Well, it’s been four months since I made the move to, what I’ve since been told, is the dark side… I call it senior management, but apparently this is the same thing. Mind you, if it means I get access to a giant space-based laser weapon of unimaginable power, then I’m all for it…
If you hadn’t heard, I applied for and was offered the post of Associated Dean (Learning & Teaching) in the School – and it’s something that I’m very excited about. I had a colleague tell me the other day that he wanted to wish me congratulations for the new post, but didn’t feel it was a good thing! It’s a common feeling in academia, where the interest most people have is in their chosen area of research – and management is something that . And that’s true for me too. But I’m also interested in working towards creating a space for my colleagues and our students to be as successful as I have. Publications and research and innovative teaching methods don’t just happen, they have to be identified, encouraged and nurtured – and that’s what I want to do now.
And as I’ve said before, I’m a huge advocate for higher education – and again, it’s important to me to be able to help as many people get to university and to raise their aspirations. As a first generation university go-er myself, I know first hand the opportunities it can provide, and I want to be able to provide this for others too.
Thankfully, the new role still lets me work with my wonderful PhD-ers. And we have a number of exciting research projects coming out soon, which I’m excited about.
So anyway – so far, so good. Although, I do find myself increasingly practicing my Force Choke move…
