Introduction

I chose The Littlest Professor as my moniker because I am the youngest and the smallest faculty member of my department. I'm a tenure-track professor at a small liberal arts college located in the middle of nowhere. I'm chronicling the challenges and the joys of my career because I don't want to forget. I've kept diaries on and off and whenever I look at back my old entries, it brings back memories that I had forgotten. Those memories are always poignant and I would like to keep a record.

I've looked at a few other academic blogs and I noticed that all feel compelled to assert their authority and expertise in an anonymous fashion like saying, "I attended a Highly Selective Liberal Arts College for my BA/BS and then worked with Hot Shot Scientist at Ivy League U for my Ph.D." And since I've never been much of a rebel, I will follow suit. I attended Big State University for my BA, next Famous Tier-1 U for my Ph.D., and then for my postdoc I went to Elite Think Tank in a foreign country. Sometime during my postdoc, I decided to shift gears and got a position at a Small Liberal Arts Teaching College. Yes, it was my choice and decision to make this shift. Yes, the culture shock between Research U and Teaching College was incredible. Far more so than living in a foreign country. In fact, I think I still might be shell-shocked.

I still know that I made the right decision.