Self-Compassionate Professor

Dissertation coach, Dr. Jen Harrison, explains how certain cultural and structural issues prevent professors and institutions from fully supporting their grad students in their writing process. She names a number of issues including an "inside-outside" problem whereby academia does not want to accept help from those outside institutions. In the end, both grad students and professors find themselves bearing the weight of such problems, but Jen offers recommendations to improve conditions for all. Specifically, she discusses the power of writing groups. Find Dr. Jen Harrison at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-harrison-rwp/.

Michelle Grosser describes her journey toward a more regulated nervous system, explains how to communicate safety to our bodies so that we feel more whole, more alive, and more intentional in our lives, and describes simple strategies for regulation. Find Michelle Grosser at https://michellegrosser.com/.

After a 27-year career in academia where she had been promoted to full professor, served as chair, as well as served as Associate Dean of Research at her institution, Dr. Martha Mitchell explains that she was ready for something new. Currently working as a manager at a national laboratory for approximately one year now, she has found the new work and new environment to be energizing, inspiring, collaborative, and exciting. In this role, she is also able to continue doing parts of the work she loved as an academic, namely leadership and mentoring. Find Dr. Martha Mitchell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martha-mitchell-45a69a8/

In this authentic and inspiring conversation, Dr. Azucena Verdín tells us about how she once did not like the ways she moved in the world, struggled with self-compassion, and easily spiraled into rumination. For a time, she believed leaving her academic career was the answer until she realized--after identifying the role anxiety was playing in her life--that she was only running from herself. She now belongs more fully to herself and is able to work and live with a much quieter mind than in the past. Find her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/azucena-verd%C3%ADn-phd-743605268/

You're invited to feel into Fall 2024 and let the new season teach you something! In this episode, I acknowledge the heaviness of fall semester and describe how you can "tap" some of this heaviness away. As you widen your vision and see your life beyond your academic responsibilities and feel connected to something bigger, you are better able to welcome a new season and approach it with intention. Happy Equinox!

Dr. David Weill shares his story about quitting his job—at the prime of his career—as the Director of the Heart-Lung Transplant Program at Stanford. Wanting more balance and a more contemplative life, he says, “I had a real sense that it was time to go.” He now writes in the mornings and does consulting work with transplant hospitals in the afternoons. His new novel about a transplant doctor, All That Really Matters, just came out. 

Dr. Yvette Martinez-Vu shares her childhood realization that anything can happen and discusses how this insight has shaped her career and life. She describes difficult times where she felt unwell in her work and in her body, explaining that in each situation--from burnout to a covid-inspired career pivot--she continually chose her own wellness and wholeness. Yvette emphasizes the importance of self-trust, leaning on her own values, the strength embedded in her support system, and the resources available to her through the privileges she has been afforded. Find Dr. Yvette Martinez-Vu on LinkedIn, Instagram @gradschoolfemtoring, and https://gradschoolfemtoring.com/.

Dr. Katharine Stewart shares her story about choosing to leave her position as Sr. Vice Provost and return to faculty, explaining that while she loves her administrative work, she also loves (and misses) her work as a teacher and scholar. Katharine urges academics to let their values lead, to bring their whole selves to their work, to honor the career seasons they find themselves in, and to foster trust among those they work with. From this place, she tells us, we thrive and our institutions of higher education also thrive.

Dr. Sheena Howard tells how the president of her institution called faculty into a room and announced the shut down of certain departments and the letting go of certain faculty. She describes the experience as scary and eye-opening, realizing that even though she was able to keep her job this time, that may not always be the case. From there, Sheena invested herself in building side hustles. She now teaches other faculty how to brand themselves for increased income. Find Sheena at on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/drsheenahoward/ or email her at [email protected].