SmartRemarks

As of this week, I can happily announce that I’ve accepted an offer from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) to pursue a Ph.D in Public Policy, complete with four years of guaranteed funding and a research assistantship. SPEA is the #3 public policy school in the nation according to the U.S. News rankings (right behind Syracuse’s Maxwell School, and tied with Harvard’s Kennedy School).

A doctorate is something I’d considered for many years, but I’d hesitated to take the plunge. But the job market had been showing me no love, and last year I decided to get serious about the idea and apply to some graduate programs. I kept this close the vest until now, being unsure how it would turn out. But now it’s real, and I’m doing it, and hoping this will let me shape the kind of personally fulfilling, intellectually stimulating career I’ve always wanted. In August I’ll be relocating to Bloomington, Indiana. With any luck, in five years I’ll have more letters after my name and a junior faculty position somewhere.

But man, let me tell you, getting even this far was not easy, and it came surprisingly close to not happening at all…

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Tags: education, grad school, Indiana, Indiana University, Ph.D, SPEA, University of Chicago

My 20th college reunion was last weekend. I was a bit taken aback by this because, first of all, it’s simply impossible:  I certainly haven’t been out of college for two decades. My infallibly accurate internal calendar tells me it’s more like six years, seven max. But twenty? That’s absolutely ridiculous.

Nonetheless, they insisted on holding the event, and I attended. I’ve always had a soft spot for reunions, not least because I’ve never really been the best at keeping in touch with people as time goes by (although Facebook does make that a lot easier these days), and organized reunions provide a great opportunity to “catch up.” 

I hung out with a lot of old friends, new acquaintances, and a few professors, and generally had a terrific time. (The Saturday afternoon wine tasting, ironically one of the least expensive events, was particularly enjoyable.) Still, there was something of a wistful feeling to the whole endeavor that it wasn’t quite possible to shake.

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Tags: Chicago, college, Shoreland, unemployment, University of Chicago