The High-Five: 5 Questions with Charlton McIlwain, Vice Provost for Faculty and Engagement at NYU
Much of what I have been doing lately is very simple – listening. The folks I work with, like many others, have been thrust into circumstances that complicate not just their work but their lives – especially given that two worlds have largely merged.
Q. Now that you have moved beyond the classroom as Vice Provost for Faculty Engagement with NYU, what are some of the ways in which you are supporting and engaging your faculty team[s], across the various offices and networks, in this current environment?
A. Much of what I have been doing lately is very simple – listening. The folks I work with, like many others, have been thrust into circumstances that complicate not just their work but their lives – especially given that two worlds have largely merged. Regardless, people want to do great work. They want to engage their students. Provide an environment conducive to learning and development. They want to continue to do their research and write and engage with other scholars and ideas. Doing what was normal has become complicated in many ways and much of what I’ve been doing is listening to what concerns people. See if there are things that are within my power to do to help them do what they need and want to do to be successful as teachers, scholars, people engaged with their communities.
Q. What does the future of education look like at the university level?
A. That’s the million-dollar question. I don’t know that any one knows, but I think most would agree that the landscape of higher education will look pretty different, at least for the near future. I think “remote” forms of teaching and learning and the role that technology plays in the educational environment will look different, particularly as many find that remote and environments and technology pose challenges, but also some opportunities that we may never have experienced if we’d not been thrust into this situation of not having much choice. Affordability will be an even greater challenge for many higher education institutions, given the financial impact that the current crisis will likely have – something we also don’t fully know yet, generally speaking. These and many other challenges mean that I think higher education institutions in the near future will look differently as we ask faculty, students and administrators to have to think creatively about how we do what we do under constraints that we haven’t quite experienced before.
Q. I m discovering that, living through this pandemic, the digital chasm appears to be growing. Remote learning for kids of color, primarily in elementary school, has been challenging because the access to the requisite technology either has been non-existent, or it’s being shared by siblings. Despite the best intentions from schools issuing temporary laptops, we need to understand how the lasting and severe impact this new ‘abnormal’ can have on educating future generations of underserved and disenfranchised populations. What are your thoughts there?
A. We’ve always known – whether we as a society choose to acknowledge it or not – that education is one of the greatest sites of rampant inequality, where one’s educational opportunities are largely a function of one’s accident of birth and geography. That is, who your parents are, where they live, and what kind of money they make. Geography is frequently destiny given the way that we fund our school systems across the country and vast amounts of money and resources separate students and what they have access to and what they don’t, all depending on where they happen to live.
This is all becoming so much more difficult to ignore in our current situation, especially when it reveals itself in the gap between those who have access to digital tools and those who do not, and those who have access to family situations that make it easier to take advantage of computers and internet service, and remote learning or asynchronous teaching and learning. The fact that public schools across the country are giving up on even trying to finish some semblance of the academic year speaks to this. It’s during crises like these that these inequalities are laid bare and show us that something must be done if we are not going to continue to let birth and geography pick winners and losers in terms of access to quality education.
Q. Building on the last question, your recent book Black Software speaks about the advances that African-Americans have made in computer technology and their pioneering leadership in that space to make their voices heard, appreciated and respected in meting out racial equality and justice. The book also, however, addresses racial biases inherent in how digital technology is positioned and deployed up through today, to where the seemingly meritocratic state of the Internet is in fact gamed and tilted to those who are in power. With that backdrop, will today’s health crisis have an adverse effect on African-Americans’ ability, or capability, to make their voices heard through our digital platforms and outlets? If so, how? If not, why not?
“It’s during crises like these that these inequalities are laid bare and show us that something must be done if we are not going to continue to let birth and geography pick winners and losers in terms of access to quality education.”
A. Well, I think this goes back to what we promised this Internet thing would be way back in the early 90s and beyond. It was supposed to be a great, unifying, democratic space. It was supposed to provide everyone – regardless of race or gender or sexuality or any other difference – a voice, a way to express ourselves and most important a way to make our voices heard among those who often need to hear it. People in power. People creating the rules that we will have to live by. People making decisions that will affect our life chances and course. Today, we clearly see that not only does access to the Internet and digital connectivity in general exist for some more than others. But also I think the lesson of the last twenty plus years is that the Internet has been great at giving us the Illusion of having a voice.
What we know from research though is that in the same way that technology has always worked, it seems to help the rich and powerful more than those who are not – folks who are also disproportionately people of color, immigrants, people without means or access to means. Sure Black folks and other people of color have many platforms from which we can speak. But is anyone listening? Are the right people listening? Do they care what we say? Can we cut through all the noise to be heard even if folks want to? Frequently the answer to those questions are an emphatic – no!
