Dear friends,

This year has been… a lot. Anyone who works in or around higher education (or the arts, or international development, or nonprofits generally) has absolutely been through the wringer. Whether you've faced grant cancelations, uncritical AI boosterism, the closure of programs or whole institutions, or all of the above, I want to acknowledge that this year has been exhausting and filled with uncertainty.

And yet, good things have happened too, and sometimes it can be hard to celebrate them when everything feels like (and often is) an emergency. I want to share a few things I'm proud of in my work life this year, in hopes that it helps you reflect and celebrate your accomplishments, too.

• I've helped clients secure nearly a million dollars in grant funding, which is huge in a climate of such intense precarity. I'll be taking an active role in one of these grants in partnership with Full Spectrum Features and JusticexDesign, something I'm looking forward to sharing more about in the new year.

• I've begun working with ACLS on their Doctoral Futures initiative. It feels good to bring my voice to this work, as it relates closely to the fifteen (!!) years of work I've done around graduate education reform. Read about some of my findings so far.

• I don't feel like I've written much this year, but 2025 brought the release of On Gathering, a special issue of the Journal of Electronic Publishing that I edited. This year also marked the publication of a chapter I co-wrote with Alyssa Arbuckle, Public Works: Ecological Inspiration for Equitable Knowledge Production. Both projects were such a joy.

• It's not a paid gig, but I'm proud to have been elected president of my district's Community Education Council. Through that role I've helped advance several resolutions that support gender equity, immigrant families, and fair transportation access for students with disabilities. I'm working hard to create a dynamic on the Council that is collaborative and inclusive, and I feel lucky to work with thoughtful, caring parent-leaders who give generously of their time.

These things are good! When this year started, I was making exit plans, thinking that maybe running my own business was not viable in the current political climate. Somehow it has become Inkcap's strongest year yet, and I'm happy that I can continue the work in the year to come.

As we near the winter solstice and the longest night of the year (in the northern hemisphere, anyway), I hope you're also able to take time to reflect, to celebrate, and to recharge so that we can bring our collective best to the year ahead. Noticing the good doesn't mean forgetting about the struggles; it makes it possible for us to keep fighting.

Thanks for reading, and thanks to everyone for the work you do.

Warmly,
Katina