On staying engaged as you become an "old faculty" member (or how you need to navigate an evolving academic tightrope). Today, I was on a call with a Ph.D. student. The call was super. We got a lot done. Then, as the call ended, I noticed the student was wearing a familiar (retro) Dragon Ball Z t-shirt. Later, I attended an event. The event was super. Then as the event ended, a student commented how it was cool that I was wearing retro sandals. When I returned to my office, I didn't feel so super. I realized that what today's students call "retro" were my reality as a student of the past. I realized that no matter how I tried, I would never again be the hip young professor. Nor for that matter, would I ever again be part of the cohort of hip young professors set to push ideas forward. Somehow, I had become part of the establishment - a little slower, a little greyer, & skeptical of change. So what does that mean? For faculty as we mature in an environment where our students never age? Where many of our students are forever twenty-one? How do we stay relevant? I have thought about this question a lot as part of changing jobs & parenting a teenager. Often, I feel like I walk a tightrope between the past and the future. So how to avoid falling off the rope? First, celebrate what you've become. You've earned advanced degrees, taught hundreds of students, & found a place in the academy. You've earned a spot on the academic tightrope - feel some provide - don't diminish that accomplishment. Second, reopen your mind. In our early career, we joined the academy with enthusiasm for learning. By mid-career, you acquired scripts for how to do research. You also developed habits about how you work & what you study. In your late career, rediscover your enthusiasm for learning. Update your scripts for how you do, and think about your job and your research. If you are not evolving, you risk falling off the rope. Third, consider your rope course. Very few faculty climb just one rope throughout their careers. Most of us dabble in new research topics. Some pursue service, some join admin, & others run programs. Inventory your ropes & consider how they make you feel. Fourth, construct the right course for you. You've earned the privilege of deciding how you will contribute to your field. Ask yourself, what rope course makes you happy? & keeps you engaged? It's not the same for everyone. So take some time to think it through. If you do not, you risk a late-career malaise - where you find yourself less relevant to your home institution, discipline, or both. Finally, find what makes you happy. For me, I've chosen to focus on mentoring the next generation of scholars. To do it well, I suspect I will have to update my t-shirt & sandals. Best of luck!
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