I decided to resign from my position as a professor of Biology at a private midwestern R1 in the spring of 2022, and my last day was Sept 1, 2023. This newsletter is my way of processing and reckoning with what it meant to work in a structure built by other people in another time, and how I contributed to the less healthy aspects of academic science. I dissect what academia asks of us and what we end up giving it. And all without ignoring the enormous passion and love that we have for our subjects, our students, and our communities.
Here is the plan for now:
Essays will generally come out on Sundays. I’ll start with a series of essays that use the book “Conscious Uncoupling: 5 Steps to a Happily Even After” as a jumping off point for a conversation about leaving academia.
The Compost, a list of links and resources for your own process of unprofessoring, will come out once a month.
Eventually, I hope to roll out other features like a book club and discussion threads. Other ideas are welcome!
There is a lot to discuss. I hope you’ll join in!
