7.5 Things Hurting Your Artistic Academic Career

We are always being told what to do or what to do more of to ensure a happy career. Even my previous article, 6 things you can do to improve your artistic academic career, focused on that concept, because that’s what we all want, right? We all want to be happy in our careers, to improve our work, and to get renewed.

Now let’s look at the flip side of this and examine the behaviors and actions that can hurt your artistic academic career. While not definitive, here is a brief look at some of the top actions or behaviors that most artistic academics don’t realize they may be doing.

1. Being Insular

The arts, especially in academia, are not a solo career. We cannot hide in our silos and refuse to engage with the rest of the university. We cannot say ‘It’s not my job’ — we must engage with both the public community and our campus community. We must be willing to help and understand how all areas of the campus need to work together.

2. Refusing to Understand Budgets

Budgets are the backbones of all departments. Your refusal to understand or work within budgets can be a major issue, not just for you but also for your colleagues, chair, and dean. Take time to understand and utilize your budget. This is increasingly necessary as budgets for the arts are getting cut, and departments need to work within their new limitations. If you feel you or your project requires more financial support, take the initiative to find outside funding or grants.

3. Being Overly Pessimistic

Pandemics, budget cuts, faculty reductions, and program closures are all pressing issues among the arts in academia. It’s on everyone’s mind, and we are reminded of it frequently in articles, news, and at our universities. We need colleagues who are supportive and understanding. Being constantly pessimistic about the daily ins and outs of work or the future is not going to endear you to your team, nor will continually complaining that the college and upper administration doesn’t appreciate the arts or their contribution. I’m not saying you need to be all sunshine and rainbows. However, negative attitudes are contagious or avoided. We know work is tough right now. We also wish we had more time to do work instead of being in a meeting that could have been an email. However, being the one who always complains or talks bad about these situations doesn’t help. Instead of complaining, find one small thing to be grateful for in the situation.

4. Failing to Understand and Deal with Academic/Institutional Structures

Academic structures are the fundamental components of an institution. Elements of these components include governing boards, administrative and staff structures, departments, plans and subplans, degrees, certificates, majors and minors, courses and classes, and especially the financial organization of the institution. Although there are a few different models of structures out there, they are all important in how the institution is run, and having an excuse of “Things are just different in academia” just doesn’t cut it. Yes, things are different in academia than they are in the corporate world, but learning how to navigate and prosper by it is the difference between a long academic career and a short one.

5. Not Engaging in EDI

A relatively new area of focus at universities and colleges across the country is in the building or developing their Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) programs. Many schools are creating departments/divisions/offices of EDI or are creating a division of it in faculty and student resources. In recent years, the occasional request for an EDI statement or philosophy in your application documents has now become a basic requirement for any academic job. However, it needs to be more than just a statement on a website or a document you submit when you apply. A commitment and true engagement in the work need to be part of your daily work and a goal you truly actively strive towards. How you approach, participate, and evaluate your own — and your department’s — work plays a larger part than ever before in your career success.

6. Failing to Engage in Recruitment

If budgets are the backbone of every department, then recruitment is the spinal cord. Departments grow, sustain, or fail based on recruitment efforts, and recruitment numbers have a direct link to your department’s budget. How you engage (or fail to) in departmental and institutional recruitment will play a strong role when it comes time for review or tenure.

7. Not learning how to talk about your work to others

This is a big one. Honestly, it’s probably the most important one faculty fail at when it comes to their career. We have to be our own sales and marketing team, and we have to be part of the department’s sales and marketing team. Much of our work is explaining not only what we do, but why it is important and how it benefits students, the college, and the community. This is especially important when dealing with program reviews, funding requests, and faculty review and tenure. Develop an elevator pitch, not just for you and your work, but also the benefit of the department or the college to help others see the value. That leads us to another aspect of this issue:

7.5 Getting upset when they don’t understand