Martin

Melissa Martin
LBST 2101
Professor Celia Sinclair
27 November 2016
Discussions with a Dean
The question of what makes a "good life" has as many different answers as people asking
it. One scholar adding his perspective to those of philosophers, historians and the general public
alike is Dean of Engineering at UNC Charlotte, Robert Johnson. Dean Bob as he is referred to
by those close to him fits societys typical idea of success as a well-traveled, academic
individual. I took the opportunity to find out from the source himself what constitutes success. In
other words, I discussed with Dean Bob what exactly it means to live the good life.
I first met Dean Bob in an unexpected place: the wilderness of Wyoming as we embarked
on a crazy twenty-three-day hiking expedition. We were drawn to this place, not out of a love for
nature as one might expect, but out of a love for academia. I participated as an orientation into a
scholarship program while Dean Bob took the opportunity to serve as a faculty liaison to form
relationships with the scholars on the trip. To say those on the trip became close is an
understatement. From scaling boulders to hiking distances of ten miles in a day, this physically
demanding experience mandated that we draw strength from each other. I consider Dean Bob to
be one of the adults I most trust on this campus as a result of this experience. Because of our
close relationship, on November 10, 2016 I met with him in his office to learn his opinions and
hear his advice on how to live a good life.
To kick-start the interview, I asked Dean Bob who he is exactly and what defines him. He
confessed that throughout his life, he has been defined by different things, but his love of

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learning is one constant in how he defines himself. This love of learning, combined with chance,
resulted in Dean Bob receiving a full scholarship to Cal Tech and later becoming a professor at
the University of Illinois, a top school in engineering.
His love of learning is a logical progression to the position of a faculty member at a
university, but when I asked Dean Bob how he thinks he got to where he is today, he responded
accidents more than careful planning. These accidents can be traced back to his acceptance
into Cal Tech. This prestigious school drew him in, not because of its reputation, but because he
had always wanted to go to California. Following graduation, he could have used his degree to
work in industry and earn twice as much as in the field of academia. However, colleagues from
Cal Tech recommended him to employers at the University of Illinois and he pursued the
position. He did so, not as a part of a greater plan for his future, but because he wanted to keep
his options open. By starting in academia with its lower pay, he could easily transfer to a job in
industry. Going the other way around would have meant cutting back his standards of living and
would therefore have been more difficult. While working at the University of Illinois, Dean Bob
became involved with the National Science Foundation. It was through a conference with this
program he first visited the city of Charlotte. An appreciation for the potential of the city, desires
for change, and a desire for warmer weather led Dean Bob to apply for a position at UNC
Charlotte when it became available. In his own life, Dean Bob found Sometimes little
accidents guide in life instead of a master plan.
I then got to the heart of our conversation by asking what exactly it means to live a good
life. According to Dean Bob, a good life depends on a variety of factors, but, In a sense, if
you have things you want to be able to achieve and to do, a good life is being able to achieve a
majority of those things. One of the key factors he mentions in being able to achieve the things

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you want to is to have good health. Dean Bobs father used to say if you have your health, then
you have everything you need. This sentiment holds prominence in Dean Bobs life right now as
he is recovering from a shoulder injury he received on our trip to Wyoming. While this injury is
temporary, it prevents him from doing what he wants like boogey boarding at the beach or
decluttering his house. Health is an aspect of the good life often taken for granted.
Other factors in achieving the good life include financial resources and individual talents.
Dean Bob has never been preoccupied with money which is evidenced in his decision to pursue
academia instead of the high salary of industry. In the field of academia, Dean Bob said he
made just enough to be comfortable. However, when prompted if there is anything he wished
he had more money for, he had answers in mind. First, he would want money to allow his family,
friends, and himself to travel anywhere they wanted around the world. Second, he would want
money to give away to causes he finds important. Talent is also a limiting factor in a persons
acquisition of the good life. Goals should be made with a persons economic resources and
individual talents in mind. According to Dean Bob, if you recognize these limiting factors and
work around them, you will have lived the good life.
When I first arrived that sunny Thursday afternoon and Dean Bob was welcoming me
into his office before our interview had officially begun, we talked briefly about happiness. He
stated happiness is a choice. This idea stuck with me throughout the interview until I
eventually had to ask: is evil also a choice? There was a slight pause as we both pondered this
question. Dean Bob started by saying Evil. Thats a deeper concept than I can even fathom. He
went on to say evil is a choice, but sometimes it is a necessary one. He gave the example that
people who are starving may steal, not because they are choosing to be evil, but because they are
choosing to survive. He looked at evildoers as potential victims to their circumstances.

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Throughout our conversation, I noticed many parallels between what Dean Bob said and
what is expressed in The Happiness Hypothesis, a novel by Jonathan Haidt we have been
exploring in my Western History and Culture course. The idea of evildoers being victims was
one such parallel. In chapter four of The Happiness Hypothesis, Haidt paraphrases social
psychologist Roy Baumeister as saying evildoers almost always see themselves as responding
to attacks and provocations in ways that are justified. They often think that they themselves are
victims. It is easy to label evil when witnessing it from the side of the victim. From the
perspective of the evildoer, Dean Bob, Roy Baumeister and Jonathan Haidt all agree this
distinction is not as clear.
Another parallel between our conversation and Jonathan Haidts work is a formula for
happiness outlined in chapter five. This formula includes several variables Dean Bob mentioned
throughout our interview and reads H(appiness)=S(biological set
point)+C(onditions)+V(oluntary activities). While my discussion with Dean Bob did not touch
on biological predispositions, he did discuss conditions and voluntary activities. The conditions
he lists are those that, according to him, limit a persons ability to achieve a good life: health,
financial status, and talent. We also briefly discussed his views on social relationships which is
included in the broader definition of conditions outlined in The Happiness Hypothesis.
Relationships create an interesting dynamic according to Dean Bob. He states they hold
importance, but change often. He is divorced and finds that you make friends with someone and
they end up moving. Relationships play a big part in Haidts happiness formula, but not so
much in Dean Bobs.
Voluntary activities according to Haidt also differ from the ones Dean Bob and I
discussed. Haidt uses this term to refer to all of the actions a person chooses to be involved in

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like meditation, exercise, and learning a new skill while Dean Bob refers to voluntary activities
through the all-encompassing word of choice. Dean Bobs view of happiness is that you cant
control what you are born into, but you have choice in how you respond to life.
After hearing Dean Bobs views of happiness and the good life, I inquired if he had any
advice to help me achieve those things. While he considers his own life good, he concedes
maybe a good life can be better planned out. As such, he advised me to find the things that
satisfy me and organize my life to do those things. For Dean Bob, that ended up being academia,
even if he didnt go into college with that as his plan. He gave me the verbal advice to Keep
your eyes open. Keep your options open. This advice is cemented in my mind because I see
how it proved helpful in his own experiences deciding between academia and industry. Dean
Bob posed this question to me: How will you structure your life to get a shot [at what you
want]? It will take the rest of my days to answer this question.
Many factors go into structuring a good life. Discussing these factors with a trusted adult
mentor as well as reading the findings of renowned psychologists in The Happiness Hypothesis
has made me conscious of factors I had not considered before. Life is not a series of external
events dragging you along; rather, it is a combination of internal and external influences. How
you choose to respond to those influences is what makes your life good.

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