Endings and Beginnings

At long last I'm free to publicly announce what some of you already know:  this will be my last semester teaching at Williams College.  This fall, I take up a new position at George Washington University, where I will have a joint appointment in the Political Science Department and the Elliott School of International Affairs.   GW offers a near perfect combination for me.  It's a first rate academic institution, with great strengths in International Relations and International Security.  I'll be closely involved in a brand new Middle East Center launching next year.  GW's School of Media and Public Affairs is strong in the area of public diplomacy (Alberto Fernandez will be in residence next year).  And, of course, it's in Washington DC, which - housing market aside - is a phenomenally exciting place for the kind of work that I do. 

I'll miss some things about Williams, where I've been for nine years.  I've had some great colleagues, and will always remember the camaraderie around the G-level tier of Stetson (which isn't long for the world anyway, since Stetson will soon be demolished and replaced with a new building).   I know that I'll never again enjoy a three minute commute between home, office, and child care.  I deeply regret that my kids will never have the chance to take advantage of the amazing new child care facility which I spent many long hours helping design (though I will not in the least miss the absurdity I experienced during several years chairing the committee on child care).  Most of all, I'll miss teaching the astonishingly gifted, engaged, and often brilliant Williams students... though it will be some consolation to see some of my former students at GW over the next few years!   

What will this mean for Abu Aardvark?  Other than temporary disruptions during moving, I expect to keep running the blog.   But really, who knows... extra commuting time, new responsibilities, it all could take a toll.  But that would be true with or without the move.  This blog has been running at a fairly consistent pace for over four years now, which is a long time.  But I'm committed to the kind of public contributions which Abu Aardvark lets me make, and I can't imagine not doing it at least in some form. 

The bottom line is just that I'm absolutely thrilled about this change.  It's the perfect move at the perfect time, both professionally and personally.   I've got a lot of friends in the DC area, and to be perfectly honest I'm looking forward to being back in a city after nine years in the Berkshires... and the less snow I see, the better.       

Comments

[MSK]

Dear AA,

alf mabruuk!

--MSK

www.aqoul.com

[anonymous GWU student]

You jerk! Where were you two years ago when I started my master's program in security policy with a concentration in the Middle East? We could have used you when the ratio of classes on Russia to classes on the Middle East was roughly 10 to 1. Better late than never, I suppose...

[Amy H]

Looking forward to having you and family here in DC!

[monkey knife fight]

Congratulations! Though I must confess that I will not look forward to reduced time in blogging by you. I'm sure that I speak for many with that statement.
Question: do you think that this blog has helped your standing in your field of expertise? I suspect that the answer will be something along the lines of, "Sure, but mainly among the great unwashed." I'm just curious, is all.
Again, congratulations.

[Abu Riley]

Mabruk! I have many friends who wish you could have come over earlier!!!

[Swan]

If you haven't seen it yet, check this post out.

[Paul]

Thank you greatly professor. Very sad to see you go - truly a loss for the Purple Valley - but also sounds like you have a fantastic opportunity ahead of you. Best of luck.

[moi]

Mabrook AA! It's so exciting to know that you will be coming to DC. No doubt I will run into you at the countless DC events at think tanks, universities, and such. I'll be starting grad school in the Fall...now you're making me want to consider the Elliott school :) Either way, I would love to meet you or sit in on one of your classes! Welcome to DC :)
p.s. *definitely* say good bye to the 3 min commute!

[Dahlia]

Congratulations. Mabrouk! Through your blog, I have come to know a side of you and look forward to knowingthe scholar better. I will an adjunct at the Elliott School in the fall teaching a course on Pol Econ of the ME, and I hope to meet you!

[Annaliis]

From a selfish perspective, that's awesome, since I'm living in DC these days and it would be great to catch up at some point.

Congratulations on your appointment(s).

[Dan Drezner]

Wait a sec... they're tearing down Stetson? But, but... how will the freshmen get lost trying to find their professors?

[Brad DeLong]

Damn! All of a sudden Williams looks less attractive as a place to send the sixteen-year-old...

[Leila]

Congratulations Abu-A. May the changes go smoothly and well for all concerned.

Brad - doesnt' the sixteen-year-old have a vote in this?

[glasnost]

For a moment, this really complicates a recent decision I thought I'd made to go to Georgetown instead of GW for my masters degree.

Sure, GTown is the officially better program, but I know your work, as a blogger, better than I know the people I don't even know at GTown.

Of course, you don't know me from Adam, and I'm probably going to go to GTown anyway, but I thought it might boost your ego to know that people you don't even know think your blog is awesome, and can genuinely be compelled to believe in the academic credentials of your entire institution based on your prominence there.
All that from one lousy blog.
Who knows how many other people feel the same?

[Najlah]

Mabrook! I'm with Leila on this one! I am planning (Inshallah) on applying for a PhD program there in DC within the next few years, I was eyeing Georgetown, but now maybe I'll try for GW too! I love your blog and incorporate it into my regional area analyses for my organization. Congrats again Ustaz Lynch!

Ma Salaam--

[Ben Cronin]

Best of luck in DC, Prof. Lynch; the great contributions you made to Williams are very much appreciated by me and my fellow Ephs. Stetson will miss you, too, I imagine (I can't believe they're tearing that lovely rambling old monstrosity down; I hope they keep the facade). And Drezner: you should definitely still think about Williams for the 16 yr. old, and not only for pol. science, where MacDonald and McAllister and Shanks and everyone else will keep it sufficiently real, but for the entire utopian experience of Williams. There's a good chance I'll never be as consistently happy again as I was there.

[Ben Cronin]

Best of luck in DC, Prof. Lynch; the great contributions you made to Williams are very much appreciated by me and my fellow Ephs. Stetson will miss you, too, I imagine (I can't believe they're tearing that lovely rambling old monstrosity down; I hope they keep the facade). And Drezner: you should definitely still think about Williams for the 16 yr. old, and not only for pol. science, where MacDonald and McAllister and Shanks will keep it sufficiently real, but for the entire utopian experience of Williams. There's a good chance I'll never be as consistently happy again as I was there.

[Tom Scudder]

G'luck, man.

[Brian Ulrich]

Hey - congratulations!

[Abu Muqawama]

Wow... so GW is going to have you, William Quandt, and Melani McAlister next year. Those are some lucky kids looking to study the Middle East! Congrats!

[Rachel]

Tunnel City Coffee Roasters just won't be the same without you... :-/

[Martin Kramer]

Congrats! Look forward to mixing it up with you in DC.

[Blake Hounshell]

Ahlan wa sahlan, ya ustez.

[Eric Martin]

Congratulations!!

DC gets richer...

[Daniel Nexon]

Glad it is public, so that I can offer you some congratulations! Look us up when you get here.