Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Sociology Sarah Daynes is UNC Greensboro’s new Faculty Senate Chair.
She begins her term during an unusual and uncertain year, but with the confidence and dedication to help faculty navigate pandemic challenges as they collaborate with staff and with leadership.
Daynes will welcome faculty through a virtual Faculty Convocation on August 25 at 3 p.m., where she will be joined by Chancellor Gilliam, Provost Storrs, and the Student Government Association and Graduate Student Association presidents.
What motivated you to become the Faculty Senate chair?
I have been a member of the UNCG delegation to the UNC system Faculty Assembly, and over the years my interest in service and leadership has grown as a result. It’s really great to meet monthly and work with delegates from all seventeen campuses of the University of North Carolina, and I would like to encourage all my colleagues to consider serving in their unit, university, or system senates. What we do is really important. I decided to become Faculty Senate chair, specifically, with the help and support of my extraordinary mentors; and because I was inspired by the women who have chaired the UNCG Faculty Senate, who are models of professional excellence, integrity, and passion. (Please check out who they are on the Faculty Senate website!)
What are your goals for the Senate this year?
First and foremost, I want us to come together as faculty, and as a university. I think it is crucial for faculty, staff, and students to work together, especially as we are navigating a pandemic that has altered our lives in such a profound way; and while we can witness some of the pandemic’s effects and imagine others, we cannot yet clearly nor fully see all of the long-term consequences. And so this year I hope to foster and nurture collaboration between the Faculty Senate, Staff Senate, Graduate Student Association, and Student Government Association, and help us work together towards a more sustainable and inclusive university community.
What will be your emphasis in supporting faculty and communicating with leadership?
Chairing the Faculty Senate is a great responsibility; I want to ‒ and will try my best to ‒ listen and represent in a genuine, inclusive, and thoughtful way. I understand the role of the chair as one of medium rather than leader; it is my job not just to voice the concerns and wishes of the faculty, but also to help others understand what it’s like for them. As chair, I will choose to promote and engage in dialogue: we all have a unique perspective on the life of our campus, and the more viewpoints and experiences we share, the better decisions we can make.
What is something you’d like the UNCG community to know about you?
As a kid, I went to a progressive elementary school that implemented a pedagogy influenced by Freinet, Steiner, and Montessori; and so by the time I entered junior high, I thought that “studying” was the same as “playing”! I credit my elementary school education for my attachment to freedom and commitment to service, but also for carrying me all the way through to my doctoral studies; and I believe it has been the most important, deepest influence on my own teaching.
What is something that inspires you about UNCG? What is your favorite part of being at UNCG?
I believe in public education. I believe that education is a right, not a privilege; from kindergarten to graduate school, education should be accessible to all. UNCG inspires because it takes its mission of public service seriously, genuinely, and without pretense. I love to be surrounded by colleagues who are extraordinary teachers and outstanding researchers, and by administrators who believe in student success and in professional excellence.
What is your favorite inspirational phrase and what does it mean to you?
I will share one among many. This one is by Walter Benjamin, a thinker and writer who has been very important in my work: “To be happy is to be able to become aware of oneself without fright.” I think it is difficult to explore and inquire into what drives us; it requires us to face our fears, all that we’ve denied or avoided; and yet, we must do it, if we want to fully live our lives. To me, Benjamin also speaks to the fact that the self is constantly changing, even though we like to think it doesn’t; and acknowledging change can feel vertiginous.
What books are you reading right now?
I’m reading the novels of Marie Ndiaye, some in French and others in English; I just started “La Sorcière.”
All UNCG faculty are invited to join virtual Faculty Convocation and the General Faculty Meeting Wednesday, August 25, at 3 p.m. on Zoom.
Interview by Susan Kirby-Smith, University Communications
