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.