Last May, I left a faculty position after being at my institution for seven years and having just earned tenure and promotion. I announced my decision to leave in March, the week before spring break, after a period of planning I’ve described in previous articles. My announcement involved scheduled meetings with my department chair and mentors, emails to departmental and disciplinary colleagues, and many phone calls, conversations and lunches that surrounded the official announcement.

Previously, I’ve shared my motivations for leaving academe, the practices I used for career discernment and the extended planning that led to this announcement. Now, in this piece, I’ll share what I learned through the announcement itself by relating three common responses that surprised me.