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It was a great conversation and I thought everyone made some interesting points. One thing I was thinking afterwards though was that maybe we were preaching to the choir. I think everyone in the room at the time is perfectly willing to figure out how to break down barriers that might be getting in the way of David's vision of a network of people behind him as he goes about his work. I think there are other people within the institution who need to be participating in this conversation and hearing this message. How we get those people involved is another question.

I'd also like to suggest that all of us should have that feeling, regardless of what role we play. I'd like to feel, for example, that the faculty and others are behind me and supportive of what I do as well. Sometimes I might be one of the people in David's crew, but I'd like to feel that at times, David might be in my crew. What I might be arguing for is a kind of mutual support that means people need to be more fluid about their perceptions of a hierarchy. Maybe we're back to the pyramid vs. flock concepts from the fall. At any rate, I hope the conversations continue.