"Although SLU Sparks are designed for individuals, sometimes group interaction is fundamental in creating the community essential to building institutions. This SLU Spark is for SLU Madrid’s first Senators: Verónica Azcue Castillón, Tania de la Fuente, Chris Ealham, Javier Gamo Aranda, Kevin Ingram, Renzo Llorente, Fabiola Martínez, Melanie Mitchell, Mónica Pérez-Bedmar, Mary Prendergast, Francisco Prieto, Olga Ramírez Calle, Simona Rentea, Alesia Slocum, Laura Tedesco, and Kirk Tennant.
It is not easy to establish shared governance or the legitimacy and role of a new institution. You have undertaken this task with little experience and few guideposts, in common ground mined with anger, frustration, and old grievances. You have had the courage to believe in change and to work for it. While it has been difficult, stressful, and often discouraging to determine how best to advocate for faculty concerns; to trip mines, face the explosions, and labor for reconciliation; to discover that we disagree despite our shared goal of enabling faculty voice; each of you has acted with great integrity—in arguing for what you thought best, listening to others, and respecting the Senate as an institution for decision-making. Take pride not only in the foundation of shared governance you have laid but in what may be the Senate’s most valuable and least visible accomplishment: its commitment to keep talking through our differences, to braving the tension this creates, and to persevering in constructive debate. Every voice has been essential, and the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
Beyond sincere thanks to all of you for these achievements, special thanks to part-time faculty, who served generously without compensation, and to each of you for your individual contributions, among these:
Beyond sincere thanks to all of you for these achievements, special thanks to part-time faculty, who served generously without compensation, and to each of you for your individual contributions, among these:
- Verónica, for your unwavering advocacy for high professional standards and defense of fair treatment of part-time faculty
- Tania, for your calm attentive presence at meetings and your support for research
- Chris, for your perceptive insights, outside-the- box thinking, wealth of experience at different educational institutions, and wit
- Javier, for always answering emails and for your willingness to serve despite many commitments
- Kevin, for your energy, healthy outrage, growth into leadership, and drive to keep us moving forward (“Keep it simple”)
- Renzo, for your invaluable role as gadfly for truth and justice, high ethical expectations, knowledge of higher education policy, and archival memory
- Fabiola, for your careful thinking and dedication to collaborative discussion when developing policy, and your thoughtful support
- Melanie, for your high ethical standards and power to inspire them in others, conscientious problem-solving, generosity, patience, and eloquence
- Mónica, for your intelligence and plain-spoken good sense during the short time you were senator
- Mary, for your amazing organizational efficiency, diligence in fulfilling responsibilities, and ingrained sense of fairness
- Francisco, for your willingness to learn what you needed to do your job well, educating yourself to assume the responsibility of shared governance
- Olga, for earnestly giving your best in thoughtful engagement of each issue and for some impressive logical analysis
- Simona, for your thorough critical conceptualization of your work and adherence to high standards in completing all tasks
- Alesia, for your gifts (skills) of listening and constructive synthesis, and for bringing your deep understanding of the workplace to bear on challenges
- Laura, for your carefully-thought and -chosen words, and for keeping the importance of the Senate’s efficient, harmonious functioning in mind
- Kirk, for your long-term support for shared governance and for authoring the first ranks proposal (2009), an initiative now coming to fruition
