Tenure and
promotion processes can vary at each institution. At Auburn, readers of your
tenure file get the summer to review your file and write their letters. By
mid-August, the file is disseminated to your senior colleagues for review and a
vote. The file then goes to a college
committee for a vote. At this point, if the college vote is positive, the
Associate Dean might tell you to “pop the champagne” while waiting an
additional three months for the University committee to vote (I happily
followed her suggestion). In my case, the Dean told me that by the time I heard
from the University committee, I would be on to new projects and the letter
would almost feel anticlimactic. While the first part of her statement was
correct, the latter was not. I don’t know if I’m unique in this regard. I don’t know if the stress of having kids
along the way or the multiple revisions I’d had to make made me feel
differently about that letter. I do know
that almost a year later, I still feel like I am basking in the glow.
Getting
tenure feels great. But as many colleagues will warn you, it does not get
easier. I still work most weekends and some late nights. I still feel behind
much of the time, or like I almost—but
not quite—have my act together. The
demands on my time and energy are more numerous, not less.
But
somehow things are different. I think part of the difference is, of course, the
security that tenure provides. I also think getting tenure has helped me have
more confidence in myself and my work. I know how hard it has been to write my
article and my book, and to teach multiple new preps over the years. Making it
through all of that has given me increasing self-assurance in my own abilities
and more forgiveness for my shortcomings.
I’m also
more realistic about what I can accomplish and try to say no more often. I now ask myself a series of questions when
someone asks me to do something. Do I
really want to do the task? Is it important for my research, teaching, or other
responsibilities? Will I regret it if I say no? Am I just agreeing to do this
task because I feel guilty or obligated?
I know my time is precious and valuable (to me, at least!), so I try to
reserve it for the things that matter most to me.
And I’ve
come to accept that prioritizing the things that are important to me might mean
I publish less often than other colleagues and friends. This realization continues to be a tough one
for me. I definitely have a tendency to compare myself to others. I know I need
to get over that (and I’m working on it). I now make choices based on what I’m
passionate about and what I want to accomplish. Some of those accomplishments
will be publications, presentations, or other academic goals, but many will
not. In the past eighteen months, especially, my priorities have shifted to
include more volunteer time and work in local progressive causes. I also get to
spend more time with my family. Finally, I also value my “me time”. I see these things as an investment in myself
and my sanity. Now that I feel somewhat more confident in my abilities and my
professional life, I have also learned how important it is to balance my work with
the many other areas of life. I see
these things not as distractions, but as critically necessary elements of a
well-rounded person. But I still want to keep researching and writing, too!
In the
months since I received tenure, I have faced the mountainous task of starting a
second major research project. The
demands of teaching, service, and other personal and professional tasks
continue. It is often too easy to push
work on my next project to the side. But
I’ve been warned more than once by other colleagues and friends of the dangers
of languishing as an associate professor.
I do want to keep actively participating in the scholarly community.
I vowed to
keep moving forward on my research and writing.
I spent the summer after tenure catching up on some reading and thinking
about ideas for the next book. I then
spent the fall applying for a few grants and making plans for future research
trips. This semester (spring 2018), I am
teaching a class that involves research on slavery in Auburn and the
surrounding area in hopes that the research we do in class will contribute to
the foundations of my new project. Linking
up my research and teaching so directly will force me to make progress during
the semester, when I might otherwise push off research tasks in favor of
putting out the immediate fires of teaching and service.
Although I
am still working out the particulars, I plan to focus my next project on
slavery in Alabama. Practical concerns rate high on the list of reasons for
this choice. But I am also excited to
look into a place where slavery was so important (Alabama had the fourth
largest enslaved population in the nation on the eve of the American Civil War)
and that has received relatively little scholarly attention. I look forward to sharing with many of you
what I find.
Thank you
all for reading my posts and to the Legal History Blog for inviting me to write
for you all this month. It has been a
fun and eye-opening experience to reflect on the process of research and
writing and think about what kinds of lessons I can take from it. I hope some of my mistakes and
accomplishments will be helpful to future readers and other scholars struggling
through the challenges of writing a book and launching a career.
