The Faculty Lounge

Legacy Work, Unfinished Business, and the Senior Academic

If you happen to be a professor “of a certain age” (say, late middle age and beyond), then it’s likely that you’ve given some thought to the final laps of your career and when and how you might eventually transition into retirement. In my case, these contemplations seemed impressionistic at first, as if this stage of life was far off in the future. The pandemic didn’t help matters – even as Zoom teaching fatigue caused me to continuously check my retirement account balances! Now, however, as we settle into whatever the new normal happens to be, I’m focussing more clearly about planning for the years to come.

In this, my first post for The Faculty Lounge, I won’t pretend to know all the relevant factors towards planning the later stages of an academic career and possible retirement. But I would like to talk about notions of “legacy work” and unfinished business. I do so with a sense of purpose, for I believe that our later years can be highlighted by some of our best and most original work.

What is your “legacy work”?

I was introduced to the term legacy work by Chris Guillebeau, a writer and entrepreneur. In The Art of Non-Conformity: Set Your Own Rules, Live the Life You Want, and Change the World (2010), he defined legacy work as using your own unique skills to create a lasting contribution to the world. Guillebeau posed two simple questions towards defining one’s legacy work: (1) "What do you really want to get out of life?," and (2) "What can you offer the world that no one else can?"

Guillebeau, a later Gen Xer (born in 1978), has been writing for a younger cohort and exploring paths towards an independent life. Senior faculty don’t exactly fit that profile. After all, we’ve opted to attach ourselves to institutions, in a vocation that creates certain expectations and hoops through which we sometimes must jump. However, we often enjoy a unique degree of independence in our jobs, and the concept of legacy work may resonate with those of us who are aware that, well, the clock is ticking.

Another way to look at legacy work is from the other, post-facto direction, asking what -- when all is said and truly done -- you would like your body of work to look like in the aggregate? Pamela Slim’s Body of Work: Finding the Thread That Ties Your Story Together (2013) invites us to imagine “the personal legacy you leave at the end of your life, including all the tangible and intangible things you have created.” She defines “body of work” this way:

Your body of work is everything you create, contribute, affect, and impact. For individuals, it is the personal legacy you leave at the end of your life, including all the tangible and intangible things you have created.

So, with those thoughts in mind, what is your legacy work?

You may already be doing it. In conventional terms, it may be via your teaching, scholarship, or service work. Or perhaps you’re leading a program or serving in academic administration. If so, then planning your late career path may involve variations on familiar themes.

If you feel like you haven’t defined your legacy work, then there’s no time like the present to start doing so. Asking yourself some of the questions posed by the likes of Chris Guillebeau and Pamela Slim may yield some exciting answers.

Unfinished Business

Whether you’re continuing the same path or defining a new one, I’m guessing that your legacy work aspirations include some unfinished business. It may be a unique course offering, some long-pondered writings, an interesting project (e.g., for fellow law professors, pro bono legal or policy advocacy), or a creative service contribution. It’s also possible that these pieces of unfinished business will follow you, in a good way, into a retirement that continues to engage your interests.

Especially if your legacy work and unfinished business do not require changing employers and you enjoy relative job security, or if you are transitioning into retirement while wishing to remain active as an academic citizen, then this is an opportunity to be intentional, responsibly bold, and driven by passion for your chosen focus. While the current state of academic freedom can feel precarious these days, at least you’re less likely to be pre-screening your activities for what members of a tenure & promotion committee or lateral hiring committee might think. Indeed, in terms of having a strong, authentic, and perhaps even courageous voice, there can be a freeing aspect to being closer to the end of an academic career than to the beginning.

I’ll close for now, with thanks for reading this far. Especially for those who, like me, have suddenly found themselves among the “senior faculty” at their respective institutions, I hope these observations have been thought-provoking and useful. You see, contributing to The Faculty Lounge is part of my unfinished business, for I have long wanted to write for a respected blog that allows me to cogitate about legal education and higher education, legal scholarship, and intersections between law and psychology, among other topics. With thanks to co-founder Dan Filler for graciously responding to my unsolicited inquiry earlier this spring, I look forward to making future contributions.

