It’s simple: Just believe in students

There’s a lot of talk these days about psychological safety and how it enhances employee retention. Workplace culture matters for productivity, and certainly places a leading role in turnover. So the leading companies are increasingly invested in figuring out ways to ensure that their employees feel valued, safe, and part of the team.

Not so much in higher education, an industry plagued by a culture of distrust.

Colleges and university administrators often mistake fear for leadership, expecting students and workers to simply fall in line because they are awed by the power and intellect of those in power and someday, somehow, want to be like them too. Too many faculty stay not out of respect but because they’re socialized into an abusive culture that mistakes productivity for impact. Students … well, students often leave.

This morning I marched with the graduate employees striking at Temple University, where yet another public university is paying abusive wages while its president proclaims its commitment to affordability and anti — racism. The strikers were full of concerns about the evident union-busting tactics happening there and the numerous scabs plaguing the campus.

I was in a sour mood when I returned home to open the latest report on the battles to secure students’ basic needs.