A Philosopher's View of University Administration. (February 23, 2011)

Jonathan Wolff is professor of philosophy at University College London and writes a monthly column for the Guardian. His opening paragraph this month may strike a responsive chord with many an academic.

I've just come across a phrase that sums up my approach to university administration: "masterful inactivity". No matter that the phrase was coined to describe the British approach to venereal disease in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Now I'm no longer head of my department I can reveal the secret that kept me sane. Ignore everything. If it actually needs to be done you'll be reminded, and then do it immediately. But mostly, someone wants you to fill in a form because they have a form to fill in themselves, and by the time they have processed all the responses the person who ordered the whole thing has moved on, passed on, or forgotten. And so by keeping your in-tray so high you can't see over it you are saving everyone time and trouble.