--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Getting faculties to come to a consensus…" description: "\"Getting faculties to come to a consensus about something that they've never really thought about or had to worry about in their careers before can be a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3df/louis-menand-8583_boards_getting-faculties-to-come-to-a-consensus_1602205.jpg" --- # Getting faculties to come to a consensus about something… ![“Getting faculties to come to a consensus about something that they've never really thought about or had to worry about in their careers before can be a rather slow process and a long process, it certainly was the case at Harvard, and it's the case with most of the general education curricula that…” quote by Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3df/louis-menand-8583_boards_getting-faculties-to-come-to-a-consensus_1602205.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3df/louis-menand-8583_boards_getting-faculties-to-come-to-a-consensus_1602205.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3df/louis-menand-8583_boards_getting-faculties-to-come-to-a-consensus_1602205.jpg) > “Getting faculties to come to a consensus about something that they've never really thought about or had to worry about in their careers before can be a rather slow process and a long process, it certainly was the case at Harvard, and it's the case with most of the general education curricula that I know of, it takes four or five years just to get everybody on board with one idea.” [Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Consensus in academia often takes years because faculty must align diverse perspectives and experiences. **In simple terms:** Academic agreement is slow due to varied backgrounds. Key Takeaway Allow time for dialogue and shared understanding. Themes education consensus faculty disciplinary diversity process Mood analytical thoughtful Type educational organizational When to use this quote - university committees - policy reform - interdisciplinary projects Key Concepts collaboration institutional change curriculum development Questions to Reflect On - How can institutions accelerate consensus? - What structures support faster agreement? A Different Perspective Change can be resisted by entrenched interests. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boards/) [Careers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/careers/) [Cases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cases/) [Consensus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consensus/) [Curricula Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curricula-know-6095303/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Faculties Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faculties-come-6095301/) [Faculty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faculty/) [Five](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five/) [Five years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/five-years/) [Four](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/four/) [General education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/general-education/) [Getting Faculties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-faculties-6095302/) [Harvard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harvard/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Slow Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slow-process/) [Takes Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/takes-years/) [Worry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worry/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [I think at a place like Harvard, our experience, I was involved with, at various stages, in trying to implement a new general education…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/i-think-at-a-place-like-harvard-our-experience-i-was-involved-with-at/) [Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) > [My own view is that the general education curriculum that a college picks has to be appropriate for the kind of student body that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-menand/my-own-view-is-that-the-general-education-curriculum-that-a-college/) [Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-menand/) > [The difficulty with coming up with a curriculum is mainly that faculty aren't trained to think in terms of general education. 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