Goodbye and hello …

I can distinctly remember overhearing a library colleague say that he was celebrating his 15th year at the University of Oregon. This was shortly after my arrival at the UO in Eugene, OR in 1986, and, at the time, it seemed incomprehensible that I would ever arrive at a milestone like that. Thirty three years later, I’m now entering the final phase of my career as a librarian. On July 1st, I will start a three-year contract that I fully expect to be my last. Doing the math, I will retire at the end of June 2022, just prior to my 63rd birthday.

That’s the plan anyway, but you don’t reach the sixth decade of your life without understanding the fickle nature of best laid plans and so forth. The scenarios we concoct in our heads and expectations for the way life will unfold seem to run on some different algorithm … one that inevitably meets out twists and turns that take you in completely unexpected directions.

For example, I penned the first paragraph of this post back in May 2019. Today, the month of July will unfold in a direction completely unforeseen. My boss, current Dean of Libraries, accepted a position as the leader of the highly regarded University of Maryland Libraries. Her last day at the UO will be July 8th. During the transition period between permanent Deans, I was asked to serve as the Interim Dean of Libraries. While I have no expectation that this stint in the top leadership position for the UO Libraries will turn into anything other than an interesting and wild ride into badlands of university politics, it does make one wonder. What if I like it? What if a measure of success turns my attention away from impending retirement to extending the time I am willing to devote to advancing the library cause from this new vantage point? What if I run the boat of my career onto the rocky shoals of the campus coastline? The answer is simply unknown, and I have no other choice than to do my best and see how it plays out and whether the “plan” changes again … and perhaps again.

The interim position is already molding and shaping me in unexpected ways. For the past several months, I have been waking up at 3:00 a.m. no matter how tired I was when I slipped between the covers the night before. My mind is already racing, and a tumult of ideas, reminders, to-dos, and details pulse between my ears like the signals of satellites circling the globe sending and receiving information from the ground below. I get out of bed, grab my computer and head out to my “office” in the garage where I begin the near futile task of reading and responding to the scores of e-mail messages that hit my in-box every day. As Dean, you not only receive a barrage of messages sent directly to your attention, but you are also copied in on everyone else’s business. Sifting the important from the mundane, figuring out how and when to insert your opinion, becomes a cognitive battle for survival.

Fortunately, the interim job comes with the aide of an Executive Assistant. Far from being a perk, the person in this role is your best and only hope to deal with the onslaught. I have turned over control of my calendar, and I am learning how to let the EA perform the role of gatekeeper and confidante. It’s abundantly clear that without this person at your back, the chances of making it through the day, the week, the month are as good as the proverbial snowball in the Phoenix sun. It still feels funny to say that I’ll have my person contact your person, but I get it now. I literally don’t know when and where there is an opening on my calendar to take a meeting.

All that said, this is about the most fun I have ever had at work. Trying to stay a step ahead of the chasing bear, avoiding the thunderstorm in the gathering clouds or pulling the speeding vehicle into a power-slide before it careens off the cliff, provides a super adrenaline rush. It’s exciting and the possibilities to do something significant, something meaningful, and empower others to reach their potential is a gift. I can catch up on my sleep when the right time comes. Have a plan, the plan will change. Ride the wave baby!