***

A brief self-introduction: I’ve been a professor at Suffolk University Law School in Boston since 1994, where my current work is grounded in employment law and in the interdisciplinary field of therapeutic jurisprudence. In terms of social media writings, since 2008 I’ve been writing a blog titled Minding the Workplace, which explores the world of work and workers, workplace law and policy, and my niche interests in workplace bullying and therapeutic jurisprudence. I’ll be drawing on ideas from that blog periodically for forthcoming posts here. I can be reached at [email protected].

God Bless the Child

"God Bless the Child" was written by Billie Holiday and Arthur Herzog and initially released in 1942 on Okeh Records, the jazz and blues (then sometimes called Race music) subsidiary of Columbia. Holiday recorded it two more times for mainstream labels, Decca (1950) and Verve (1956). It was also a huge hit for Blood, Sweat & Tears in 1968. Diana Ross sang it in the 1972 Billie Holiday biopic "Lady Sings the Blues." (Yes, there was a Billie Holiday post with this song in December, but I thought it was also worth a post of its own.)

CFP for Law & Rurality Workshop

Workshop will be held virtually Nov. 17th & abstracts are due Aug. 21. More info. here: Download Call for Papers - Law and Rurality Workshop 2023

University of Arkansas School of Law Seeks Dean

The University of Arkansas School of Law (Fayetteville)  is looking for its next dean.  Individuals interested in the position can view the job description and apply here.

Karen Sneddon Named Dean of Mercer Law

Mercer University School of Law has announced that Karen Sneddon will be its permanent dean.  Sneddon has served as interim dean since October 2021.  She joined the Mercer faculty in 2006.  Sneddon earned her JD from Tulane.

CFP: Georgia State Law Review - Brief Exclusive Review Window

This just in:

The Georgia State University Law Review is conducting an exclusive article review for Volume 40 of the Review. Any article submitted to the Law Review between June 5th through June 16th will be evaluated for publication by June 23rd. This is an excellent opportunity for authors who wish to ascertain a publication offer before the latter half of the summer.

By submitting an article, the author agrees to accept an offer for publication, should one be extended. The author is not required to withdraw any article previously submitted for consideration elsewhere.  However, the author may not accept an offer from another journal for any article submitted to this exclusive review process unless the Review indicates that the article will not receive a publication offer. Any articles accepted through this exclusive review process will be published in the Review's second or third issues, which are slated for publication in Spring of 2024.  

If you have an article you would like to submit, please e-mail Rebecca Sohnlein and Mackenzie Miller a copy of the article and your CV at [email protected] with the subject line "Volume 40 Exclusive Article Review." If you have submitted an article to the Georgia State Law Review previously, you must resubmit your article for consideration in this exclusive review. We are excited to read your submissions!

Call for Papers: Works-in-Progress on Methods of Inquiry on Defending Democracy

Posting on behalf of Prof John Linarelli ...

 

Call for Papers: Works-in-Progress on Methods of Inquiry on Defending Democracy

AALS 2024 Annual Meeting, January 3-6, 2024, Washington DC

Submission Deadline: August 3, 2023

The AALS Scholarship Section is very pleased to issue this call for papers for a Works in Progress session on "Methods of Inquiry on Defending Democracy" for the upcoming AALS 2024 Annual Meeting. This session aims to provide a platform for sharing ongoing research and scholarly work related to the study of democracy and its various aspects. Aligned with the mission of the Scholarship Section, we enthusiastically invite submissions from scholars, researchers, and practitioners interested in exploring innovative methodologies and approaches to investigating the defense of democracy. The Works in Progress session will provide an opportunity for authors to present and discuss their ongoing research. Each presenter will be allocated a specific time slot to share their work and receive feedback from fellow participants.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

1. Qualitative and quantitative methods in the study of the legal institutions of democracy.
2. Comparative analyses of democratic processes.
3. Experimental designs and surveys in the study of legal institutions and behavior.
4. Case studies and historical analysis of law and democratic institutions.
5. Intersectional approaches to democracy and identity politics.
6. Methodological challenges in studying democracy in different contexts.

