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I'm not alone. There are dozens of faculty at Bemidji State that received their notices, too. 27 new ones were announced this year. And there are more who took early retirement whose positions won't be filled. We'll be 40 or so faculty down come Fall 2024.

We're all fortunate we get a year...

If you've been following what has been going on with West Virginia University, then you'll have a pretty good idea why my university, Bemidji State, has entered a retrenchment phase. Like WVU, we have a massive budget deficit, and I'm being charitable to say that it's partly due to mismanagement.

And so, I'm on the job market again.

In my fantasy, I'll get to be a professor again, but given the market as it is, I think that's unlikely.

So I'm considering a career pivot so I can use my extensive skills in other industries. Instructional design, most likely. Project management, maybe.

I've gone through a lot of emotions around this.

I've known about my status for several months, so I've gone through all the stages of grief you could feel. Tears. Rage. Depression. Bitterness. Whatever that feeling is where you make dark jokes about it because that's how you cope. All of it.

Now, I just feel sorry for my students. I'm the only instructor in Digital Writing at this institution, and I manage a minor in the same. When I'm gone, there will be no formal writing instruction in contemporary technologies or methods. They won't even get Web 101. They'll get less.

All of this, by the way, is the reason I'm gloriously behind on all my academic projects. It's just hard to find the motivation when you don't know if it will even matter.

For now, I'm employed through May 2024. Paid until August 2024. So I've got until then to figure out where I'll end up.