Rise with Clarity Podcast

Are you in a toxic higher ed work environment?

Should you stay or should you leave? 

There’s no easy answer to these questions…especially if you have invested a lot of time and energy in landing a tenure track position in today’s higher ed job market. 

Deciding whether to stay or leave entails a lot of reflection, some soul searching, the weighing of pros and cons, and if you do end up leaving--planning out your next moves. And unfortunately, this is often a decision that you can’t speak that openly about. 

In this encore broadcast of the Rise with Clarity Podcast, I discuss questions you may want to ask yourself if you want to leave your toxic work environment. I’ll be introducing the concept of “Change Talk” as a way to engage more concretely in your thinking and any next steps that you may want to take.

Find the full transcript for this episode, along with other resources for women of color faculty at RisewithClarity.com/22 or RisewithClarity.com/53.

Dr. Katherine Lee is a Higher Ed Coach and Career Strategist and a former tenured professor at an R1 university. She helps women of color faculty to manage the tenure track, navigate politics, and take the next steps to advance their careers. To find more resources or to work with Katherine, check out her website at: Rise with Clarity.

For those of you who are at the midpoint of your academic careers: who are your mentors right now? Have you mostly stayed connected with your mentors or advisor from earlier on in your academic career? Or have you had to continually seek out mentors throughout job transitions and different stages of your career?

I raise these questions because lately I’ve heard from a few mid-career women faculty that it has been challenging to find good mentors in the academy. And this isn’t for their lack of trying. 

In this 52st episode of the Rise with Clarity Podcast I reflect on what mentorship at the mid-career level may look like for you, and I offer you some questions that can help to clarify what kind of support you need, and who you may be able to ask for that support.

You can find the full written transcript for this episode at RisewithClarity.com/52, along with all of my other podcast episodes and other resources for women of color faculty.

Dr. Katherine Lee is a Higher Ed Coach and Career Strategist and a former tenured professor at an R1 university. She helps women of color faculty to manage the tenure track, navigate politics, and take the next steps to advance their careers. To find more resources or to work with Katherine, check out her website at: Rise with Clarity.

Professors: What kind of support systems do you have to lean on right now, in this current moment? 

I think this is a really important question to ask yourself and to answer. In an earlier episode of the Rise with Clarity Podcast, I shared some ways that you can better identify your support systems within and beyond higher education. 

In that episode—which was number 40—I take you through a kind of brainstorming exercise so that you can better identify and articulate what types of support you may actually need and then I ask you to think of possible next steps to move towards getting that support.

In this 51st episode of the Rise with Clarity Podcast, I share with you several resources that some of you might not know about and that you may find helpful as you try to navigate the remainder of this already disruptive academic year.

You can find the full written transcript for this episode at RisewithClarity.com/51, along with all of my other podcast episodes and other resources for women of color faculty in higher education.

Dr. Katherine Lee is a Higher Ed Coach and Career Strategist and a former tenured professor at an R1 university. She helps women of color faculty to manage the tenure track, navigate politics, and take the next steps to advance their careers. To find more resources or to work with Katherine, check out her website at: Rise with Clarity.

In this 50th episode of the Rise with Clarity Podcast, and the first one of 2026, I’m going to be reflecting on how I’m going to really try and lean into my word of the year, which is NOURISH. 

There are a couple definitions for nourish:

1. To provide with the food or nutrients that are necessary for life, health, well-being, and growth.
2. To cherish or foster.
3. To strengthen, build up, or promote.
4. To keep a feeling or belief in one's mind (typically for a long time).

I love that this word has different dimensions to it, and that it can be applied to other people, other living things, and to oneself.

You can find the full written transcript for this episode at RisewithClarity.com/50, along with all of my other podcast episodes and other resources for women of color faculty in higher ed.

Dr. Katherine Lee is a Higher Ed Coach and Career Strategist and a former tenured professor at an R1 university. She helps women of color faculty to manage the tenure track, navigate politics, and take the next steps to advance their careers. To find more resources or to work with Katherine, check out her website at: Rise with Clarity.

2025 has been a year of peak disruption for faculty in higher ed.

It’s not surprising, then, that this year has spurred some of you to begin to consider what a Plan B, Plan C, and Plan D could look like for you.

This episode is for those of you who are facing some pretty big decisions on the horizon—like whether to stay at your current institution, apply for jobs in different states, start a side hustle, or pivot out of higher ed completely.

In this 49th episode of the Rise with Clarity Podcast, I want to acknowledge this moment of frustration, uncertainty, and fear. But I’d like to suggest that this can also be a moment of possibility for you. And I want to share a few questions that may help you as you reflect on what your next steps may be.

