Dean’s blog draft: Success in progress
Our college motto includes an elusive word whose definition is individualized to mean different things to different people. Success. It’s a quest to which we all aspire. And as scientists, there is so much at stake as our successes may hold great promise for society. Yet to fully achieve it, one must encourage and even embrace its antithesis, failure.
Baseball fans know the often-quoted stat, George Herman “Babe” Ruth, was the first player in major league history to hit 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, and 700 homeruns. Yet, over his 22-year career, he also managed to be walked 2,062 times and strike out 1,330 times while attaining the 714 homeruns milestone. Although he was known as a home run king, we all can agree Babe Ruth also had his fair share of disappointing at bats. Same holds true from a century ago to modern day. Consider the NY Yankees’ home run slugger now, Aaron Judge, who has 315 homeruns in nine seasons along with 1,209 strikeouts. We face the same in science as well-- if one wants to swing for the fences, there’s a good chance of missing the ball completely a good percentage of the time. Yet a quick look at the numbers tells us something else; today’s stars have a greater tolerance for, and are willing to take a higher rate of, failure to accelerate success.
According to Albert Einstein, “Failure is success in progress.”
Just ask Kjell Lindgren, NASA astronaut and Space Day 2024 keynote speaker [link to his Space Day video speech], whose story I heard last Saturday. Despite getting removed from Air Force Academy Flight School due to a medical issue, it didn’t stop him from becoming an astronaut to achieve his dream of exploring space. (Spoiler alert asthma was his curve ball). In facing his challenges, he kept viewing his end goal from a variety of perspectives and pathways and persevered, with the George Mason characteristics of grit and determination, in the direction of his goals. Considering the accomplished bio I read for his introduction and the line of folks waiting for his autograph, I’d say he succeeded.
Microsoft founder, Bill Gates offers a different take, “It's fine to celebrate success, but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.”
This approach leans into what we experience in an R-1 institution of higher learning -- smart, curious people may pursue science all the time. Yet, it’s when we think bigger or don’t always get the answers to our hypotheses that we expect where we may, in fact, find the most learning and opportunity for discovery. Our college submitted more research proposals for funding than any other at George Mason. And we had more accepted proposals than any other as well. Now it’s time to start swinging for the fences and form multi- and interdisciplinary teams to pursue grand challenges and consider even more complex and substantial opportunities. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard about or personally experienced successful funding appeals after retooling a prior submission that at first wasn’t approved. Resubmit that grant if it wasn’t supported the first time around. And embrace the lessons of failure we may inevitably experience with our bold thinking and lofty goals. We will celebrate your successes as they keep coming. And be with you to ‘fast fail’ to move forward toward our collective goals to understand, innovate, and ultimately succeed.
~ Cody
