Summary of April 24 Town Hall Meeting

Following is a brief summary of the Town Hall meetings on work-life balance, held Wednesday, April 24. Attendance was strong — around 100 at noon, and about 60 at night. Your support and participation is truly appreciated.

Thank you to Jim Reische, Opeyemi Awe ’15, and others who helped answer many good and thoughtful questions.

Discussions were overwhelmingly respectful. Among the topics mentioned:

• Similarities and difficulties between the challenges students, faculty, and staff have achieving and maintaining work-life balance
• Excessive schoolwork assigned to students during breaks
• The need for faculty and staff to support students and model wellness for them
• The issues of defining success by rigor rather than balance
• Granting extensions and asking for help
• The culture of busy and stigmatization of free time
• Time-management skills
• Bureaucratic issues in attempts to improve wellness opportunities
• The need for more mental wellness/mental health support
• Dangers of groupthink and culture of misery