Reflections on Tenure
Spoiler alert: This is a personal reflection on my tenure experience, not an essay on the Rank, Promotion and Tenure process– I do have some thoughts on that which I will save for another time.
The decision came last week and the answer was yes–I was awarded tenure. Anyone on a tenure track can surely imagine my elation and relief. I didn’t fully appreciate the stress and uncertainly the process created until it was over. I have been sleeping, goofing off, and smiling more lately. I look and feel healthier. I breathe more deeply.
Every once in a while, I wonder if there was any dissent; I puzzle over who were my supports and who were my detractors. A colleague tactfully reminded me that it was a binary outcome, and I came out on the positive side, so let it go and move on. Truer words were never spoken.
In fact, now that the stress and fatigue are dissipating, I am feeling a surge of energy and enthusiasm. The truth is that I love what I do, and and now have the feeling I can begin to develop some ideas and projects without mentally calculating the potential number of peer-reviewed publications they might generate.
Couple that with the acute realization that many of us in academia are fortunate indeed to have a relatively autonomous yet secure job in such precarious economic times, and I feel almost giddy. So, it is with this sense of renewal that I plan to jump back into PowerProfs and other projects that have been swept aside during the tenure frenzy.
End of self-indulgent post—time to move on. And best wishes to all of you still trodding the tenure track.
