Category Archives: Uncategorized

There is much that divides academics (e.g., different fields of study, methodological preferences, theoretical tastes, ect.), but on this we are all united: Reviewer 2 is a villain. There is no disputing this inexorable fact. R2 is a painful thorn in the side of every researcher. A couple years ago, I attended our departmental HalloweenContinue reading “The Absurdity of Peer Review”

Ranking universities from best to worst is a lot like trying to rank ice cream flavors. For me, the best ice cream in the world is dulce de leche (obviously). Some people might agree with me, but others might say that chocolate chip cookie dough, rainbow sherbet, or even lemon sorbet (yuck!) are the best.Continue reading “The Best University in the World is . . .”

I’ve been around academia long enough to have seen some truly “egregious” leaders. I selected that work, “egregious,” deliberately and very carefully. It’s a curious word. If you look it up in the dictionary, you’ll see that it can mean “very, very bad” and “very, very good” at the same time, making it the perfectContinue reading “What Does Bad (and Good) Leadership Look Like in Universities?”

Academic work is lonely work for the most part. We spend large portions of our days in isolation from others, sometimes writing, sometimes reading, sometimes preparing lectures, and sometimes analyzing our data. Compulsory working from home has made us even more lonely. When I go into the office, at least I see colleagues as IContinue reading “The Loneliness Epidemic in Academia”

Today I asked my little girl what she wants to be when she grows up. She smiled at me and responded as she always does: “A Pah-fessor like you, daddy.” So foul and fair a day I have not seen. I’m obviously flattered that she wants to follow in my footsteps, but every time sheContinue reading “Would You Ever Want Your Child to Become an Academic?”

You’ve all heard of the story of the boy who cried wolf. But have you heard of the university who cried wolf? Almost every institution of higher learning now finds itself in this unfortunate situation. For decades, universities—especially those in Western, English-speaking countries like the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Australia—were swimming in money. FueledContinue reading “The University Who Cried Wolf”

Procrastination is a huge problem in academia. Everyone suffers from it to some degree or another. Should I work on this 3rd round revise and resubmit, or watch cat jump fail videos on YouTube? Should I prepare and record my next lecture, or listen to one more Johnny Cash song? Should I read the latestContinue reading “Do You Struggle with Procrastination? Try Using a Daily Checklist”

When you accept the idea of doing a PhD, it is not just “work,” as many people assume. Once you are in it, the PhD becomes your life; it truly becomes part of your own being — you wake up and go to sleep thinking about it. It looks like an obsession and it totallyContinue reading “Under Pressure: the challenges of doing a PhD abroad”

My kids have been a huge drain on my career, but you know what? I’d have it no other way. The pleasure has been all mine. I have two little ones, a boy and a girl. My son is in high school and he has always been a handful, bless him. He’s a socially precociousContinue reading “Would You Trade Your Kids for an Extra 20 Publications?”

A few weeks’ ago, I opened my inbox for a newsletter mentioning suicide prevention week. The word couldn’t sit with me because I have lived what it means up close and personal. You see, a lot of people have told me it should’ve been over by now, and that I should “move on.” What aContinue reading “One More Attempt at Life”