It’s hard to imagine that we’re already past September 20th, officially welcoming fall. The weather doesn’t always serve as the best reminder, but campus is alive with students and activities almost 24/7. We welcomed over 240 new faculty and academic staff to New Faculty and Staff Orientation and over 60 new academic leaders at orientations in August, many are brand new to East Lansing, and are busy acclimating to new roles and responsibilities. The President’s Investiture is coming up quickly where he will have opportunity to articulate some of the goals and aspirations he has for the university community, helping us become the global land-grant university of the future.
All the ways we commence a new year are full of aspirations and hopeful expectations for our students, our units, and ourselves. In a way, charting a path through the opportunities and tasks ahead might be comparable to how we think about syllabus construction, a meeting agenda, an exercise plan, or other experience that we organize – provide some structure so as not to become overwhelmed while keeping eyes open for unexpected options. Academic careers are a lot like this: marathons, not races with a recognizable start and end. For faculty and staff, getting started each semester and each year requires a (re)centering that we often forget in the midst of the noises around us and yet, we each need to chart the course that makes sense to what we hope to accomplish down the road one step at a time. Kerry Ann Rockquemore, Founder of NCFDD [and an MSU alum!] suggests thinking about our careers as books with chapters and themes that change over time. Perhaps you are writing your first chapter or at least the chapter for the 2024-2025 academic year. As in writing any paper, it’s helpful to have a general idea of the thesis and where you want to go, but also be aware of straying into unrelated issues and knowing when to put a new idea on hold for another time. In a way, MSU and the myriad opportunities available is like trying to decide what goes into work now and what needs to wait until later. This is where your colleagues, mentors, networks, and OFASD can be helpful. Finding those you trust to help navigate the term/year and all its options will be those that help you know when to say no, when to say not at this time, and when to agree AND how to talk about the work in the annual evaluation and promotion processes when the time comes.
Some suggest taking 15 minutes every day for reflection, to center yourself in what is important to you, and to remind yourself why you have made the current choices and what could be held for the future. Take a walk in the Beal Garden, visit the Planetarium for Music Mondays , attend a Wharton Center event, join a Diversity Research Network or Community Engaged Write-In for some important reflective time, or attend a monthly Learning Community meeting to engage with others on a topic of interest where you want to learn more. These are not long-term commitments but chances to center and reflect, to remember what comprises the chapter of your academic career book for 2024-2025. Remember that we are here to support and help you as we all walk through these first months of the academic year.