Identifying and Overcoming Perfectionism in Academic Writers

One of the most pervasive problems with academic writers is perfectionism. It’s ubiquitous and manifests in so many unfortunate ways. There is a unique flavor to academic perfectionism, and it is exacerbated by the culture of colleges and universities (particularly for tenure-track faculty members).  Many perfectionists are painfully aware of their problem but many of … Read more

Stepping Up: When, Why, and How to Move Into Academic Leadership Roles

step up

Author: Tasha Souza, PhD I run a monthly seminar for new faculty and, during one meeting, I had a smaller group of only women. We had time for general questions and they wanted to know more about the best ways to set themselves up well for retirement. I thought this a strange request, given they … Read more

Top 5 Priorities for Faculty Success

Faculty Success Priorities

Actionable Insights to Help Your Institution Lead, Support, and Sustain Faculty Success in 2025 Learn the five critical areas where institutions can empower faculty to adapt and excel in today’s dynamic academic environment! At NCFDD, we’ve spent over 15 years partnering with higher education institutions and engaging with over 200,000 faculty members. We understand the … Read more

AI in Academia: Teaching Challenges and Opportunities

artificial intelligence

Author: Julia Staffel, PhD At the end of November in 2022, OpenAI launched ChatGPT, a text-generating AI with never-before-seen capabilities of producing almost any type of text with the click of a button. Students immediately realized the potential of using it for their assignments, easily generating essays and code, while avoiding being caught by existing … Read more

Pivoting to Public Writing

published writing

Author: Anthony Ocampo, PhD Whether in the sciences or humanities, academics are so specialized in their niche that they often forget how to convey their knowledge to a general public. In fact, in academia, your success is predicated on your ability to be in conversation with other experts, not everyday people.  When we’re doing our PhDs, we … Read more

5 Secrets to a Super Productive Semester

to do list

It’s no secret that the semester presents many challenges for faculty. What we commonly see is: So the question is, how can we create a structure to overcome these challenges? Better yet, how can we create a structure to overcome these challenges and support our research/writing productivity and health/wellness?  Here are 5 things you can do:

Five Tips for Making Your Writing Shorter

writing

Author: Kate Epstein, editor, EpsteinWords It happens all the time: you write an article that is the right length for a particular outlet, and then you learn you’re going to have to shorten it for some other journal or book. It’s exhausting, I think, to imagine how to take a paper you were happy with … Read more

Seven Times in Your Writing Process When an Editor Can Help You Achieve Your Goals

edit writing

Author: Kate Epstein, of EpsteinWords NCFDD does so much to help their members succeed. They help you plan out your route and set goals and meet them. But when you are journeying those last few miles toward getting one more line on your CV, an editor may be a really valuable companion. If you think … Read more