Reflections on Academic Lives

"Drawn from varied aspirations and diverse experiences in challenging academic trenches, this book is packed with practical advice for individuals and institutions. The contributors' reflections provide exceptional authenticity for the understanding of differing essentials in search of personally and professionally well-lived academic lives." (Chester A. Newland, Emeritus Duggan Distinguished Professor of Public Administration, University of Southern California, USA) "This book should be mandatory reading for PhD students, PhD program applicants, and new tenure track faculty. In a series of chapters written by faculty from different fields and career stages, the book addresses fundamental experiences of the academy: rejection, career-life balance, and survival. This book would have benefitted me enormously during my doctoral student career." (Leisha DeHart-Davis, Albert and Gladys Hall Coates Distinguished Term Associate Professor, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA)

This book brings together reflections from seventy academics – everyone from doctoral students to a retired provost – who share their lived experiences in graduate school and beyond.This book brings together reflections from seventy academics – everyone from doctoral students to a retired provost – who share their lived experiences in graduate school and beyond. Career seekers, adjunct professors, those in or considering graduate school, and tenure-track professors alike will find truths revealed through these shared experiences of struggle, triumph, loss and hope.