Direction? I Might Be Lost.

My next meeting was with Edie Waldstein, the vice president for enrollment management. I had lots of questions for her, mostly regarding her salary; I was still on a quest to talk to the five highest paid staff members.

After talking with Edie, I realized that, although she was the third highest paid staff member in 2007, her salary was average when compared to others with her title in the Iowa conference.

The interview was fine--mostly awkward--but I was more lost than ever. What direction did I want to take my stories in? What information did I have from my interviews? Not a whole lot.

I had a few more interviews set up for later in the week and was grateful I had a few more days. In the words of Kari Weaver, it was better to be going in the right direction than to get a head start.

Then a miracle occurred. I got my hands on Wartburg's AAUP newsletter that had an article on faculty salaries and compensation and how they are losing ground compared to its benchmark schools.

I had found my direction: instead of focusing on how much administrators get paid, I would focus on how little Wartburg faculty gets paid compared to other schools.

My entire website idea had changed, and I was alright with that. Realizing I didn't have the time, resources, or willing contacts to investigate administrator's salaries, I took off in a new direction. I only hoped I would get more answers at this destination.