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Danielle De La Mare

helping academics and former academics find wellness, meaning, purpose, and freedom

Self-Compassionate Professor

Professor of Higher Education, Kevin McClure, talks about his research and writing of the book, The Caring University: Reimagining the Higher Education Workplace after the Great Resignation. A caring university, he explains, prioritizes employees’ experiences, implements humanizing policies and practice, commits to growth and compensation, empowers rights and voice, and realizes equity and belonging. While Kevin explains that the caring university is only a vision, he emphasizes that bits and pieces of this vision live successfully inside the reality of many institutions. 

In this conversation, Kevin and I talk about his own commitment to care at his own university (as well as the challenges), the “fire” he felt while researching and writing for the book, the interplay between systemic change and individual commitment, and what “the work” of care actually looks like on a daily basis, in his own experience.

211. The Caring University with Dr. Kevin McClure

Happy Equinox! In this episode, as part of this seasonal celebration, I invite you to go inward and take inventory of your own attachments: how attachment to work (or anything else!) plays out in your life and the ways it may be negatively impacting you and those around you. 

Namely, I explore the problem of "insecure attachment to work and life" and juxtapose that to "secure attachment to work and life." Through stories and examples, I show what it means to engage with the flow of life and I offer a helpful practice for doing so--a practice, if taken seriously, will result in a calmer and more joyful existence generally.

210. Holding Career and Life Gently

Dr. Erica McIntyre describes her experiences as an “ADHD’er” academic, her research of Australian academics with ADHD, and neurodivergence in academia more broadly. Erica defines neurodivergence and ADHD, explains how academic institutions could better support neurodivergent academics, and shows how institutional environments more supportive of neurodivergence would support all academics more effectively. We also talk about the individual zone of influence and the importance of creating traction on a small scale so that large-scale movements may be realized. Find Dr. Erica McIntyre on LinkedIn.

209. Supporting the neurodivergent academic with Dr. Erica McIntyre

Dr. Lennart Nacke describes his academic career as a continual journey toward creating something better: from dealing with depression in his Ph.D. program, to the exciting connections he built in his post-doc work, to the energizing and dynamic work he found on the tenure-track, and now as a full professor who is embarking on a solopreneur path for which he holds great passion. Lennart emphasizes the importance of resilience, building connections, and the process of realignment. Find him on X, LinkedIn, or on his website, https://lennartnacke.com/

208. Creating a new academic way with Dr. Lennart Nacke

Dr. Jen Harrison explains how current higher ed systems often undermine the wellbeing of both graduate students and dissertation supervisors, leaving both feeling unsupported. Jen offers suggestions to faculty supervisors about how to better support themselves and their students: 

-Set expectations for the what, when, how, and why of communication with your students.

-Offer students clear how-to guidelines and templates so they are able to see examples of good research and are clear about expectations. 

-Make space for students to bring their own unique work style to their research and writing.

-Be willing to work with students' unique life circumstances. 

-Notice and feel when you are rushing your advising conversations, try sinking into a listening stance, and engage in genuine dialogue. 

--

Email Dr. Jen Harrison at jen@readwriteperfect.com.

207. Best practices for dissertation supervisors with Dr. Jen Harrison

In this nourishing conversation with therapeutic coach, Henny Flynn, we discuss navigating difficult seasons in career and life, the importance of trusting one's own body, and the healing nature of movement and the natural world. Find Henny Flynn at https://hennyflynn.co.uk/ or on Instagram.

206. Navigating difficult life seasons with Henny Flynn

If you are feeling blah in your work, this episode is for you! As we welcome the new season, I invite you to pause so that you can actually FEEL yourself and your relationship to the people and things around you. I build on the concept of a “pausing practice,” which I introduced in Episode 200, where I define pausing as “intentionally doing nothing in particular and letting go of the sense that time is always fixed to an agenda.” I also introduce two other steps to pausing: trusting career wellness and building connections to those places in your work (and life) where you feel disconnected. Happy Solstice! I’m sending a wish that you pause in this seasonal transition.

205. [Su Sol ‘25] Pausing to FEEL

Dr. Jennifer Costanza shares her journey from perfectionism, imposter syndrome, intense stress, and difficulty healing to feeling an overall sense of mental and physical well-being. She explains the importance of knowing your body’s stress response and emphasizes how making time to focus on your physical and mental health—finding ways to feel grounded, getting quality sleep, finding joy, etc.—makes you better at your job. Find Jennifer Costanza at https://www.rooted.life/ or @rooted.life on Instagram.

204. Better at work with Dr. Jennifer Costanza

Dr. LuElla D’Amico describes how her own suffering during the tenure process opened up a whole new joyful adventure where she now shows up more fully for her family, her faith, her teaching, her university, her scholarship, her communities, and her own well-being. She offers inspiration, encouragement, and advice for academics who also aspire to be more whole.

203. Whole people, whole communities with Dr. LuElla D'Amico

Dr. Victoria Wright shares her own story about leaving academia as a full professor. She now finds herself running the Ph.D. Life Coach Podcast and membership experience, helping PhD students and academics overcome overwhelm and procrastination. This work, as she explains, represents the culmination of having weaved together her research, skills she developed working with Ph.D. students, and the personal calling she answered during the pandemic. Find her podcast, The PhD Life Coach, anywhere you get podcasts as well as on her website at https://www.thephdlifecoach.com/.

202. Your own best boss with Dr. Vikki Wright

In this episode, Shawna discusses how she lives by her own rules and how she created her own career in her own way! In this episode, we talk about the flexibility and freedom she's been able to create and how she's stayed resilient during the hard times. Unlike most, Shawna doesn't abandon her own needs, values, and happiness in pursuit of culturally-defined rules. This is a great episode!

2. Live by your own rules with Shawna Starkey

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