Willie James Jennings is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies at Yale Divinity School. 

The disappointment is real! Early career colleagues report their disappointment after joining a faculty.  Many excel during the doctoral program only to feel deflated, marginalized, or overlooked as a “junior” scholar. Many feel invisible, duped, or overworked on a faculty. How do you separate from the doctoral experience and step into your own voice as a teacher? What does it take to feel the joy and exhilaration of teaching? How do you overcome your fears and trust your own worth?