Academic Kindness

A record of unsolicited kindness, unexpected goodwill, and excessive generosity in academia.

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Contest Announcement: What is Academic Kindness?

Are Academics ever kind?

Can Academia be a place of care and goodwill?

The Create Kindness Initiative and

Academic Kindness on Tumblr

have partnered together to host the first ever

“What is Academic Kindness?” Contest

We are looking for brief testimonials of academic generosity on how unsolicited acts of kindness have impacted you or those you work with in Academia. We also welcome short stories of how & why you may have been inspired to pay-it-forward to colleagues or students.

All stories & testimonials posted on Academic Kindness on Tumblr between October 15, 2019 and January 15, 2020 will be entered into the contest. 

Posts should be no more than 350 words and submitted at: https://academickindness.tumblr.com/submit

A copy of your post should also be emailed to [email protected] with your contact details.

Faculty and grad students at any institution of Higher Education worldwide are welcome and encouraged to submit their kindness story.

Two awards will be given:

one “most creative narrative” about kindness and

one for a story of “most generous act” shared.

Both winners will receive a certificate and

5 hrs of FREE editing from a professional copy editor.

(Here’s the chance to have someone else convert your APA citations to Chicago, or proofread your article.)

For more details about Academic Kindness on Tumblr see (https://academickindness.tumblr.com/) and the Create Kindness initiative can be found at http://createkindness.mystrikingly.com/

Questions regarding the contest should be directed to: [email protected]

What is your story of academic kindness?

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Amazing PhD (now postdoc) supervisor and mentor

My PhD supervisor (now postdoc supervisor) has been a huge champion of mine since my Masters, when 2/3rds of the way through I realised I was in the wrong field and took his introductory course as an elective. Not only did he take me on as a PhD student who had no background in the field, but he believed in me and my ability to learn, gave me heaps of constructive feedback and was always willing to praise the work that I did.

But it didn’t stop there.

I applied for a very exclusive postdoc position overseas and he wrote me an absolutely glowing letter of recommendation, which helped in me securing the post. Unfortunately my good luck ran out and shortly after moving overseas, half way across the world to take up this job post, my partner was hospitalised and diagnosed with a significant life-threatening auto-immune disorder and I had to return home. I emailed my PhD supervisor in tears and will forever be grateful for everything he did to help. From his numerous emails of support while I was sorting out the logistics, to offering me a postdoc in his lab so that I had an income as soon as I came back. Sometimes, all we need is a champion and I hope one day to be able to pass on the incredible amount of kindness and support he has shown me.

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warmly welcomed to a new city

I have just left a job at a university in one city to become an independent scholar in a new city, where my family is happier and healthier. I have reached out to several scholars in my discipline in my new city, and have been -to the person- warmly welcomed.

My decision to leave my previous university has been supported and understood, and offers to include me in the intellectual community have been numerous. I am so thankful for this welcome, so ready to participate and collaborate with these colleagues, and very hopeful that I can make a meaningful contribution here.

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feeling human for a moment

when i was trying to decide where to be while writing up my dissertation (in my program’s college town or in a different city) one, and only one, of my professors asked where my living expenses would be lower. maybe my bar for kindness was really low at that point, but i still massively appreciate that he acknowledged that there were economic, and social etc, realities to my life that were beyond just being a student. it felt good to feel human in that moment. 

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Post-surgery support

Last week I had surgery, and my brother (who I care for) also had surgery. I had a mentor send me a box of food in the mail, others send gift cards for grub hub, covered my shifts in lab for free, send flowers, balloons, gift cards. Deadline extensions were offered as needed. I’ve felt so supported by the department, I’m counting my blessings being part of this community!

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Too Many reference letter requests?

