Every month for more than ten years, Emily Toth has published to the Chronicle of Higher Education the latest installment of "Ms Mentor," her academic advice column. This current volume of contributions spans a fair bit of time and reflects, as much as anything, the persistent anxieties of university and college professors. We read about inconsiderate colleagues, bullies, people who will not erase the blackboard. We follow newly-minted Ph.D.s as they are stymied on the job market and more still whose feet slip on the path to tenure. There are also, as I suppose there have always been, Ivy-League-educated scholars who feel stuck in the south or the midwestern United States. It is clear that Dr. Toth's skill is not in solving the unsolvable, just as it is not in simply letting people vent; rather, she provides excellent practical advice for simply getting along. And, at the end of the day, that is really the only solution, is it not? If you absolutely cannot stand to read anywhere but under the shadow of the Washington Arch in Greenwich Village, will a tenured professor in New Orleans really be able to sell you on the joys of Dubuque? But Dr. Toth does provide practical tips for embracing your university community, your community at large, and she is also not afraid to say that, for some people, leaving the academy might be the best option for them. This goes, especially, for people whose health seems imperiled by having to piece together a living teaching part-time at multiple schools across broad geographical areas.
There is nothing particularly shocking about what Ms Mentor has to say, then. It is simply that Dr. Toth has an engaging way of saying it directly, using a third-person voice of delightful pretension. I am struck at how consistent she has managed to beover time. It has always been the case, presumably, that individuals on the tenure track need to dress to fit in, whether that means eschewing acid-washed jeans, dramatic hairstyles, piercings, or tattoos. Academics should always be kind to staff. Ms Mentor keeps bringing the discussion back to the same dozen books on getting jobs outside the university, on making friends and making the right impression. And, as I said, beyond these extreme examples there are indispensable, simple rules to follow: keep a file of material you will need to make a tenure case; record indiscreet observations off-campus. Academic life is not tawdry; it is monotonous. But the joy of Ms Mentor's advice is that it is presented as urgent.
There is a profound sense of isolation in this business. Often, you work alone. If you talk to your colleagues about private issues, you likely talk to the same group of colleagues. Wider collaborations can take place at infrequent intervals, at annual conferences, for example. Dr. Toth's columns, and this book, help reinforce a network that corrodes over time, buried under piles of term papers and under snowbanks as North Americans plow through the academic year. We are not alone. Ms Mentor's column in the Chronicle does not, to my knowledge, print follow-ups to the advice given. I find it interesting to read here, therefore, of the general tone of the responses she has received to her writing. But even more satisfying is when letter-writers have volunteered updates to Dr. Toth, providing confirmation that she does make a difference.
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