Thanks so much Miranda!

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).