I guess the kind of school you're at matters, but where I am - a modest state university in the northeast - I feel completely alone in my enterprise.There's no collegiality, no community. Our department is a mix of junior and senior faculty, adjuncts, and grad students, and I can't recall ever seeing any of them working together, lunching together, or even hanging out.
It feels like we are all riding in our own little pod on our own separate tracks. We teach our own classes, mentor our own students, and then get the hell off of campus as soon as possible.
It wasn't what I expected two years ago when I took my first t-t job. I was flush from a great grad school experience where the group of us pulled together, shared our fears and frustrations, and made it through together. I know that older faculty likely have families and a big network of friends, but it doesn't seem anybody here has invested much time or energy in the campus relationships.
Maybe I'm naive, but I thought there would be a community wherever I took a job. Is it just this place, I wonder?
Q: Is it like this for you, too?
A: Send here.
