How to quit my TT professorship job gracefully?

Question

I'm a TT assistant professor at a R1 school, and I just recently accepted an offer from a private company. I'm planning to talk with the department head and let him know and I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts how to approach this (with maybe examples if you have anything in mind) and quit gracefully ? Also do you think one month ahead is enough to let him know before the departure ?

Update: Ok, just wanted to share some update. I talked with the head today and something along this answer from @caleb-stanford worked really well.

For example: "While I have really enjoyed my time here, it's become increasingly clear to me that being in academia long-term is not the right fit. In addition, I have personal and family constraints that would require me to be away from for extended periods of time, and make having a more flexible work location a necessity for me in the future. I have nothing but positive things to say about . I'm sorry for the short notice; I'm letting you know as soon as possible, so that you can hopefully work to make plans accordingly for my departure."

Answer 1

Ultimately, there's no way to say it nicely. You're leaving, and that makes things difficult for them, so the best thing you can do is let them know as soon as possible. They will want to know why, so you have to be prepared with a well-crafted reason for your departure.

One crucial detail that I think is missing from your post: do you want to remain on good terms with the university, the department chair, and your colleagues, or are you leaving academia for good and have no interest in maintaining connections?

• In the former case, you have to be a bit careful. Firstly, you should try to let them know as soon as possible -- I would think, more than just a month in advance! And second, you should be careful about your reason. It's generally advised not to make it about the university or the department; things that they can change.

  For example, don't say: "I haven't been getting along with my colleagues here and I feel the university is not supporting me enough financially." That will make them feel defensive, and in the worst case, it could leave them thinking that they could have retained you if you had only talked to them earlier, and you could have worked something out.

  Instead, it's generally more effective to make your leaving not about them. It can be the university location, or personal/family constraints, or you simply have decided that academia is not for you. Since you want to remain friendly with your colleagues, you should be as honest as possible, without unnecessarily insulting them.

  For example: "While I have really enjoyed my time here, it's become increasingly clear to me that being in academia long-term is not the right fit. In addition, I have personal and family constraints that would require me to be away from for extended periods of time, and make having a more flexible work location a necessity for me in the future. I have nothing but positive things to say about <university>. I'm sorry for the short notice; I'm letting you know as soon as possible, so that you can hopefully work to make plans accordingly for my departure."

• In the latter case, you have nothing to lose, so you can share some negative details about the department if you so choose, as long as you are careful in expressing it. In this case, you can also choose to leave on short notice (as long as it is allowed by your contract); it may upset them, but at the end of the day, you have to do what's best for you.

Answer 2

You have a contract and it may detail the requirements here. If you are teaching then you should give the head enough notice that they can replace you without negative impacts on students. If you have thesis advisees you need to consider their needs, ethically, if not necessarily legally.

Quitting, but continuing to end of term is likely to be fine, though the head may need to scramble to fill any teaching slots for next term.

Other than consideration for students who will be impacted I don't see a lot of issues, provided that your contract isn't too restrictive.

If your pay is pro-rated in any way, then some adjustments might need to be made but probably more likely in your favor than otherwise.

For the administrative details a month seems reasonable. For student and especially advisee outcomes it might be more complicated.