Moving out of the Academy

Well, this is certainly not an easy conversation for one’s very first blog post, so let’s just cut to the chase!

After 33 years in Higher Education, I am about to take what may be the biggest leap of faith I have ever embarked on. I am opening the door from formal academia and stepping out into the world.

Idioms aside, I can’t lie. I am a little bit scared and I’m waiting eagerly for the excitement to kick in.

I have spent almost my entire working life within the amazing landscape of academia. I have moved through, almost seamlessly, from my own early university experience to building a whole career on navigating through disciplines, cultures and networks. I have grown up in academia and learned a lot about what it is to live well and not so well within it, and without it. I understand the way it moves and breathes, and how, in capturing the imagination, it’s potential might seem fathomless.

I remember all the people along the way who have been seminal in shaping my ways of being and thinking. I am thankful to have walked through the world with good and kind guidance, and an assurance that I did not have to emulate leadership in any other way than my own to be successful. ??

It has also taught me much about myself. About how a working class kid can thrive if she knows soon enough that her power not only lies in her fortitude, but her authenticity, her propensity (like her mother) for malapropisms, and an utter enthusiasm in ensuring all around her find the joy of connectedness with each other. ?We work within the walls and structures of our organisations for perhaps more of our lives than we should, but in the end, everything comes down to the way we reside with each other, bring others along with us, and set the tone for kindness through good and healthy leadership. We all thrive if the conditions are right. We must hold the light up to curiosity, finding one’s agency and not allowing the systems in which we reside to hold those vital things back.

So, I am heading out into the proverbial wilderness armed with everything I need and the footprint of a great career in Higher Education behind me. Time to advance with gusto into doing and shaping the things I love.

Let’s not be fooled….people like me do not retire!

I look forward to having the freedom to move through life in a different way, so of course I have a few things up my sleeve. I intend to see my family more, travel more, write more. Make space for great projects with people I like (a shout out to my lovely Hallam colleagues here too), work remotely as well as closely, and of course keep connecting, curating and thinking well beyond the realms of possibility!

If there is resonance in the way we have connected personally or professionally, then keep in touch and never hesitate to draw me into your work or prospective projects. You can find me here

What’s next I hope you are asking? It is full gear on working with my lovely team at Hallam until my departure on 26th January. They are in a good place and I've valued their support and collegial nature, in spite of me throwing everything at them since arriving in post with only a week to lockdown!

Here is a hint as to the next chapter.......

January 2022

The Academic Nomad: Shape shifting through a changing academy

I am not sure at all about how all this blogging works in reality, but I am certainly going to give it a go! More to come, and especially from close allies and advocates of new ways of working and being beyond academia.?

Till then, see you on the other side of academia soon I hope.