BB&A letter

BB&A letter Hi Paulo, 

    I’m writing to let you know I’ve reached the difficult conclusion that I will not be able to teach BB&A this winter. Toward the end of my first year of the PhD, my wife decided to start grad school at Penn because it’s the top program in her field. When we made that decision, we knew that being long-distance would be hard, and I committed to her that I would relocate to Philadelphia after a year. This would allow me to finish coursework and develop collegial relationships that I could sustain by returning to Stanford a few times a quarter as I shifted more toward producing research. I didn’t know exactly how this would play out, especially with the uncertainty over your tenure process, but I felt confident I could do my research and make valuable contributions as an RA under these arrangements. I completely understand the point you made a few weeks ago about the importance of being immersed in lab culture–I’ve missed being around this quarter—but this seemed like the best possible arrangement given the constraints.      I knew that teaching BB&A would be a sticking point, but as this academic year approached, it looked increasingly likely that there would be no BB&A. You had offers to start at Columbia either in August or January, and it seemed reasonably likely that you would take this option even if Stanford did offer you tenure, after the absolutely horrible process they put you through. Over the last month, as it’s become clear that we will have BB&A, I have talked with my wife about the possibility of me being based at Stanford for winter quarter, and she has made it clear that this would not work for her. Being long-distance last year was hard. She said if I were to go back to Stanford for winter quarter, she would prefer to put her grad school on pause and come with me, and I’m not willing to do that.      So this brings me to the difficult decision of saying I won’t be able to teach BB&A. I know this is going to cause some disruption that can’t be avoided, especially as I didn’t get it figured out earlier. But if you’re willing, I would like to talk about possible ways forward: 

  1. I could remain part of the BB&A teaching team by:

  2. Being there for three weeks of the quarter—probably beginning, middle, and end. 

  3. Taking the lead on grading.

  4. Taking the lead on logistics and documentation. This would include creating a BB&A webpage, pulling all the curriculum together into 

  5. I could not be part of the BB&A teaching team, and do other RA work for you. 

  6. Maybe neither of these are acceptable to you.

Again, I’m sorry to have to turn down teaching BB&A. Please don’t interpret this as a lack of commitment to our work. I decided to pursue a PhD with you because I think the questions we research are at the core of creating a humane and livable world for ourselves in the technological future. I’m still committed to dedicating my life to that goal, but I’m also committed to sustaining a strong relationship with my partner, and to do that I need to be based in Philadelphia right now. Let’s talk soon. 

-Chris