A Day in the Life of a Professor

Get ready to toss your conventional notion of what it’s like to be a professor. We’re not all stodgy, boring, gray-haired geeks in lab coats and nerdy glasses. (Okay, so maybe some of us are…) And we don’t sit around all day drinking coffee out of beakers. (Okay, well some of us, maybe…) But thanks to our comical students and obsessive colleagues – it’s actually pretty interesting, and occasionally quite hilarious, being a professor. So, here’s your chance to see the job from the other side of the lectern. You’ll meet crazy characters like ‘The Ubiquitous Kenny Baker’ (he’ll stick to you, like gum to the cat); you’ll learn what professors mean by the “barf wave” in ‘Just a Typical First Year Engineering Exam’, and you’ll find out why professors actually want you to laugh AT them, not with them. Here are five short stories describing some of my experiences – both strange and comical – to give you a taste of life as a professor. I hope you enjoy it!