The Work We Do/Did

Lis of social icons associated with Mullin.Work

The request was simple enough. But the response became sufficiently difficult, that a new course needed to take place.

It started on a recent Friday afternoon, when I received an email that said, in part:

Dear Dr. Mullin,

 

I am reading “Higher education administration for social justice and equity: Critical perspectives for leadership,” and I am reading your chapter. You refer to a conference presentation from 2018 entitled "Understanding impact: A holistic return on investment framework for developmental education." I have managed to track down the program for the conference, but I cannot seem to find any more information on your presentation. I was wondering if you might be willing to share it with me. I am particularly interested in your equity-infused return on investment framework.

I remembered that presentation.  Soon after, it was published as a paper.  As with any work, there was a story behind it; and lots of thought.  

This wasn't the first time I received such an email.  My professional arc and personal penchant leaves a trail of the written word.  And, given our technological society, sometimes contributions disappear due to a website update or some other "refresh."  And so, this time I decided to do something about it.  

In the process, I learned a bit: About myself, about my work, and about technology.  

I was reminded of how much I care about what I do with my time.  I have spent countless hours tracking down information and identifying multiple interpretations so that I have as informed a perspective as possible.  It's the analyst in me.

I was reminded of why I do/did the work.  My writings are contributions that I hope to stand across time; all the while recognizing too many books sit on shelves, unopened.

And finally, technologically, I found I needed to reclaim an expansive digital footprint.  To do so I created a new website: Mullin.Work.  It attempts to put all of my technology "handles" - and related work be it a blog, book or brief - in one spot.

I know the process of claiming one's professional digital identity will be ongoing, but it is a start.  And, hopefully, for those who don't feel like they can write me an email, they can at least find the contributions colleagues and I spent hours developing so that they may be empowered to take action.


Location: Tallahassee, FL, USA

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