Chapter 9: What’S Love Got to do with It?: Explorations on Emotion as a Tool for Professional Growth and Transformation

It is 2 hours before my tenure and promotion meeting in the Department of Elementary and Early Education at the University of Wyoming. I just had a conversation with a senior colleague. I tell her I am ready for “the wedding.” I have been engaged to this University for the past five years and it’s time to make a commitment (i.e., tenure) or move on with my life (i.e., find another job). I use the analogy of a romantic relationship and marriage to describe my feelings around this topic because it mirrors my emotional attachment and investment to my life as an academic.