Hello, everyone–

I’m working from home in Golden, Colorado, working from home the day before the holiday. Snow is drifting down, and the mountains have disappeared for the moment.

Two weeks ago, I returned from the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) conference in Florida. Here’s something that I’ve been thinking about since attending APLU. It’s something that I’ve thought about following APLU in past years as well.

Where do you seek your role models at your current career stage? One of the tricky things about providing faculty development for mid-career & mature faculty is that we have to look harder to find role models who:

-Model career goals that align with ours

-Use approaches that we believe in

-Have enough separation from our work that we can be candid with them

What else do you look for in your role models? Where do you seek them?

The APLU conference appeals to me because I experience career role modeling that aligns with my own goals. Just as importantly, I appreciate the sense of optimism that typically* prevails at the conference. As in — we recognize that higher ed faces challenges. We’re going to face them head-on and work with them in a constructive, sustainable manner.

Working through my own process of seeking professional role models helps me guide others when they want to talk about finding professionals who model their goals.

Where do you look for your professional role models? What other criteria do you look for as you seek them out?

I wish you a wonderful holiday for those who celebrate!

*(Admittedly, the week after the election….this APLU conference was not as cheery as past conferences.)