AN OPISTHOBRANCH OUT OF WATER OR, HOW I SURVIVED MY FIRST YEAR AS NEW FACULTY AND THE ONLY EARTH SCIENTIST ON CAMPUS

The first year for new faculty fresh out of graduate school can be difficult. That difficulty is only increased when the new faculty member is the only earth scientist in their new environment. The newly dispersed faculty is like an invasive species, having to find a suitable niche within a strange department and get resources wherever and from whomever possible. Even tasks as simple as getting a lecture covered while absent can become fraught with danger. Building classes, designing assignments and activities, interacting with the campus community, research design, implementation and collaboration are just a few of the things affected by the solitary existence of a normally colonial individual. A new faculty member who has survived her first year as a ‘hopeful monster’ presents some of the stumbling blocks encountered and the strategies, successful or not, that were used in an attempt to stay relatively sane.