By Michée Arnold Lachaud (ELP 2023) | Associate Progessor in Agricultural Economics and Business, Florida A&M University

I was 10 or 11 years old when I decided that I would obtain a PhD and become a professor after reading about PhDs in a French comic book. That day, I said to myself “I don’t know what a PhD is, but whatever it is, I’m going to get one!”. I was fascinated by the idea. These were the dreams of a young kid, many of which go unrealized, especially for children from developing countries like me (I am from Haiti).

After obtaining my “Diplome D’Etude Supérieures” in statistics and quantitative economics at the State University in Haiti (CTPEA), I was lucky enough to receive a scholarship from the Inter-American Development Bank for a joint master’s degree in environmental and natural resource economics from the Universidad de Los Andes and the University of Maryland, College Park. Two years later, I was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship from the US State Department to undertake my PhD in agricultural and resource economics at the University of Connecticut. I am currently an Associate Professor at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) (I just received my tenure and promotion a couple of weeks ago) and I have decided to share some lessons from my journey that may prove useful to new assistant professors.

Firstly, I would recommend finding a senior faculty member who is genuinely willing to serve as a mentor to you because there is still a lot to learn, both in your field and regarding your new work environment. If possible, seek out mentors from other institutions as well, especially from leading associations in your field (e.g., AAEA, AERE, SEA, SAEA). Be inspired by people who succeed and are well known in your field. Be aware of senior faculty who may seek to take advantage of you and of misplaced advice that these are the people who will vote for your tenure and promotion (T&P), and therefore that you are obliged to please them. You need to learn how to say a firm and polite “no” to colleagues when needed, and to know when to collaborate, what is mandatory and what is not according to your responsibilities. Your tenure clock starts on Day One of your appointment as an Assistant Professor, so you should create a folder for your T&P on Day One, update your CV regularly, and save proof of all of your activities in that folder (immediately). You need to know the criteria for your T&P and how they are ranked, then prioritize the highest-ranked ones. For instance, if research is a top priority in your college, do not spend your time volunteering on a lot of committees. In addition, you need to establish your schedule and have days reserved to work only on your research when you do not meet with students or schedule meetings.

I did not receive much advice on grants when I started, so below I’m going to take the opportunity to share what I have learned about the process of obtaining funding. During my first department meeting, I mentioned to my new colleagues that my goal was to bring behavioral and experimental economics into our program and to build an experimental economics laboratory. Some were a bit skeptical due to the lack of resources and even physical space in our college. It is always good to have a dream, a challenge, and maybe a legacy. The only way I could realize this dream was to apply for a grant. Getting grants may not be a top priority for your T&P, but all departments appreciate and respect faculty who can bring funding in because it helps to finance your graduate students, increases the visibility of your programs, and can pay your way through the summer (as most of us are on nine-month contracts).

When I applied for my first grant to build the lab, my initial proposal was rejected. The reviewers’ comments said that what I had submitted was a great idea but did not constitute a proposal. The second time I applied (USDA-NIFA), my proposal obtained funding and I believe that FAMU has now become the first Historically Black College and University to possess an experimental economics lab. Last month, we recruited a new faculty member to our program and during her interview, she sought my advice on the “secret” of getting grants because by that time I had secured several, totaling more than $2,000,000 USD in extramural funding. Obtaining grants is quite a competitive process, but we can learn a lot from experts. To learn how to write grant proposals (and I still have a lot to learn), I decided to serve as a panel reviewer for several funding agencies (e.g., USDA, NOAA, NSF). I have learned many tips and tricks from grant-writing experts, including the reason that although my first attempt was a great idea, the reviewers didn’t consider it a proper proposal. Tenure-earning faculty are often advised not to serve as grant reviewers because it is time consuming. This is true, but in my experience the benefit outweighs the cost. It is also a great opportunity to expand your professional network.

As a result of my experiences as a grant reviewer and learning more about grant writing, I was able to secure another grant from the NSF and was named one of the 2021 National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) innovators, working with world-class NCAR scientists to further develop my research. One of the most rewarding developments stemming from this professional networking is being able to participate in the Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program at the University of California, Berkeley, which is an incredible opportunity to meet, learn, and work with world-renowned leading experts in environmental science, behavioral science, anthropology, business, public policy and governance, gender equity, innovation, and economics. My family has just become bigger!