Out with the old; in with the new.

It’s almost time for a new academic year to start. Like spring, it can be a time of renewal. That is certainly true for me this year.

With my new position as director of our business law program at Tennessee Winston Law, I got a new office. My office move has provided me with many opportunities for reflection. They have been bittersweet.

The pictures above are of the office I inhabited on and off for over 15 years, taken just after I finished moving my last things out. Most of my colleagues thought I would never leave this place. Truthfully, I didn’t ever really got a chance to properly move in originally. (Due to some poor planning and last-minute shenanigans, my assistant was forced to move my books and boxes into the office while I was at the Association of American Law Schools annual meeting one year.) The mess that my office became just rolled on from there . . . .

Some of what I found in the move has been quite amusing. I marveled at all the hard copies of bar reference letters, tenure letters, etc. that I had in file folders in my drawers. I had quite forgotten how we didn’t trust computers to store our documents way-back-when. So, we printed all of them off and put them in folders. Such folly!

Some of what I found has been quite sad. Among the hard copies saved were many written by colleagues no longer with us. Original letters of welcome to Tennessee from alumni and members of the bar who later became dear friends and left us too soon, special handwritten notes and messages from deceased faculty colleagues, . . . . Some brought tears to my eyes; others brought soft smiles. All created a strong sense of longing.

Some of what I found was quite joyful. There was the letter I wrote supporting a child adoption for a former student and his wife, many thank-you notes from students for bar letters, Christmas cards and office announcements from former students, and more. Many of these students are still friends today. I sent a number of them texts or emails with a photo of the letter or card or announcement. The resulting exchanges were so wonderful.

Apart from all the paper (almost all of it recycled in the move), there were all the objects . . . . And as I moved these myriad presents from students and colleagues–from mugs to photographs to toys and games–I took time to remember each one and the circumstances in which I was given it. Such personal treasures! Many have found homes in my new office.

But I recycled and threw away a lot. Faculty and staff colleagues got some of the many ceramic and travel mugs, water bottles, and the like that had accumulated over the years. Schools that invite me to speak have been so generous in giving me gifts of this kind. I am grateful for them all and glad they could find homes where they will be used.

My new office is pictured below, with much of the move-in completed. I am still moving things around. No pictures have yet been hung. Choosing what to hang presents issues. My former office had a lot more wall space. I will have to forego hanging many things. And items are still finding their final resting places on surfaces and in drawers. But soon it will feel more like home (even if I always will think of it as George’s office!).

The memories brought forth in the office move are such an important part of what brings me to where I am today. They are a foundation that will help sustain me. But new memories will be made; new challenges will be addressed. There are more relationships to build.

I start the academic year, after all this, with gratitude and inspiration. Friday, my first formal day in my new role, was the 25th anniversary of my start date as a law teacher at Tennessee Winston Law. That synchronicity is very meaningful to me. It’s time for a bit of a fresh start after a quarter of a century teaching law. I look forward to it all.