I'm an international student who's studying in a doctoral program in a US university. Due to Trump's victory, I've been applying to transfer to a Canadian uni and had to ask my undergrad advisor for a reference. I was really nervous emailing her to ask as asking for references is one of those things that makes me feel irrationally anxious- I've also asked her for Too Many references over the years. In addition, I wasn't sure how seriously my reason for wanting to have the option to transfer would be taken, since quite a few people have been carrying on as usual. Anyway, she replied saying that she completely understood where I was coming from, that she knew one of the faculty members at the uni I was applying to very well, and that she'd be very happy to write me a reference. She also provided me feedback on my personal statement and in general went above and beyond the call of duty. I was so touched I cried.            

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A Personal Grant

As a pre-tenure professor in a research institution, I am feeling the pressure to produce work of sufficient quantity and quality before my tenure clock expires. A senior colleague in my department - very well known, a past president of my discipline’s international society - recently retired, though he was made emeritus and still has access to his endowed chair’s research fund. Though he continues to be very active in research and so could certainly use those funds himself, he just offered to pay for a graduate student to do several hours of work for me every week this summer to ensure I make my tenure deadlines. (this same scholar has a track record of occasionally assigning expensive books as required reading in his doctoral seminars, and then buying all the seminar participants their own copy). A reminder that sometimes the most accomplished scholars can also be the most generous!

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in the 2nd yr of my MA in philosophy & really struggling rn to manage my bpd after a recent suicide attempt & the way the university is handling it has me wondering if there is a place for/borderlines exist in academia at all bc i'm so afraid i can't have bpd and be a successful academic. if there are any other academic borderlines out there could u plz give this ask notes so i can see if we maybe exist? to see if i have a future?

Dear anonymous colleague This post goes out late but hopefully still in time. Readers: do you know of resources or community support?

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As I try to leave adjuncting, a kind word...

I’m currently diagnosed with major depressive disorder since my mother’s passing as well as being adjunct in academia for the past 6 years. All of this has taken a toll on my mental health. To that end, I’ve tried to find full-time work to no avail. I’ve had sleepless nights since because I don’t know what will become of my future. I’ve even had thoughts of hurting myself. Right as I’m applying to yet another job listing online, I get an email from a former student telling me this, “ I really enjoyed your teaching style, and loved how you had a personal connection with each of us, which I think helped most of us thrive in the class. I have always wanted to be able to speak to my little cousins in French (they live in France), and thanks to the progress I made in your class I am able to speak to them about different aspects, and understand them more and more.” I had no idea that I had this much of an impact. Adjuncting can truly be gratifying despite its poor pay and precariousness, but unfortunately, I wish I could stay working as an adjunct in spite of these things. 

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Wonderful Viva Examiners

I haven’t seen any tributes to viva examiners here, and am delighted to be the first (in a while?). I was really nervous in the days and still more in the hours leading up to my viva - I had heard numerous horror stories, ranging from the viva being a thoroughly unpleasant experience to it being a genuine trauma. I was shaking slightly as I waited outside of my internal examiner’s office, and was probably a few shades paler than I should have been. My examiners no doubt saw this as they invited me in. They responded by shaking my hand, bidding me to sit down, and telling me immediately: 'congratulations, you’ve passed. Now that we’ve gotten the anxiety out of the way, let’s talk about your dissertation’. After which we had an absolutely lovely and fascinating conversation about my research for two hours, they invited me for a pint, and very generously offered to lend their support to my efforts to adapt my dissertation into a monograph. My internal and external examiners made the viva the best day of my academic career.   

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Say it with flowers...

I’ve experienced workplace bullying by my new Assoc Dean this past year. When things were really rough, I found a huge bouquet of flowers in my office with an anonymous note that said I was truly valuable to the school and had been doing a great job.

I still don’t know who sent this, but I suspect it was a group of my fellow faculty members who had seen what I have been going through. (One friend hinted – but never admitted – that it might have been a group effort.)

It truly touched me and even though the flowers are gone, the note has helped to keep me going.

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Departmental Vegan Policy

One department at my University maintains a vegan policy for social events organized they host. We thought that would be kind to nonhuman animals and to vegan and vegetarian faculty, staff and students.

