Colleagues

I had an advisee come to my office today; she's fallen behind, had problems, etc. It's very serious.

We talked about what she'd done so far to get things back on track.

Well, she said, she talked to Professor X over in that hard mathy class, and he was wonderful and understanding and gave her this and that help.

And she talked to Professor Y over in warm and mushy field class, and he was warm and kind and gave her help and encouragement.

And she talked to Professor Z over in scary sciency class, and she was helpful and so forth.


This is often how I learn about my colleagues in far flung departments, from students who are having trouble. And perhaps surprisingly, most of the reports tell me that my colleagues really are understanding and helpful.

Yeah, I'm sure they're not perfect, but I hear enough of these reports that I give them credence, especially when they come from students who've been ill or had other troubles.

I'm happy right now.