Rise with Clarity Podcast

How do you mentor PhD students on a career pathway that’s very different from your own? What advice would you give to your students who are looking to leave higher ed, especially if you have never worked outside of academia? For many faculty, this situation can seem pretty daunting. 

In this 39th episode of the Rise with Clarity Podcast, I introduce you to a simple coaching tool called the GROW model that you can employ to help with...

How do you help PhD students who want to pursue a non-academic career after graduation? Some programs or departments have the expectation that their graduates will choose careers in diverse fields like industry, healthcare, government, the non-profit sector, or primary education. 

But there are lots of graduate programs out there that offer specific training for graduate students on how to enter the academy as a professor. 

This kind...

If someone were to ask you today about your core values, would you be able to articulate them out loud? Have you ever spent the time to think about your values, especially as they relate to your professional work?

When I asked these questions to a former client of mine in our very first session, she was stumped. She was at a crossroads in her life, where she had essentially come to the decision to leave her job. But she was full of ...

How do you want to show up as a scholar right now? For those of you who are based in the United States, this is a question that you are already facing now or will in the near future.

No matter which way you turn, you are likely to be impacted by this administration’s repressive actions. At the very least, you will be affected by the recent austerity measures that many university administrators are now implementing in response to att...

Are you new to caring for an aging parent or parents? If so, I want you to let you know that I’m thinking of you and your loved one on this challenging journey.

I started my own caregiving journey in quite an unexpected way, after my father had a serious and debilitating stroke over 2 years ago. For part of this time, I was a tenured faculty member, struggling to manage my professional duties with my new role as a caregiver and as a...

How many of you are currently providing some form of care for your aging parents while also serving in your faculty position? And how many of you are also raising your own children at the same time? How are you holding up right now?

In this 34th episode of the Rise with Clarity Podcast, I share a little bit about my journey as a patient advocate and caregiver for my father. This is Part 2 of a short series that I’m putting out on fa...

Many of us who are faculty who are in our 40s and 50s are part of what is called the “sandwich” generation. This means that some of us are providing care for both our aging parents as well as children while also trying to advance on the tenure track.

In this 33rd episode of the Rise with Clarity Podcast, I'll be discussing caring for aging parents when you're also a faculty member. This will be the first in a se...

In this 32nd episode, I share some information with you about my journey into coaching and Rise with Clarity, which is a coaching and consulting business for women of color faculty in higher education.

Although I’ve talked a bit here and there on the podcast about the business, I haven’t devoted a lot of time to how I came into this work and what my current offerings are. 

So, consider this episode a very short introduction to Rise w...

In this encore broadcast, I discuss the important tenure self-statement document. Find the full written transcript at RisewithClarity.com/6 or RisewithClarity.com/31, along with other helpful resources for WOC faculty.

For those of you who are junior faculty currently on the tenure track, have you given some thought to the personal statement that is required as part of your tenure portfolio? 

If you have had clear guidance ...

In this 30th episode of the Rise with Clarity Podcast, I’d like to talk about assessing your bandwidth in these trying times. This can be a helpful tool for those of you who still need to show up and manage the remainder of the academic semester. 

This episode builds on some of the things discussed in Episode 7: Reassess Your Priorities at the End of the Semester. You can find the full transcript for this episode as well as links to...

Given the ubiquity of recommendation letters in graduate school admissions processes, fellowship applications, job searches, and promotion cases—particularly in North America, it’s pretty wild that there isn’t more attention paid to this genre of writing. 

Why is it that faculty receive such little training on how to craft letters of recommendation? Especially when these letters can have a critical impact in an evaluation process? 

I...

It’s now been a little over one year since I’ve left my tenured faculty position and launched Rise with Clarity, my coaching and consulting business for women of color faculty. In this 28th episode of the Rise with Clarity Podcast, I wanted to offer some of my reflections on having left academia, one year out. Find the full transcript for this episode at RisewithClarity.com/28, along with other useful resources for women of color f...

As you probably already know, grant writing usually involves a significant investment of time and labor. And after a long period of waiting to hear from the funding agency, this process may or may not yield a positive result for you.

But one thing is for sure. If you don’t apply for the grant, you will certainly NOT receive it.

In this 27th episode of the Rise with Clarity Podcast, I’m going to be talking about applying for grants an...

For many of you, you’ve likely made it through your first week or two of classes and you’re slowly starting to get back into the rhythm of teaching, research, and writing. But if this is your very first time on the tenure track, all of these new experiences can feel quite overwhelming and sometimes disconcerting. And because you have 6 years to achieve tenure at your institution, the stakes feel high to you.

In this encor...

This episode reflects on the narrow set of expectations that are often cast upon academics in higher ed. In North American institutions of higher ed, there are prescribed milestones set up for us, like landing a tenure track position and achieving tenure. In this 25th episode of the Rise with Clarity Podcast, I talk about the importance of being able to name and honor your personal milestones as well as your academic ones.

Find the ...

Is this fall going to be your first semester teaching as a professor on the tenure track? If so, congratulations on your new position and this big transition to the professoriate.

Conceptualizing and developing a course syllabus may be a first-time experience for you. And it may seem daunting. You might feel compelled to devote the entire summer to crafting your syllabi.

In this 24th episode of the Rise with Clarity Podcast, I’m goin...

For today’s episode, I want to open up a discussion on some of the unique challenges that foreign-born faculty, in particular women faculty, face in universities and colleges in the United States. 

I come from a place of seeing and knowing former classmates, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances who have gone through different hurdles than what I have experienced as an Asian American who was raised in the United States by immigrant...

Are you in a toxic higher ed work environment?

Should you stay or should you leave? 

There’s no easy answer to these questions…especially if you have invested a lot of time and energy in landing a tenure track position in today’s higher ed job market. 

Deciding whether to stay or leave entails a lot of reflection, some soul searching, the weighing of pros and cons, and if you do end up leaving--planning out your next moves. And unfort...

It’s one thing to identify and acknowledge that you are in a toxic higher ed workplace, and another thing to figure out what you’re going to do about it. 

What are your next steps?

In this 21st episode of the Rise with Clarity Podcast, I’m going to be offering  6 questions that you can ask yourself if you want to stay at your current institution.

Find the full transcript for this episode as well as additional resou...