Hey all, I guess that since most of my responsibilities have been wrapped up, and many of you are aware anyway, my birthday is as good of a time as any to make it public that December 31st will be my last day at Ohio State. As of January 1st, I’ll be either full-time employed at Kernmantle Group, my new consulting company, or gainfully unemployed depending on your perspective.
I’ve had a few questions prior, so just to hit the FAQs:
- Yes, I am tenured. But tenure exists to protect faculty from vindictive attacks on good science, not just as a job guarantee.
- I’m not getting fired or asked to resign or leaving under a cloud. This is by my choice, and, I think, a pretty significant surprise to nearly all of my colleagues.
- This is not spur of the moment. Mardi & I have been thinking and praying over this for at least a year. By early this semester, I had decided to leave in late ’17, but then events made it more logical to go ahead and leave now.
- To quickly summarize, the things that are most important for my department aren’t what is most important for me. AND THAT’S OKAY. I’m not mad or grumpy or angry. I tell students all the time that employment is a two-way match. It has to be win-win. I think that the department can find someone who aligns better with their vision, and I can build something on my own that aligns better with my vision, and we will both be better off.
- I will miss being in the classroom more than anything, as its hardest to do ‘on my own’ and I hope that the bridges I’ve crossed are intact enough to allow me to return and continue to teach about commodity markets and grain marketing.
- Mardi & I are excited about this new phase in our lives. In the past month, I’ve felt more professionally energized and alive than at any time in the past 10 years.
- Kernmantle Group is a consulting firm providing commodity market applied research, training, and education. Right now, it’s just Mardi & I, though hopefully that will change.
- Yes, mom, we have health insurance.
- Yes, dad, we have retirement, too.
I do hope that this clears things up. I want to say again that there are no hard feelings on my part toward anyone at OSU. I have loved my time in AEDE/FAES. It has been really hard to leave as its been such an integral part of our lives and our very identity. But I’m still young and have a lotta miles left in me, so its time to give Matt Roberts 3.0 a try.