There’s a very interesting article today at the Chronicle of Higher Education, How to Be Happy in Academe ($) by Gregory Pence, professor of philosophy at Alabama-Birmingham. He’s writing about how career expectations can become defeaters, leading you to feel depressed about perfectly fine academic work. He shares his own tangled path from New York City to Birmingham, and how much more rewarding his “Plan B” has become than he ever expected.
Compare Pence’s article to two recent articles published on InterVarsity websites – Christian Professors Flourishing? by Terry Morrison and Loving the Academic Life by Dorothy Boorse. All three get at the issue of fulfilling one’s academic calling, but all from different perspectives.
Any stories to share of unexpected rewards of working at “second-tier” schools? Feel free to change names to protect the innocent.