Academic Minimalism

Today I moved offices. I moved out of the GIANT office I had as Chair of my department. I am still technically Chair until July 31st but I was at the end in a long line of moves that needed to happen this week.

My new office is much smaller. It is much smaller than my last 3 offices. It is, of course, a perfectly normal-sized office, however, my last few offices were rather on the large size. As Chair, I could have forced someone out of a larger office but that is really not my style.

Offices, both their size and their location, convey power. Four years ago, I moved into the Chair’s office a couple of months before officially becoming Chair (academic moves generally happen in May – appointments in August) and instantly became the de-facto Chair. So today’s move felt really really good. While I’ll continue to have responsibilities (mostly signatory) and I will assist the incoming Chair, it felt like a weight had lifted off my shoulders.

I really thought I had done a good job of keeping the amount of “stuff” I had in my office to a minimum. I really thought it would all fit into an office a third of the size of the Chair’s office. I was really wrong. It turns out I’ve been moving with a lot of old files and equipment. Unfortunately, I have to sort through all of it to see what can be recycled and what needs to be shredded. In academia, we have to protect both participant and student information. This means data and student files need to be shredded. I have a lot of both. So Memorial Day weekend is going to be spent making bags and bags of confetti.

It feels great to be minimalizing my office and my position. My husband and I do most everything together. I know that doesn’t work for a lot of couples, but it really works for us. For the last 5-6 years, our jobs have been on completely different schedules. We have had to fight to have any time off together. As Chair, even a long-planned vacation weekend could be interrupted with an emergency. Simplifying my role and going back to a regular faculty position means I have more flexibility and far less demand on my time.

While packing for the move, I was reminded of so many events that happened over the past four years. For the first time in a long time, I was able to look back and appreciate all the good parts of being Chair. I was able to appreciate what I got right and not just regret what I got wrong. I can’t say it wasn’t a good run. It was good for me personally and for my department. But in the end, it was not sustainable.