Angela R. Logan, PhD
St. Andre Bessette Academic Director
Master of Nonprofit Administration
Associate Teaching Professor
Mendoza College of Business
University of Notre Dame
It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year: The Start of a New Academic Year
Hello! As you are settling in to read this, if you’re like me, you are also probably starting to make the mental shift from the slower days of Summer to the accelerated pace of the start of the academic year! I don’t know about you, but the older I get, the more quickly Summer seems to fly by. This year was no different: between caregiving, teaching, and professional travel, I barely had a chance to do all the things I encouraged you to do in my June message. And yet, while I bask in the glory that is the Supermoon Blue Moon outside my window, I can’t help but think about the “once in a blue moon” experiences we all get to enjoy…every year!
There’s the moment during New Student Orientation where students come to campus for the first time, full of a mixture of excitement and dread. They may be filled with questions like: “Why did I enroll?” “Will I get a job when this is all over?” “Where do I park?” “Is my Academic Director as cool as everyone told me she is?” Okay, that last one may just be what my students are wondering.
Similarly, as faculty, we, too, are often filled with questions: “Did I upload my syllabi to the online platform?” “Where is my classroom?” “What time does my class start?” “Is this the year I’m going to get ahead on my grading?” Again, that last one is just me! Nevertheless, whether rooted in anxiety, imposter syndrome, or trying to balance professional and personal responsibilities, this time of the year often leads to a wicked bad case of “Academic Year Scaries.”
Whenever I’m plagued with the “Academic Year Scaries,” I engage in one of my love languages, pebbling. Inspired by the behavior of Gentoo penguins, who are known to leave pebbles in their mates’ nests as a sign of affection, the term pebbling is “the act of sending memes, links, and videos.” According to noted psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Business School, Adam Grant, “It signals that you’re thinking of (someone) and want them to share your joy.”
On a recent pebbling binge, I discovered some great advice for how to approach this academic year from Melissa Harris-Perry, Presidential Chair Professor of Politics & International Affairs and head of The Anna Julia Cooper Project at Wake Forest University. I thought I’d wrap this month’s message with excerpts from her Facebook post:
“As faculty members, we labor with challenges too. We are trying to navigate all the complexities of our professional and personal lives and working to be present, prepared, and effective in the classroom and beyond.
Give your students and yourself some grace, some space, some humor, and some second chances.
Try just one thing that is different and see what happens. If you hate it, stop. If it’s a disaster, never use it again. And give your students permission to try something new. See what happens if you reward the effort rather than outcome.
Drink a little more water.
Nap if you can.
Look for the opportunities that imperfection brings.
Try to remember that at times- in moments- if we are lucky, teaching can be really and truly the very best job in the world.
We got this.”
Friends, we got this! Make it a ridiculously amazing academic year!
All the best,
Angela R. Logan
Board President, NACC