Q. Life in perpetual BETA is essentially the notion that you are constantly and continually in the state of becoming. You’re never quite there and always are striving to improve. This concept is one I introduce when I speak about rapid organizational change and individual development and growth. I have introduced BETA as a mnemonic to explore ways in which one could bring about positive change in one’s life or organization. The mnemonic is below. Would you indulge me and share how you would apply these words as it relates to your personal or professional life?
Belief – Principles that guide how I make decisions.
Empathy – It’s what makes us, “us.”
Trust – Can’t lead without it.
Advocacy – Sharing my influence to benefit others
The High-Five: 5 Questions with Client Solutions Manager Carmen Shum
Each month, I will visit with someone in my warm network who has expertise about a particular topic or industry and ask them five pointed questions related to their sphere of influence. For this month's High-Five, we welcome Carmen Shum, a Client Solutions Manager with LinkedIn. Carmen is an experienced Social Media Strategist with a demonstrated history of driving positive brand reputation results.
Q. You recently joined LinkedIn as a client solutions manager from JP Morgan Chase, where you specialized in social media content strategy and marketing. In the wake of COVID-19, in what ways has your prior experience in digital helped you pivot to working remotely while, at the same time, staying connected to your colleagues, who you have only known a relatively short time?
A. It’s definitely an interesting time for all of us in the workforce, and working from home is a fairly new experience for me since it wasn’t something that I did often in my previous job. But my prior job did require me to be on video calls daily because the people I worked with were located in different offices all around the world. As a result, I’m quite comfortable with being on camera and staying engaged through a virtual format! Because my team wasn’t always in the same office as me, I understood that communication was very important early on in helping to build relationships and trust. Always take time to check in on others on how they are doing to see how you can help and share what you’re working on to advocate for yourself because people can’t always see what you’re doing.
Q. As a client success manager, how are you setting your clients, both existing and new, for success? How and what does that look like today?
“Always take time to check in on others on how they are doing to see how you can help and share what you’re working on to advocate for yourself because people can’t always see what you’re doing. ”
A. My first step is understanding what success means for the client because that’s different for everyone. It’s also important for me to get a deep understanding of their business to understand how they can grow. It’s not about overnight success, but instead about progress and helping them to build a plan that can help them scale and grow. Success with a client looks like a strong partnership where there’s trust between us and they know that I have their back when they need help.
Q. Eight-graders and high school seniors recently received their acceptance letters for high school and colleges and universities, respectively. You went to Stuyvesant High School in New York City, and are not too far removed from that period in your life. As a way of still providing meaning and a connection to the special moments outgoing seniors have collectively, some students are building replicas of their schools in Minecraft to host proms and graduations virtually. If you were an incoming freshman or a graduating senior, what experiences would you want to create for your former self, to help bridge this unprecedented transition in your life and in the lives of your fellow classmates?
A. I love how students are making the big milestones in their lives happen in creative ways. When I was in high school, I was on the Yearbook committee and was very excited to help create something memorable that would serve as a time capsule for our future selves to revel in. If I were a graduating senior again, I would love to create a yearbook where everyone had the chance to collaborate on to help everyone feel more connected to each other by sharing their stories, positive messages, and shout outs.
Q. You have served as a member, patrol leader and adult advisor for the Girl Scouts for nearly a decade. The Coronavirus pandemic has adversely affected their cookie sales and the way in which they connect with their community. Drawing upon your own experiences, what guidance would you give the Girl Scouts themselves and its organization, as it moves through this period of separation and isolation from themselves and the communities in which they count on?
A. When I was a member, I always looked forward to seeing my friends and getting together as a troop to do a new activity every week. So although scouts and troops might be isolated at home during this time, they should still try and gather together through virtual meetings to keep the excitement alive. This is a time more than ever where it’s important to have a community that can support each other and also come together to think of ways we can help those around us who are in need. Part of the Girl Scouts promise is to help people at all times and I don’t doubt that troops across the nation are gathering together right now thinking about way they can help their communities. The values and skills that I gained from being a Girl Scout are something that I still carry with me and have shaped me to be who I am today. I would hate to see any girls be left behind because they don’t have access to the invaluable resources that Girl Scouts provide.
Q. Life in perpetual BETA is essentially the notion that you are constantly and continually in the state of becoming. You’re never quite there and always are striving to improve. I have introduced B.E.T.A. as a mnemonic to explore ways in which one could bring about positive change in one’s life, or organization. Against what humanity is facing today and how we’re going to pull through it together, belief, empathy, trust and advocacy take on new and more significant meaning. Would you indulge me and share how you would apply these words as it relates to your personal or professional life?
A. Belief: Don’t dwell. There are no mistakes in life, only lessons.
Empathy: Always be kind, you never know what others are going through.
Trust: Trust the timing of your life. You are where you need to be right now.
Advocacy: Bring the people around you up with you.