Yesterday I had lunch with Dr. Chris Sorensen, who calls himself a “simple country physicist” but in fact is Kansas State’s 2007-08 University Distinguished Teaching Scholar. His list of accomplishments during his 30+ years at K-State is quite long, and some of them I cannot even pronounce. But certainly not the least of these is Outstanding Doctoral and Research Universities Professor of the Year.
So why would such a distinguished professor take the time to have lunch with and visit with me, a very junior and nontenured assistant professor from a different campus?
Because I asked him to!
One of the most important things I have done since I began my career in higher education is developing a network of mentors. You could think of it as old-school social networking. There is an old saying that goes something like this: “People who matter don’t mind, and people who mind don’t matter,” and I have found that it’s usually true.
Last spring, Chris was to give a talk at K-State called “A University Without Walls“. I had never heard of Dr. Sorensen before the talk was announced, but I became so excited when I read his abstract calling for a more interdisciplinary approach I e-mailed him to tell him I was coming. He must have thought I was some sort of nut, but he was gracious and suggested I introduce myself at the lecture, which I did.
These things often have a strange way of progressing, and I wound up running into him a number of times in unexpected places throughout the year, and he always remembered me! I don’t know if he’s read Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People, but he lives it because he learned and remembered my name.
So What Did I Learn Yesterday?
I think it is absolutely vital that as teachers we all find someone to talk to every once in a while; someone who resonates with us and shares our outlook on life. Even though I’ve only known Chris a very short time, and only been able to visit at length with him once, I feel like we do have similar philosophies in spite of our different backgrounds.
For example, we discussed our respective military careers and how the experience shaped who we are today. Chris said because of his, he can eat a lot of $!&@. Hmmm, I thought. I’ve eaten a lot of $!&@ too. In fact, nothing that the university has been able to serve up compares to that which the Navy provided me with, but sometimes I forget to remind myself of that fact. Talking with Chris, and having that shared experience helped me to see things in proper perspective again.
We talked for over an hour. He seemed to be interested in my presentation at K-State’s Faculty Exchange for Teaching Excellence next month. I will be presenting a talk called “Teaching In The Intersection: Playing In The Street Without Getting Run Over” and our conversation seems to be stimulating some ideas for that.
Don’t Isolate Yourself
I guess the point of this post is to encourage you to seek out others where you work who can help you become better at what you do. Don’t be afraid of the “movers and shakers” because so often they benefit from knowing you as much as you benefit from knowing them. But you must be sincere in your efforts, and not superficially choose to interact with people just because you think it might be helpful in advancing your career. I seek out people with whom I have a genuine interest in knowing. Usually there is something that they have said or written that sparks an interest in my learning more, and it develops from there.
