Soulful Strides to Promotion & Tenure (November 2024)
Implications of Someone Else’s Choice
Goodness — November has definitely been one for the books. Who knew that the results of the election would take such a toll on us. As I sat in meeting after meeting, I was struck by conversations around “voter’s choice” and how choices have implications, regardless of whose choice it was or is.
It is hard enough facing the consequences of our own choices, but living with the consequences of someone else’s choice can leave a bitter taste in your mouth. As a concept, choice is a beautiful thing. The ability to choose what is best for yourself (and your family) is important because it fosters a sense of autonomy. And because there are so many things in life we don’t get to choose, making personal decisions that are aligned with your values can ultimately shape your path throughout life. I think many times, however, we feel as though we are left with the inability to make choices based on our values while simultaneously left with the consequences of choices made by others.
Mm….
Let me stay focused. The promotion and tenure journey is characterized by a see-saw of choices, but let’s focus on the piece that often tugs at our intellectual spirit — research interests. Higher education often prides itself on valuing innovation and free thinking. Yet, it is perplexing how the academy frequently dismisses research ideas and methodologies that embody these very tenets. Instead, many disciplines (and the people within) narrowly define what is considered valuable or interesting, thus stifling innovation. To add insult to injury, they offer up “research areas or ideas” that fail to resonate with or include perspectives outside the mainstream or dominant culture.
By selecting (or strongly suggesting, wink, wink) your research area or redirecting your research ideas, they believe they are acting in your best interest - “helping you get tenure,” “ensuring you get a publication,” or “expanding your collaborative research network” — not even realizing their choices for you result in standardizing what is considered a valuable contribution to the discipline. These choices — their choices — carry profound implications for Black women in the academy.
To understand the full weight of these implications, we must critically examine how their choices for us erode our autonomy, stifle our scholarly creativity/innovation, and serve as reminders of our marginalized position within the broader landscape of the academic hierarchy. But wait, there’s more. Their choices for us have far-reaching consequences for the professoriate: (1) fewer Black women are represented among faculty ranks in higher education, (2) scientific discoveries and research methodologies grow stagnant, and (3) the discipline, departments, and institutions remain “vanilla” in thought and devoid of diverse perspectives and transformative ideas. It is not lost on me that many of you are seeking tenure and feeling like these choices are the only way forward. However, I disagree, because I have seen the consequences of their choices on many of you — your faces, your bodies, and your mental state.
So what can you do? Practice resistance. And by resistance, I am not suggesting you take up arms and storm the office of your department chair or seek out the P&T committee chair for an “I got time today conversation”. Not at all. I am suggesting you find ways to keep yourself whole. Here are some to get you started:
Prioritize your well-being. Self-care is not enough. Reclaim and center your research on topics and issues that resonate with you.
Reframe your thought process around work. Reject narratives that emphasize and prioritize overwork, play-it-again bias, and perfectionism. Embrace balance, redefine success on your own terms, and self-affirm daily.
Seek joy in the everyday. Prioritize your mental, emotional, and social health by celebrating all your wins — big and small. Reflect on the impact of your professional contributions.
Disrupt the status quo. Push back and challenge the mainstream norms of your discipline. Instead of submitting an abstract for a full presentation or workshop, consider giving a lightning talk.
Build a collective. Create or participate in spaces that center your voice and ideas. You might be surprised who shows up and what you can accomplish (proposals, publications, etc).
Finding peace in someone else’s choice for you can be challenging, especially if it feels at odds with your desires and autonomy. Although we may not be able to change the circumstances, we can change how we move forward in the consequences. So, in light of all the recent and upcoming events that will remind you of someone else’s choice, take a beat and remind yourself that even though you don’t agree with the choice, you can choose to resist in a way that brings you peace. Remember, finding peace doesn’t mean suppressing your feelings. It simply means working through your feelings to reach a place where you can move forward with grace and resilience. And the implications for choosing peace are far beyond what you can imagine.
“You are moving toward self-fulfillment, and the consequences of that fulfillment should be to discover that there is something just as important as you are.”