Possible Benefits of Subscrbing to My Substack

I will be happy to lead discussions, participate on a panel, talk to a clss, etc. And then there is also securing my everlasting gratitude

Dear Substackers.

I have added a benefit should you wish to think about being a paid subscriber. If you make an annual subscription, then I will be happy to present, be on a panel, or lead a discussion virtually (or in person if I can get there) to a class, to faculty, to graduate students/postdocs, to staff one time each year.

I am not doing this for the money. I would just like the opportunity to get out and share any wisdom I might have gathered in 40 years in academe as an autistic person, senior administration, and well known ecologist.

Here is why that might be interesting.

I have started being on panels and speaking about navigating academe as an autistic person. Most recently, I participated on a panel aimed at supporting neurodiverse graduate students at Duke along with distinguished research/clinicians who work with autism or ADHD, and a leader in the office if disability resources. I am now also on the board for a school for grades 4-12 autistic students.

Also, being pathologically genuine, an autistic empath, who easily shares challenges about my mental health, has led me to be known across my campus as an exceptionally caring professor. The university’s student government nominated me as the sole nominee last year for a prestigious university system award- William Friday Lifetime Achievement in serving students award. I didn’t win, but it felt like winning the Nobel Prize to be surprsied by student government. I am also trained in mental health first aid.

So, I am happy to discuss how I am able to connect and engage students, even in large classes. If you read this post and the comments at the end (which are just a fraction) you’ll see a pattern in the connection I can make with students that is probably distinct. https://jcoleman1960.substack.com/p/what-i-tell-students-about-me-my

Finally, I was a senior admin in higher ed as provost, vp for research and dean at a range of schools over 25 years. I have a pretty good understanding of how universities work, the politics around higher ed, and I also have a lot to say these days about challenges in higher ed. There are two posts on substack that draw from this. https://jcoleman1960.substack.com/p/carnegie-research-classifications; https://jcoleman1960.substack.com/p/university-athletics-the-house-settlement

If other credentials matter, I am elected Fellow of the American Association for Science for my contributions to plant physiological ecology and building research infrastructure; I was appointed by the previous NSF director to serve on their congressionally mandated Committee on Equal Opportunity in Science and Engineering (it still exists); and I will be recognized as one of two distinguished alums of Yale’s School of the Environment in October, 25

You can find out more about me at

https://www.jim-coleman-phd.com/