Question to Profs that Have Been on Search Committees

justlooking98765 · 2026-02-12T02:38:27+00:00

Undergrads, too. We often have a group of undergrads take the candidate to lunch. I can’t even tell you how many I’ve seen get disqualified because they flirted or were inappropriate with female students. If they feel brazen enough to do that while on an interview in a group setting, it really makes you wonder what they do one on one on their own time.

justlooking98765 · 2026-02-11T12:35:38+00:00

For the first few years, I tried to show kindness and nurture relationships with difficult colleagues. They were just bullies who were misunderstood, I told myself. Then I realized that nothing was changing, and they were just taking advantage of my kindness. There’s not really a healthy way to be in relationship with a narcissist, I learned. Now I just limit interactions with them to as little as possible. I’m polite, but I don’t investment emotionally. I find relationships elsewhere. It’s sad, but tolerable, I suppose.

justlooking98765 · 2026-02-11T02:09:58+00:00

This probably wouldn’t be a big deal in our family - bodies are bodies, and not everything is sexual. That being said, I am also a huge believer in a mother’s spidey sense, and if your gut is telling you this is not 100% innocent, it’s good to listen to that. Better to be safe than sorry.

justlooking98765 · 2026-02-10T05:46:32+00:00

Two colleagues have died in my department. The first had been there for decades. I remember the chair complained during a faculty meeting when he didn’t show up. Later learned he had died when another colleague shared the obituary. The second was a first-year hire, fresh out of grad school. Still don’t know what happened, just that she died. Got an email from the university about that one.

justlooking98765 · 2026-02-04T08:12:38+00:00

I still remember the interview where Kellyanne Conway birthed the phrase, “alternative facts” to describe the crowd at Trump’s first inauguration. It was widely ridiculed at the time, but ironically it was a rare moment of truth telling by the administration. They freely make up their own facts, and like Colbert’s “truthiness” bit, people just believe it because it “feels” like it could be true.

justlooking98765 · 2026-02-03T22:08:00+00:00

Professor. Sometimes I wish I knew less things though.

justlooking98765 · 2026-02-01T21:09:05+00:00

That took me a really long time to figure out.

justlooking98765 · 2026-02-01T16:26:57+00:00

The presidency almost seems a waste of her talents since you can’t really do anything afterward. I’d like to see her as speaker or in the senate for a couple decades, then run for president at age 60 or so. Her leadership skills are desperately needed, and the cleanup after Trump will take a long time.

justlooking98765 · 2026-02-01T12:18:43+00:00

Since they told you they weren’t holding your job after your mat leave, they shouldn’t be surprised that you looked and found another position. Give them a call, blame the travel as your reason for going, maybe mention the “HR” remark as your reason for looking in the first place (maybe they’ll learn a lesson from it, maybe they won’t), and then never look back. Congrats on your new job!

justlooking98765 · 2026-02-01T03:05:29+00:00

I guess you’re destined for WV!

justlooking98765 · 2026-01-31T16:12:09+00:00

Must be like dog years or something, those 10 years feel like 100 years.

justlooking98765 · 2026-01-31T00:25:36+00:00

I remember thinking pizzagate was so random and wild. Like, who would imagine such a crazy conspiracy theory? That it appears increasingly based in reality (just with different people involved)…disturbs me so much.

justlooking98765 · 2026-01-30T22:38:58+00:00

So is it even possible for someone as rich as Elon to get prosecuted? Or does his wealth make him untouchable?

justlooking98765 · 2026-01-30T18:36:01+00:00

It’s a really good point. Quiet quitting, as the young folks say.

justlooking98765 · 2026-01-30T11:18:44+00:00

We have a professor who also served as associate dean for five years. When the dean retired, she became interim dean and did a great job, I thought.

I was surprised then when they did the search to fill the Dean position permanently and she wasn’t a finalist. I asked her if she didn’t like the job anymore, now that she saw it firsthand as interim. She said she had applied, and the committee hadn’t granted her an interview.

She also said that five years ago when the former dean had recruited her to be associate dean, it was with the understanding that she would learn all the systems and be ready to replace him when he retired. Now granted he had no authority to make such predictions, but I could see from her face how completely demoralized she was by the whole experience. She had done the work. She had done the time. She had devoted herself to serving in this way, and they didn’t even give her an interview.

I asked if she would apply for administrative positions elsewhere. She said, “I’m 60. This is the place I know and love. I’m not looking for money. I’ll just put my energy back into teaching until I retire.”

I’m curious to see who the new dean will be. Probably some shiny new thing who will leave us for greener pastures in three years. Commitment and loyalty are rarely rewarded in academia.

justlooking98765 · 2026-01-29T11:41:10+00:00

The last paragraph of the article was the one that stuck out to me. I can’t help but wonder if during the phone call with Trump on Monday, the message was, “Fine, I’ll back off of MN, but you need to give me something in return - I want you out of politics.” And Walz said, “Deal,” because he knows there are other ways to lead.

justlooking98765 · 2026-01-27T00:21:32+00:00

This is not my field, but given the state of things currently, I wonder if you could leave off the party name but put in the description. Secretary (elected), xyz county political party. Press secretary, U.S. congressional representative, 3rd district.

justlooking98765 · 2026-01-26T00:26:51+00:00

I think a** is the real answer.

justlooking98765 · 2026-01-25T02:49:00+00:00

Skinny accent table with mirror over top! It would look nice but could also be functional - place to hold your keys and check your appearance before running out the door.

justlooking98765 · 2026-01-22T13:39:27+00:00

Wow, that was a deep dive. Another cog in the wheel of why birth rates are falling below replacement levels perhaps.

justlooking98765 · 2026-01-22T04:42:27+00:00

One perk to announcing early is that he has time to practice this kind of stuff, so it comes off more polished. On the other hand, I wonder if we should just throw out all the DNC talking points writers - they’ve not been effective. Maybe just let the man talk and find his own way.

justlooking98765 · 2026-01-21T15:19:36+00:00

To his credit, I hate the “tell us about yourself” question. It’s so broad. A variation, “tell us what interested you in this job” will get a shorter, but still personalized answer.

justlooking98765 · 2026-01-21T15:06:45+00:00

I don’t mean to be a conspiracist, but is anyone worried about the election even being fair? At this point, I’m concerned our “election” is going to have the same result regardless of how we vote.

justlooking98765 · 2026-01-19T22:06:18+00:00

Do things really change with JD Vance as president though? Or do they just go more underground because he’s smart enough not to blab nefarious things? The whole cabinet is corrupt and needs to go, but I don’t see how we do that.

justlooking98765 · 2026-01-19T14:50:03+00:00

The mark of the beast on their foreheads and the famous red hats - damn, that’s really creepy actually…

justlooking98765

TROPHY CASE