At SSAWW 2021, the presentations on the Late Career/Retirement panel sparked a lively discussion about the fate of mid- and late-career academics who are considering retirement—whether at age 65 or significantly earlier--in response to burnout resulting from the pandemic, general frustration with the customer service orientation of colleges and universities, and the waning importance of the humanities in American higher education. While many of these issues also pertain to early-career academics, the panel demonstrated that late-career (especially post-tenure) academics are faced with specific concerns that warrant a dedicated discussion/support space.

SSAWW has thus created a Facebook group—SSAWW Get Out!-- to share ideas and resources about retirement and to provide networking opportunities and support for those who have left or are considering a life after academia. Because of the sensitivity of this issue, especially for mid-career academics, the Facebook group is private and confidentiality among members is required.

The group is open to mid-career (post-tenure or 5+ years post-PhD), late-career, and retired SSAWW members or others in literature and related humanities fields who engage in feminist praxis. SSAWW members who would like to join SSAWW Get Out! are asked to fill out a brief questionnaire; you will be contacted by the group moderator with a link to join once your questionnaire has been processed.

You will need to have a Facebook account to participate in this group. Other options were considered, but despite its significant shortcomings, it was decided that Facebook provided the greatest accessibility for potential participants as well as mechanisms for structured discussion and confidentiality.