We welcome interdisciplinary submissions that focus on the intersections between law and political science, history, economics, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and related fields. Empirical, experimental, and theoretical contributions are encouraged.

Submission Guidelines:

• Abstracts should be a maximum of 300 words.
• Include the title of your work, name(s) of the author(s), institutional affiliation(s), and contact information.
• Please indicate whether your submission is at an early stage or near completion.
• One submission per person is permitted.
• Submissions should be sent to Professor John Linarelli, Chair, AALS Scholarship Section, [email protected]

Review Process: All submissions will undergo a peer review process to ensure the quality and relevance of the contributions. Accepted authors will be required to submit a draft paper by November 15, 2023. Discussants will be assigned to read and comment on each paper.

We look forward to your contributions and active participation in this stimulating event. Should you have any questions or require further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Rollin' and Tumblin'

"Rollin' and Tumblin'" is mostly remembered as a Robert Johnson song -- brought to Chicago by Muddy Waters in the 1950s, and reinterpreted by Cream in the 1960s -- but it was actually written and first recorded by Willie Nebern, who released only a handful of cuts in 1929 (not to be missed at the bottom of this post).

According to Wikipedia, it is derivative of Gus Cannon's 1928 "Minglewood Blues" (which is on the Jug Band Music post), but I don't really hear much more than a general blues similarity.

Most covers have been rock versions like Cream's, but there have also been blues cuts now and then.

Emory Law Center for Civil Rights and Social Justice Seeks Postdoctoral Fellow

This just in:

The CCRSJ, in association with the Emory University School of Law, is pleased to fund one Postdoctoral Fellow, for up to a two-year term, beginning in either Fall 2023 or Spring 2024.  The associate will work under the guidance and supervision of center directors (Darren Hutchinson, Faculty Director and Alicia Hughes, Interim Director) and a center affiliate faculty member with a focus in health inequality.  The position is designed to allow an aspiring academic with an interdisciplinary focus the opportunity to gain research, writing, and teaching experience, potentially, in order to prepare for an academic career.  We prioritize hiring a scholar who will contribute to diversity in the legal academy, and whose research focuses on issues related to health disparities, including the social determinants of health, systemic racism and poverty as barriers to health equity, and disparate treatment of patients by health services providers along traditional and newer axes of disadvantage.

The position includes office space, library research support, an annual travel budget, and student fellow research assistance.  CCRSJ Postdoctoral Fellow will have an opportunity to present their research to Emory University faculty, design a research-related program, visit classes of CCRSJ affiliate faculty members, and participate in center activities.

The primary responsibilities will include managing relationships and communications with CCRSJ partners in health-related fields; providing research support across the lifecycle of defined projects (e.g., drafting interview guides, testing interview guides, coding and analyzing transcripts); conducting literature reviews; creating tables and figures based on quantitative output; supporting manuscript writing and preparation of presentations; and other related activities, as needed and desired. There will also be dedicated time to support professional development.

The Center for Civil Rights and Social Justice (“CCRSJ”) at Emory University School of Law supports research, policy design, educational opportunities, and community outreach at the local, state, national, and global level. CCRSJ broadly defines civil rights and social justice matters to include all sources of systemic, social, and economic inequality, including race, gender, gender identity, sexuality, poverty, and disability. CCRSJ serves as a hub for civil rights and social justice activities by convening scholars and practitioners, publishing policy recommendations, supporting research, and partnering with community stakeholders on matters of common interest.

CCRSJ Faculty Director Professor Darren Hutchinson, Interim Director Alicia Hughes, affiliated faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and student research assistants conduct CCRSJ research activities and policy design. CCRSJ also works with nonprofit organizations to broaden employment opportunities for students who wish to pursue careers in the social justice space.  While social justice and civil rights matters are broadly defined and programming reflects this magnitude, CCRSJ areas of specialized research and programming include voting rights and democracy, criminal justice, health disparities, higher education equity and access, and environmental justice.