It finally happened. It’s something I have wanted and worked for years to get. I got an email last evening from the office of our university’s provost. The email title was “Appointment Letter.” The letter was congratulating me on my appointment as a non-tenure track Assistant Professor. It’s official. I am finally a professor.
When I named this blog The Closet Professor, it was in the anticipation that I would get my PhD and get a job as a professor. Neither of those things came to fruition. However, when I took the position of Curator of Education and Public Programs, it became a possibility that I would also gain the title of Assistant Professor. Then there were a few setbacks with the university’s bureaucracy, and I thought it would never happen. Now out of the blue I receive my letter of appointment.
I know you might have some questions, and I’ll try to answer some of them. This is really just an additional title. It does not come with a raise or additional duties. With that being said, it may not sound like much. However, it means a great deal to me personally. It’s a title I have wanted for many years, nearly 20 years to be exact. When I chose not to pursue a law degree and decided instead to go to graduate school, it was with the intent to become a history professor. Since then, through a series of unfortunate events, it did not happen until now.
