Episode 89 – What we wish we knew before becoming Faculty

Hosts: Dr. Jeremy Waisome & Dr. Kyla McMullen

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Episode Description:

At the conclusion of Season 6 – we’re at a crossroads and it’s…a lot.
Jeremy and Kyla pull back the curtain on the raw, real struggles of life as faculty—juggling the impossible trifecta of research, teaching, and endless service. In another installation of the Black-ademic series, they don’t sugarcoat the burnout, boundary battles, or the constant hustle to keep academia from swallowing you whole.

This episode dives deep into their personal wins and failures, revealing the hidden costs of “success” in higher education. Along the way, they celebrate the game-changing voices they’ve featured this season and reflect on powerful moments from the Podcast Summit and upcoming conferences.

If you think academia is just about books and lectures, think again. This is about community, mentorship, and fighting to find real meaning in a system built to wear you down.

 Bios:-::

Kyla’s Bio–

Dr. Kyla McMullen is a tenured faculty member at the University of Florida’s Computer & Information Sciences & Engineering Department. Dr. McMullen has a personal commitment to encouraging women and minorities to pursue careers in computing and other STEM fields, and is the leader of the SoundPAD Laboratory at the University of Florida, which focuses on the Perception, Application, and Development of 3D audio. Her current projects include: (1) psychoacoustic analysis of the quality of customized head-related transfer functions, (2) using 3D audio to sonify positional data for situational awareness, (3) discovering critical interface design techniques for developing virtual auditory environments, and (4) using 3D audio to increase immersion and realness in virtual and augmented reality.

Jeremy’s Bio–

Dr. Jeremy A. M. Waisome is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering Education. Her research focuses on effective mentoring strategies for underrepresented populations in Engineering. She earned her Bachelor and Master of Science degrees and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida (UF), and now serves on the UF Ronald E. McNair Advisory Board. She is also a member of the Associate Provost’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee at UF. In 2018, she was awarded the Mike Shinn Distinguished Member of the Year (Female) by the National Society of Black Engineers. In 2017, she was inducted into the Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society. In addition, Dr. Waisome was inducted into UF Hall of Fame (2010) and is a recipient of the UF Outstanding Leadership Award (2010).