2026 SPE Annual Conference: Catalyst for Exchange
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2026 SPE Annual Conference Schedule
print this pageYour Administrator and You
Libby Rowe: Ruth Adams, Michael Borowski, Chris Dant, Easton Selby
Saturday, March 21 - 9:00AM to 11:00AM
Macon
Do you and your colleagues feeling under-supported by your academic institution? Do you feel like you are misunderstood? Is your darkroom falling apart while other studios keep getting upgrades? Then this session is for you! Seek wisdom from a panel of photo educators who have transitioned into leadership roles that end up being stuck in the middle between faculty, students, and staff who yearn to grow and develop their areas and the upper administration who is in control of the budgets, program development, and other initiatives of the university.
All kidding aside, becoming an administrator comes as a surprise to many of us who end up behind the "big desk". We move from engaged faculty member thinking we can be an advocate for our peers and students, to academic whipping boy/girl trudging uphill through snow to school and back, at once seen as irritating to the upper administration for voicing our department's concerns and overbearing to our faculty for asking folks to engage in the daily work of our departments. In the current anti-education political climate there are many challenges that are heading our way. Navigating the minutia is a time consuming, brain taxing, and often thankless task. Yet we do the work, exactly because we believe in arts education, we believe in our faculty and students, and we believe that what we all offer in the classroom is paramount to the richness of life in our culture.
This panel brings together administrators from various institutions who have experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly in terms of guiding their faculty and staff through the discussions and decisions that need to be made to keep the academic wheels turning. Join us for a conversation on what administrators can and cannot do, should and should not be expected to do, will and will not agree to do, and gain insights on how you can become a well oiled cog that initiates and implements change in your department or school. I promise we won't just complain.
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