My department is not very supportive when a colleague leaves

[foralurker]

Is this a "faculty" thing or a "just in my department" thing? I'm in my first faculty position and I find this whole thing to be weird and unsettling.

We had a full professor resign at the end of last school year. She explained that, while she didn't have another job lined up, she was burnt out and was ready to move on to something else. So, she would take a year off to find another position. Everyone was very complementary during the announcement, and very complementary during our following division meeting. But my god, behind this woman's back you would have thought that she had personally bitch slapped everyone's mother on her way out.

I'm going into year three here and I've decided to go back on the job market this fall. (Thanks to the advice here.) I'm afraid of asking ANYONE in my division for a letter of recommendation after watching the way they behaved.

I decided to put some feelers out in my department. It hasn't gone well. I'm not in a tenure track position. And I'm honestly not a terribly impressive hire and didn't arrive with anything special about me. When I mention that I might have a look around and see what might be out there this fall, the faculty members I've spoken to kind of become rude.

It's like they're taking it personally that I want to move on and move closer to home. I have worked in higher Ed for over ten years as staff. Anytime I mentioned that I might look around, faculty would trip over themselves to offer a letter of recommendation. (Maybe they just wanted rid of me?)

I'm left to wonder if this is part of the faculty experience? This never happened when I was staff. I'd like at least one letter from my current university. I can get the other letters from my PhD committee.

[Ruralguy]

Its fairly common, but I certainly wouldnt say its universal or necessarily typical. I think sometimes people are just taken by surprise, so they start asking questions, and that might start to seem rude.They probably should just be supportive first, and then ask. So, it partly depends on personality types. Also, if its a school that people leave often then some people might be sensitive to that.

[jerseyjay]

There is a lot that might be going on. Personally I wouldn't worry too much about the reaction to the full professor's resignation because I do not think it has much to do with you.

Presumably the full professor had at least a decade--and maybe thrice that--working at the school, and may have been an administrator, a department chair, or something, and in any case everybody knows her and perhaps there is something else going on. Or perhaps: it is extremely rare for a full professor to just up and leave without something lined up. Maybe others are also burnt out but don't feel capable of doing this and hence are jealous. I mean, sometimes I feel burnt out and think of doing something else, and I am sure I am not the only one. Or maybe: everybody else has sacrificed so much and is jealous of her as a full-time professor and hence views that her leaving like that is somehow a judgement on them. (Or that she exposed that the emperor's clothes are not so nice as everybody pretends.) Who knows? And, to be honest, why do you care?

Because, and I think this is most important: you are not in a tenure-track position. You will probably never be a full professor at this school. Whether you are a permanent (i.e., renewable) non-tenure-track faculty or a temporary (visiting) one, it is really expected that you should be looking for a tenure-track job. Because that's what everybody is supposed to want (hence the reaction when somebody gives it up). They shouldn't take it personally, because they haven't given you a tenure-track job. If they really expect you to be happy with a non-tenure-track position--no matter how nice it is--then there is something wrong with them.

If possible, it would be best to get SOMEBODY in your current school to write a letter. How about the full professor who just left? When I was a visiting professor, I asked several tenured colleagues to write letters for me, and then did.

If nobody will write a letter for you, then I would say that, coupled with the first part of your question, you should try to leave as soon as possible.

[Parasaurolophus]

If you aren't TT, then their expectation should be that you will actively seek out better, more stable employment. If that isn't their expectation, then fuck 'em (and the high horse they didn't ride in on).

I second the suggestion that you ask the prof who's leaving for your letter. She, at least, is unlikely to hold it against you.


Faculty here expect you to stay, and there's some talk of candidates "wanting a TT job" (as a negative; obviously, this is idiotic) in our searches (there's no tenure here). But when someone leaves for a better job, there's none of that--we're glad they found what they wanted/needed.

[Hibush]

In may be more characteristic of ineffective departments. If there are a lot of movers and shakers, people are disappointed when a good colleague moves away, but not resentful.

[Ruralguy]

You  dont need movers and shakers in order to not have a resentful department. You just need reasonable and well adjusted people. That doesnt require trremendous career success.

[Sun_Worshiper]

My advice is to keep your job market activities under the radar, but do try to find at least one supportive colleague to write you a letter.

[foralurker]

Thanks, everyone! Excellent advice here as always. I so appreciate this community and you all have made my career transition a lot less frightening. :-)

[OneMoreYear]

My department has lost 3 faculty members this year (2 to new jobs and 1 to a move back toward family).  We do not have tenure here, so it's not unexpected people will be looking, and I'm in a field with obvious alt-ac applications, so people are not only surveying the academic market.
We are thrilled for our wonderful colleagues and their new opportunities.  And we are also sad to see them go. And we are a little stressed regarding course staffing, as we are in limbo currently regarding hiring approval.
I hope that you will find some support in your department with regards to a letter.
Good luck on your job search, foralurker!

[glowdart]

I have warned many a colleague who is on the market that people have very different reactions to colleagues leaving. Some are genuinely happy. Some are jealous & resentful. Some just cut you off the minute you announce because you're no longer valuable or important to them. Some are relieved that you're taking yourself elsewhere.

Hopefully you have someone there who can be happy for you and also warn you which of your colleague-friends is going to be a prat when you leave. I'm told that the shock of who turns on you is worse than the fact that people will do so. Forewarned is forearmed.

Good luck on the market.

[foralurker]

Thanks! Much appreciated!

[Wahoo Redux]

Also, if its a school that people leave often then some people might be sensitive to that.

We had this phenomenon at our first toxic university after grad school.  It was certainly not as pronounced as the situation that the OP describes, but there was definitely a "so-you-think-you'se-better-en-us-huh?" attitude whenever someone was hired in or hired out.

And there were A LOT of people leaving and trying to leave constantly.  We finally managed it.

Faculty tend to be very personally invested in their schools and departments, and we live in a world with a definite scaffolding of prestige.  Moving on up may be a big slap in the face to some people.

[poiuy]

There may also be a crabs-in-a-bucket mentality - resentment from those left behind against those who succeed in escaping. To add further insult, the fact that people want to leave reinforces the idea that this is a place one should leave if one can. Then those who are not leaving / cannot leave feel even crabbier.

[mamselle]

Also, it may not apply in your situation, but in some other cases, telling HR you're leaving early, "to be nice," has backfired when they cut off benefits or someone decides your done, as in, now, on date of notice, not the two weeks, months, or whatever you're giving them 'to be nice' (which they may perceive as you giving yourself).

So, as someone above noted, keeping it close to your vest may be your best strategy for not being made to leave before you're ready to go.

M.

[Ruralguy]

It very much depends on the situation. We also had a recent Forumite move to an R1. He had a significant grad student group at the old place. I am not sure how much he revealed to them and when, but I would have been very angry and frustrated as a grad student if my adviser of several year were to have just to picked up and gone in the late summer without having mentioned anything to me.

So, the point isn't either niceness or self protection, but do what you need to do when you need to do it, and not before, but not after either.