by Jessica VandenPlas, PhD, Grand Valley State University
When I accepted my first tenure track job teaching at a Primarily Undergraduate Institution (PUI), I assumed it would be a temporary stop—a stepping stone to the coveted R1 position for which I had been groomed in graduate school. This was a path I had seen many of my well-respected senior colleagues in the field of chemistry education research (CER) take, and I assumed my path would be no different. I graduated at a time when there were still very few post docs in CER, and even fewer R1 institutions willing to hire a newly minted grad student without a proven track record, such as myself. Most of the chemistry education researchers I saw being successful at R1s at the time had started out at PUIs themselves, building up that track record, before moving into these elusive R1 positions. My plan was to use my time at a PUI to build a similar track record, and then move on to the position I thought (at the time) I truly wanted. However, as is the case with many temporary stops, this one has become my home. Some 10 years later, although freshly-graduated-Jessie would have rolled her eyes at this, it is a position I have grown to love, and honestly cannot see myself leaving.