At the beginning of each semester, many faculty set thoughtful goals. Finish a manuscript. Restart a stalled grant proposal. Make visible progress on a long-delayed project. The intentions are sincere, and the stakes feel real. Yet as the weeks pass, those plans often slip beneath the weight of teaching, meetings, service, and daily responsibilities. What … Read more
Author: NCFDD Faculty rarely overhaul their grant strategy because of a single failed submission. More often, it is a steady pattern. You work hard but your proposals feel rushed. You generate strong ideas but struggle to shape them into a compelling narrative. You know funding is essential, but the process feels fragmented, unpredictable, and more … Read more
Author: NCFDD Academic life is often portrayed as collaborative, intellectual, and community driven. In reality, many faculty describe it as isolating from the earliest stages of graduate school through the years leading to tenure. The pressure to perform, the expectation to manage everything independently, and the lack of built-in peer support can make even the … Read more
As another semester closes, faculty often find themselves stretched thin, managing heavy workloads and the emotional demands of academic life. In her live NCFDD workshop Planning for Rest and Recovery: An Agile End-of-Year Reflection, Dr. Rebecca Pope-Ruark invited faculty to pause and reflect, to consider what it means to end the year with intention rather … Read more
Author: Rebecca Pope-Ruark I spend a lot of my time teaching faculty and academic leaders about burnout, which the World Health Organization (2019) defines as “a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” It has three characteristics: exhaustion, depersonalization or cynicism toward those you work with, and real or perceived … Read more
Burnout in higher education is widespread and deeply felt. Faculty are teaching, mentoring, researching, and serving their institutions all at once. The workload rarely slows down, and many academics find themselves running on empty long before the semester ends. What was once fulfilling can start to feel like survival. Recognizing burnout is not a sign … Read more
As the academic year winds down, many faculty find themselves running on momentum alone. The instinct is to push through the final deadlines, answer the last emails, and turn immediately to what comes next. But real progress often starts with a pause. Reflection is not about slowing down for its own sake. It is a … Read more
Securing research funding has always required persistence, but for many faculty, the process now feels increasingly solitary and increasingly uncertain. Traditional sources of support, like federal grants, are harder to access. Research offices are overextended. And the work of identifying funders, tailoring proposals, and navigating institutional requirements often falls squarely on individual shoulders. The result? Faculty are … Read more
Faculty life is often described as a balancing act. Teaching, research, service, and personal responsibilities compete for attention, and the instinct for many academics is to grit their teeth and simply push harder. Late nights, working through weekends, and skipping breaks are treated as badges of honor. The message is clear: if you are strong … Read more
Author: Chrystal Bruce, PhD, Associate Dean, John Carroll University The NSF ADVANCE Partnership Project, Advancing STEM Careers by Empowering Network Development (ASCEND), was conceived to support the professional advancement of mid-career women STEM faculty and administrators. Through this collaboration, we created regional peer-to-peer networks and provided participant-informed education, training, and professional support to equip faculty … Read more