It’s been one hell of a year at East Tennessee State University. Lots of highs. Some
interesting lows. Overall, though I have to say, I’m pretty pleased with
myself. Not pleased – in that cocky “I can do no wrong, don’t I kick ass” sort
of way. Pleased with the fact that I made it through the first year. Why would
I say that? I’ll tell you.
I say that because in my years in academe, I’ve seen any
number of people fall off the tenure track. Some brilliant, hard-working people
in fact. That’s one of the dilemmas I have regarding my dissertation. I was
thinking about doing a longitudinal piece and re-interviewing those people who
would be now getting tenure. Trouble is – out of my small sample – half of them
didn’t make tenure. A couple of them are not in academe anymore at all. So
surviving the tenure-track isn’t as easy as, say, baking a cake. Not sure why I
used that analogy, because I can’t bake for crap…but whatever.
I have to say straight out that there’s no way I would have
survived this first year without my comrades in Communication Studies at East Tennessee State. So a shout out to Drs. B., D, O, & K. First off, they took a chance by hiring
someone who at the time was not in academe at all, but only tangentially –
going to conferences, applying for jobs – trying to get back into academe while
not employed. Hiring in academe is a risky business anyway, and they certainly
took a risk. Second, as collegues, they made me feel welcome.
They let me ask
my “stupid” questions and answered them, without rolling their eyes at the
silliness of "The Noob." While I know at times I got on their nerves with all the
questions, interruptions the - “Hey what’s with the….?” –questions, they were
all gracious. I cannot emphasize how important they were to my making the most
out of this first year.
On the home front, I arrived here in Johnson City, TN with
nothing, and it took me a while to get set up. For the first month, I didn’t
even have a bed. When that first paycheck rolled in, I spent all of it on
furniture. The following month all my money went to pay off past due bills.
Nice to be getting on track that way after a year of living on unemployment.
Acclimating to JC wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be, given that I’d
lived in Tennessee once before, down in “The Noog.” I’ve made some friends.
Found some like-minded compatriots to shoot the breeze with. I haven’t done
much exploring. That will come this summer.
Not everything went as smoothly as I would have liked
though. In my own opinion – and later confirmed by the student evals – my
Organizational Communication class in the fall was a mess. Some of that had to
do with learning the students: their expectations, their readiness, their
culture. Some of that had to do with teaching a class that I hadn’t taught
since 2007. So I learned some things as I went along: give four tests instead
of three, drop a project that didn’t work as planned, rearrange the classroom
to make it more interactive, don’t assume that everyone has (or even wants) a
Twitter account, kill the two extra texts.
What I learned from the disaster of
my Org class, I incorporated into my Group Communication class. That class, I
feel – though I don’t yet have the student evals to check my thoughts – went a
whole lot smoother. I’m looing forward to teaching Org Com again this fall,
incorporating everything I learned from the first go-round. It should be much
improved. Adjust, readjust, and readjust more.
As Dr. D explained way back last year when I was on my
interview, while the university will talk a great deal about service and will
talk a great deal about teaching, they will not stress publishing. “But don’t
let that fool you.” So I took that to
heart immediately. So in my first year I’ve published three pieces, which I
think is good, but not great. I also have two things that are in press that
will come out sometime next fall. Although I post a lot of my successes on
Facebook, I have an overwhelming number of rejection letters as well!!! That’s
the game though, right? Just keep plugging away on the writing and the
submitting. My goal is to have three per year. So far I’m on track and happy
about it. If you are interested, you can find my pieces here, here, and here.
One of the things I’ve learned is not to ask “Why?” so much.
Why? (Yes, irony.) Because – and I should have realized this – it’s beause when
you ask, you also assume responsibility. So when I asked “Why don’t we have an
Honors-in-Discipline Program in Communication Studies?” the resounding answer
was “Because you haven’t started it yet.” So I did! It took a year to get the
program proposed, set-up, and initiated. So in autumn, we’ll have our first
honors students. I’m pretty stoked about that. Shout outs to both Dr. Harker and
Professor C - both from our Theatre and Dance Division - for helping me with all the intricacies of getting the program
situated and walking me though all the necessary steps. (See what I mean about
good colleagues!?) Adjust, readjust, and readjust more.
There are some frustrating things as well. I’ll spare you
all the details, but just list some. A committee that didn’t get its job done. Students that "checked out" mid-semester. The strange way the hiring process went for our lecturer positions. The
meetings as we attempt to reinvigorate our M.A. program. Oh. And the
never-ending stack of paperwork. Nothing major, just frustrating. A LOT less
frustrating than working in information technology, that’s for sure!!!
Finding out
that certain colleagues - the previously mentioned Dr. Dunn and the yet as unmentioned Dr. M. - and I can collaborate on a very cool internet–based research
project. Having interesting, intelligent conversations with graduate students.
Watching my undergraduates present at local non-profits. The ability to proffer
up two new classes: “Technology, Communication, and Culture” and “Communication
and Leadership.”
And so, rather than some “dark night of the soul” as some of
the participants from my dissertation research experienced, I find myself
thriving, I find myself engaged, I find myself mostly in awe that a kid – who
almost never made it out of RCNJ in the first place – is in the position of
having finished up his first year on the tenure track. And I couldn’t have done
it without the great colleagues that I do. So with all that is in my soul, I thank
you my colleagues. Here's to a great year two!
Go Bucs!
