The Waiting Room

And with a click of the mouse, my semester is over...and I am unemployed.

On the plus side, I had a conversation with the new dean, the Dude,  of the division that houses my department at HBCU. He was very nice and seemed to have the same values that I do with respect to the needs of the students and the faculty. I shared with him my experiences as a dean, which he really appreciated. Then he asked me about next semester...

So, I told him.

I didn't go into detail about the hows and whys of my not having a class next semester. I told the Dude that he should probably discuss that with my boss. I did tell him that I was not happy about it at all. I told him that despite everything, I really enjoy teaching at HBCU. I told him about my passion for teaching and for working with the students that we service. I told him about how I've applied for several jobs, only to hear nothing or be passed up without even being considered. He told me some things in confidence about stuff that is going on at HBCU, which I will not mention here. He did confirm my suspicions on some things and indicated that he would look into something for me...again something unbloggable at this point. There are some forces at work that may blow the winds of change toward HBCU, which will benefit the college as a whole. And, maybe me...who knows.

In the end, what was supposed to be a 15 minute conversation turned into 45 minutes of good dialogue and active listening. For the first time, I actually felt that someone heard me. I felt valued and validated. That meant a great deal to me.

So, we'll see where we go from here.