You can find the full written transcript for this episode at RisewithClarity.com/49, along with additional resources connected to this particular episode as well as other resources for women of color faculty.

Dr. Katherine Lee is a Higher Ed Coach and Career Strategist and a former tenured professor at an R1 university. She helps women of color faculty to manage the tenure track, navigate politics, and take the next steps to advance their careers. To find more resources or to work with Katherine, check out her website at: Rise with Clarity.

Does your research stop after you’ve left academia? 

This is a question that I explore in the 48th episode of the Rise with Clarity Podcast. I offer some reflections on a few professional experiences that I've had this year as an author, a consultant, and as a speaker, and I think of the ways in which research has been embedded in these experiences even though I'm no longer in the academy.

You can find the full written transcript for this episode at RisewithClarity.com/48, along with all of my other podcast episodes and other helpful resources for women of color faculty in higher education.

Dr. Katherine Lee is a Higher Ed Coach and Career Strategist and a former tenured professor at an R1 university. She helps women of color faculty to manage the tenure track, navigate politics, and take the next steps to advance their careers. To find more resources or to work with Katherine, check out her website at: Rise with Clarity.

Prior to starting your first job, how many of you were trained to lead an effective graduate seminar? Was your first experience with facilitating a graduate seminar during your first year on the tenure track? And do you remember how that went?

In this encore broadcast of the Rise with Clarity Podcast, I’ll be talking about some of the challenges with leading graduate seminars for your first time. And I want to offer you some strategies on how to avoid over-preparing and stressing out about teaching your first graduate seminars.

Find the full transcript for this episode at RisewithClarity.com/47 or RisewithClarity.com/14 as well as other resources and links to other podcast episodes for women of color faculty in higher education.

Dr. Katherine Lee is a Higher Ed Coach and Career Strategist and a former tenured professor at an R1 university. She helps women of color faculty to manage the tenure track, navigate politics, and take the next steps to advance their careers. To find more resources or to work with Katherine, check out her website at: Rise with Clarity.

How many requests to review article or book manuscripts do you receive on a regular basis? 

And do you have a process for deciding what you’ll take on in a given semester or academic year?

In this 46th episode of the Rise with Clarity Podcast I want to talk a little bit about the pros and cons entailed in doing peer reviews. I hope that by addressing some of these dimensions that aren’t talked about so openly, you can start to make more informed and strategic decisions about whether or not you’ll accept a peer review request that comes your way.

You can find the full written transcript at RisewithClarity.com/46, along with all of my other podcast episodes and other helpful resources for women of color faculty in higher education.

Dr. Katherine Lee is a Higher Ed Coach and Career Strategist and a former tenured professor at an R1 university. She helps women of color faculty to manage the tenure track, navigate politics, and take the next steps to advance their careers. To find more resources or to work with Katherine, check out her website at: Rise with Clarity.

What are your values when it comes to AI? And following up on that question, what are your pedagogical values when it comes to AI usage in the classroom?

If you’re confused about how to navigate this new reality, it’s completely understandable! It’s also reasonable if you are feeling conflicted about whether you are even Team AI or not.

In this 45th episode of the Rise with Clarity Podcast, I share 10 reflective questions that can help you to better assess what your pedagogical values are when it comes to AI. 

I also point you in the direction of some books, podcasts, and articles that can help you to clarify where you stand in terms of AI in general. 

Find the full written transcript for this episode at RisewithClarity.com/45, along with all of my other podcast episodes and other resources for women of color faculty in higher education.

Dr. Katherine Lee is a Higher Ed Coach and Career Strategist and a former tenured professor at an R1 university. She helps women of color faculty to manage the tenure track, navigate politics, and take the next steps to advance their careers. To find more resources or to work with Katherine, check out her website at: Rise with Clarity.

In this encore broadcast, I discuss the topic of amplifying the academic achievements of women of color faculty. I reflect on how it can sometimes be very challenging for women of color faculty to promote their own achievements. Lastly, I offer 6 tips on how to better ensure your academic accomplishments are acknowledged, documented, and amplified.  

Find the full transcript for this episode at RisewithClarity.com/44 or RisewithClarity.com/13.

Dr. Katherine Lee is a Higher Ed Coach and Career Strategist and a former tenured professor at an R1 university. She helps women of color faculty to manage the tenure track, navigate politics, and take the next steps to advance their careers. To find more resources or to work with Katherine, check out her website at: Rise with Clarity.