Issues of power and consent in higher education: as harassment advisor and from the other side
Category: career
Publishing the book
'There are two sorts of failures,' one said with authority, 'those who never publish their PhD and those who publish it with xxxxxxxxx'. .
On sleep and nightmares
So, subconscious mind, get used to it: I'm still an academic, but I'm not going back to the Day Job, ever!
Rites of passage (1): lunch and visibility
Yesterday marked a double rite of passage. My first pension payment arrived in my bank account (always a relief to know that this sort of thing works!) and we had lunch with my former department to mark my retirement. Held well away from the office (as in, not in Milton Keynes but in Oxford - distance… Continue reading Rites of passage (1): lunch and visibility
Doing it
So, the great day has passed. I retired on Tuesday. I suspect retirement from The Open University proceeds very differently from the practice in most universities, let alone most jobs. Since I was working from home on The Day, absolutely nothing happened. No presentation of a clock, no round of drinks with colleagues down the… Continue reading Doing it
Stages of withdrawal
It's an odd process, this retiring business. Last week, I filled in the form stating how I want the percentage allocation of the lump sum and the pension to be managed, and posted it: that felt like a very serious step. But there are all sorts of other, tiny, steps happening and it seemed like… Continue reading Stages of withdrawal
PhDs: what are we doing?
Today I acted as a PhD external examiner for the final time. If you've read discussions of what the responsibilities of a retired academic should be, you'll maybe have seen 'examining PhDs' in there, as part of our supposed duty to the next generation of scholarship. However, having examined more PhDs in the last three… Continue reading PhDs: what are we doing?
The kindness of colleagues: Roy Porter and Nick Atkins
Kelly J. Baker has published an excellent piece on 'Cruelty and kindness in academia'. Really, you may as well just go and read it now, rather than waste time on my ramblings, but it has made me reflect on two of the kindest people in my own career. The first and most influential in my life… Continue reading The kindness of colleagues: Roy Porter and Nick Atkins
My favourite classical place
I first went to Rome in my teens, and that wasn't deliberate: it was one of the venues visited when I won three weeks in mainland Europe as part of a competition run by Barclays Bank. But I didn't go to Athens until my forties. It wasn't fifth-century Athens, so why would I want to… Continue reading My favourite classical place
Starting to retire
so I'm going to retire - and I need to think this through.
The retiring academic 