The start of the academic year is nearly upon us. On our campuses, student orientations are in full swing, new faculty orientations are being planned, and faculty are planning their syllabi. Some might argue that college and university campuses are going to be back to “normal” or to whatever a post-pandemic campus looks like. I hope those folks are right. Some might argue as well that the summer break will have provided students, faculty, and staff with the respite we have all needed to refresh our perspectives, shake off burnout, and reinvigorate ourselves with the spirit of optimism and dedication to the mission of higher education that summer typically brings. I think these folks are fooling themselves.
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Creating an Academic Culture of Working to Live
I’m often asked how I succeed at managing work-life balance—or as I call it, “life-work balance”— and it stems from my childhood. My parents both worked as educators, and