That said: I want a beer.

Representation in administrative bodies matters very little. Even if you were elected by your peers, if a more prominent professor—who isn’t even part of the committee—speaks up, their will is likely to prevail over the institution’s formal structure.

I also learned—later than I’d like to admit—that collegial governance in Brazilian universities is often held hostage by the opinions of prestigious faculty.

That said, being a tenured professor in a Brazilian university is the closest I’ve come to a full neoliberal experience: a space where nearly everyone is constantly focused on defending their own interests, regardless of their political orientation.

I thought that was a problem just in Brazil! 😔