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Students, students...!

Today I received an unexpected email from a former student… addressed to a group named “friends, colleagues and mentors”… she is doing very well, working as a research fellow after graduating with a degree from a top-ranked University. 

She wanted to share her first major academic publication in a very highly ranked journal… I replied to her with congratulations and marvel of marvels, received a most thoughtful email: she said she’d meant to email independently and that she was still very grateful for the support she had received while studying here… in her words, “I wanted to let you know that you were one of the professors that most influenced me during my time (…) [as UG student] (…)”.

for all the students I meet, have met and will meet in future–you’re amazing human beings, make sure you hold on to your spontaneity, kindness and good hearts.

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Above and Beyond the Call of Duty

I moved to London with my husband to pursue a PhD, and we didn’t know many of the locals. Realising that we were on our own during Christmas, my PhD supervisor invited both of us to a special Christmas Party hosted by his wife and himself. The year after, he invited us to a special party for faculty-only, so that we wouldn’t feel lonely during the holidays, and this has becoming something of a tradition.

Last June, when Brexit happened, I was devastated (I am an EU grad student). I wrote to my supervisor apologising for not doing any work a week afterwards, explaining that I was deeply depressed by this. He invited me to his office shortly thereafter, and devoted three(!) hours of his precious time - he is a very busy academic and a leader in his field - to discussing the EU referendum with me and showing me patiently, methodically, and sympathetically that it is not the end of the world.  

All this on top of my supervisor being a truly stellar mentor and academic guide across four years, supervising my dissertation from its inception to the final stages, reading and re-reading its drafts with consistent freshness, sharpness, enthusiasm, generosity, intellectual rigour, and good humour. 

If there is a hall of fame for extraordinary PhD supervisors, the kind that change your life for the better and restore your faith in academia and in humanity, his statue should stand proudly on the central pedestal.

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The year I went up for tenure, my partner had a life threatening surgery with a long recovery, my mother died unexpectedly, my dog died, and then my mother-in-law died unexpectedly, all within a few months. In the midst of care giving, handling affairs from across the country, and grieving, my dean and colleague supported me in ways I could never have imagined. My dean helped me arrange to teach my courses in a hybrid online format, and even made a donation to an animal sanctuary in memory of my longtime fur companion. My senior colleague took over a class for me at a crucial point, and kindly added double the students to her own class. Because of their kindness and the kindness of many others, I survived the worst year of my life and made a successful case for tenure. Now I will offer the same support to others in the academy, and together, we will work to create a supportive culture. 

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First time teaching

My department offered me a job teaching a short summer course. It would pay enough that I could teach in the first half of the summer and work on my own project in the second half of the summer, and it would be my first time teaching my own course. I was excited. One week before the course was supposed to start, though, the university unilaterally cancelled the class. 

Two members of my committee heard about this and spontaneously offered me part-time jobs to help make up for the lost income: one doing research and one doing translation. It was scary to realize a job could vanish overnight, but thanks to them I felt like my work was valued and that senior scholars wanted me to succeed. 

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A year into my PhD, I felt lost and unable to find myself in my chosen subfield. I had been lucky enough to take a course with one of the most senior scholars in another subfield, one that I was considering switching to. 

After a department talk, I approached her and told her that I was thinking of switching to her subfield. Her face lit up in a way that I will never forget and she immediately said: “Does that mean I get to work with you?!” She said “get,” as if it were a privilege for her to work with me, rather than the other way around. She then pulled over another full professor and said: “He’s going to be in my subfield!” And then she said: “I’m blushing!”

That generosity of spirit meant so much to me, as a first-generation college student–not to mention graduate student!–from the rural Southern U.S. who now found himself at an elite R1 university. I felt seen, and cared for. 

Despite having many, many students, and being busier than anyone I’ve ever met, she has been, and continues to be, the most dedicated and supportive adviser I could have ever asked for. She’s the only reason I’ve stayed in the academy, and I am incredibly grateful for that.