Finally, I am mindful of Tony Brown's legacy as I take on the mantle of his eponymous chair. Tony is renowned for his teaching, his commitment to mentoring the next generation of leaders, and his own leadership. Now more than ever these are critical commitments, and I'll do my best to uphold them.

As I embark on this next step, I am immensely aware of the privilege it brings and the responsibility to use that privilege—especially in this moment—to help others climb the ladder and to continue asking the types of questions about politics, power, and precarity that may not always be popular.

And, of course, none of this would be possible without the personal and professional support from my amazing partner, @carriehbs.bsky.social, whose generosity, patience, and librarian superpowers (seriously, they know everything!) have been key to navigating the tenure process with sanity intact.

I am also grateful to the RAs and advisees who have made my professional life immensely richer for getting to work with them. Especially Grace Beals, Kels Bowman, Allegra Fullerton, Noah Gibson, Ryana Jones, Itay Machtei, Marayna Martinez, Andrew Trexler, Adrienne Jones, and Aditya Unnikrishnan.

None of this would be possible without an amazing community of staff. Tina Slater, Laurie Dorsey, Rebecca Stocker, Lynette Edgerton, Kiana Farrish, Emily Totherow and many others have made sure payments are processed, forms are submitted, and I haven't spent too much time locked out of my office 😳.

Speaking of finding your people, my research would be lonelier and less productive without the incredible community of women studying credit/debt, especially @serenalaws.bsky.social, Patricia Posey, @darazed.bsky.social, @chloethurston.bsky.social, @tesswise.bsky.social, and Emily Zackin.

Finding your people in #polisky can be hard. I've been fortunate to find a home with both @cape-team.bsky.social and #COPPR, and to learn from folks like Chris Weible, @jacobhacker.bsky.social, @awhf.bsky.social, Des King, Larry Jacobs, Kathy Cramer, and Joe Soss (to name a few).

I've also benefited from the wisdom and friendship of great colleagues at Lafayette and Duke--especially Mary Armstrong, Carolyn Barnes, @carnes.bsky.social, Andrew Clarke, @agpines.bsky.social, @kagoss.bsky.social, Seo-Hyun Park, Jay Pearson, Ken Rogerson, & Jenni Siegel.

As with any profession, academia has unique challenges that only fellow travelers can fully grasp. I am especially fortunate to have four friends-first-colleagues-second in my life to help navigate those ups and downs: Tamar Malloy, Delphia Shanks, Sarah Maxey, and Angelika von Wahl.

I'm grateful to my co-authors, particularly repeat offenders Delphia Shanks and @serenalaws.bsky.social. And @povertyscholar.bsky.social deserves a special shout out. Agreeing to tackle a book project w/me has turned into a research agenda with no end in sight (sorry Jamila, you're stuck with me).

I owe a debt of gratitude to my graduate mentors, especially @smettler.bsky.social & @mjonescorrea.bsky.social, who not only shepherded me through the doctoral process, but also modeled how to be successful scholars while maintaining their kindness and compassion as mentors and teachers.

It feels strange to celebrate tenure—and the privilege of security it brings—while so many face so much precarity.

But my colleagues and friends persuaded me it's important now more than ever to share the wins. It's also important to me to publicly thank the people who made this win possible. So:

And while I will begin the semester with a new title, hundreds of staff at Duke—including friends and colleagues in Sanford—will not return, their positions eliminated as part of a university-wide "reduction in force" instigated in response to the financial fallout from these policies.

While awaiting trustee approval, the first wave of research funding cuts and student visa revocations were imposed. Three days after my tenure became official, student loan and Medicaid cuts were enacted that will devastate the finances of millions of Americans as well as many university budgets.

My tenure process unfolded alongside the current (and ongoing) effort to dismantle U.S. higher ed and the broader political economy of knowledge.

My department voted for my tenure the day after the election, and I learned that the provost approved it while streaming the inauguration from my office.

...because it feels incongruous to celebrate professional success as thousands of talented public servants, researchers, and support staff across the country lose their jobs, and some of my own students, advisees, and colleagues have their livelihoods thrown into turmoil.