Today is my final day. After 14 years, the time has come for me to leave La Trobe University and move on from academia to a new chapter in my career. 

I’m feeling mixed emotions today: sadness at the ending of an academic career spanning two decades. Intense fatigue from the grind and disillusionment with the dissonances of a sector in chaos. The heaviness of the concrete finality of my choice to leave, along with a deep desire for the challenge of a different journey. 

There are fond memories too: of immersion in fascinating work, the rush from delivering a great class, relationships with good people, and a grounded sense of accomplishment at what I’ve achieved. I admit that my final walk from my office to the carpark was completed misty-eyed.

I’m proud that the decision to leave was mine alone. Many of my colleagues were not afforded that choice.

For a long time I imagined this blog posting would be an explosive guns-blazin’ polemic of hardcore #QuitLit. But now that the final day is here, that energy has dissipated. It’s a time for reflection, not reaction, a time to let go of old wounds so that new paths can reveal themselves.

With that in mind, thanks and gratitude are in order.

Thank you to the Politics department at La Trobe University for giving me a shot as a young and raw early-career academic in 2010, and for being my professional home from that time till today.

Thank you to Flinders University and the University of South Australia, the incubators that nurtured me through my undergraduate and postgraduate journeys, where my love for International Relations took seed. It was here that I was transformed from a uni drop-out into a seeker of knowledge and for that I offer grateful thanks.

Gamsa hamnida to Keimyung University in Daegu, South Korea, for hosting me on my undergraduate exchange in 2002. This experience was the most formative six months of my life, professionally and personally.

Thank you to all the colleagues who mentored me through my academic journey, who illuminated the path forward and helped me find the best in myself. There have been many of you, all appreciated.

Thank you to my colleagues at LTU in Melbourne, current and former, especially those I have worked with directly in collaborative teaching, research and service capacities. Special thanks my wonderful admin colleagues, your important work as the glue that holds this thing together has not gone unappreciated.

Thank you also to my former colleagues and students at the LTU Albury-Wodonga campus, where I spent the first three years of my academic journey at LTU.  That time in Albury-Wodonga was the best three years of my career.

I express my deep affection for the campus grounds at LTU Bundoora, a beautiful place to come to each day and my green space of refuge during the pandemic lockdowns.  I have love also for the grounds of the LTU Albury-Wodonga campus, for three years my second backyard, place of recreation, gardening and family bonding.

Thank you to my colleagues in the Korean Studies community in Melbourne, Australia, Korea and beyond, and to everyone who I have interviewed, spoken to, visited and collaborated with through my academic research.  My research achievements were shaped in no small part through your generously shared knowledge and wisdom.

To all my students, past and present, hailing from diverse backgrounds, I owe you a debt of gratitude. You challenged me to become the best teacher I could be and taught me more than I could ever impart. To all the students I have supervised in the PhD, Masters and Honours programs, it was a pleasure working with such talented individuals. It has been an honour to be a part of your lives, and I take immense pride in your accomplishments.

Thank you to the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) for standing up on our behalf, even against mighty odds, and to union comrades who have fought the good fight under hostile conditions.

I am grateful for the diverse skills and experience I have learned in my academic roles, and for the opportunities to engage with many different professional audiences, both within and outside of academia.

I am grateful for the opportunities for travel in my role in the International Relations program at LTU.  I have been to places and met people who have shaped me profoundly, stimulating my mind, nourishing my soul and expanding my world.  More importantly, my role gave me a platform to share the best of these experiences with people from different walks of life.

I am grateful to academia for teaching me the value of approaching life as a life-long learner, with thoughtfulness, reflection, and the entrepreneurial air of creative play.

Thank you academia for the difficult times, the hard knocks, and the lessons learned from my mistakes.  The difficult times have humbled me.  Discomfort and dysfunction are often the most compelling teachers.

In the coming weeks I’ll think of other things I could have added to this blog. But today, what I share here is enough. The career I’ve forged in academia is enough. The contributions I’ve made as a researcher in my field are enough. The impact I’ve had as a teacher is enough. For the first time in twenty years, I can rest content.

Goodbye academia, all the best.  It’s been a wild ride.

See also: Habib, B. (2023). “Reflecting on a Career Researching Climate Change and Security in North Korea.” E-International Relations. 6 April 2023.