. Finding the equilibrium between advancing knowledge and managing the machinery of academia? That’s the tightrope we walk.

One must be ruthless with time. My day is meticulously structured. Mornings, before the clamor of academic-adjacent life begins, are sacred. This is when I delve into my research, the lifeblood of my intellectual pursuits. Reading for hours on the toilet in solitude allows for focused thought, the slow burn of ideas that leads to true breakthroughs, and questionable emails. By 9:30 at the latest I’m on my way to the office, ready for a day of barking orders and faking both my level of interest and understanding about the work “we” do.

Delegation is an art form in itself. Surrounding oneself with competent staff is paramount. Trusting them to handle the minutiae frees the mind for weightier matters. But as Pater familias, I am obliged to manage my smart but sometimes willful children. As conductor of the orchestra, I must remain engaged, ensuring each instrument plays its part.

Of course they are in constant need of my attention. One must be selective, choosing those where one’s expertise truly matters. And within those committees, efficiency is key. Agendas adhered to, decisions made decisively. Time is, after all, our most precious commodity.
But the tightrope walk is not solely about time management. It’s about a mindset shift. The laser focus required for research must give way, at times, to the broader view of the department, the university, the greater academic community. It’s about fostering an environment where scholarship can thrive, nurturing young minds, securing funding for vital projects.

And let’s not forget the lectures and speaking tours. Academic campuses remain a vital space to me—they just don’t pay me enough to work there. Ah, yes, where we transmit knowledge, spark curiosity, inspire the next generation of scholars. This, too, is a form of administration, of managing the intellectual growth of future scholars and less impressive current scholars.

Is it a perfect balance? Rarely. The scales tip one way or another, depending on the demands of my flock of employees, the deadlines looming. But the striving for equilibrium is essential. I try to leave by 3:00 every afternoon so I can do some more focused scholarship in the john. For it is in that delicate balance that we truly fulfill our roles as academics – advancing knowledge while ensuring the institution that supports that knowledge remains vibrant and strong.

No one is more burdened than old white man administrators, but fortunately for you, no one is more capable of handling it.

Hugh the Manatee, President, Director, CEO, VP for HR