I’ll start my introduction by noting that it’s a nice change to talk about other people’s careers in this section instead of my own. That said, what I’ll talk about, and the focus of our cover story, as the name suggests, is not particularly uplifting.

“Publish or perish” will be a familiar term to most people working in higher ed. If you are unfamiliar, though, the term refers to the need for academics to continually publish in order for their careers to continue, or not perish.

Like many familiar terms, I was surprised to learn that it dates back much further than I expected. At least 80 years; likely 100; possibly longer. Another way of looking at it: four generations of academics experiencing some form of the same pressure. That’s a lot of time to be aware enough of a phenomenon to have a name for it, but not to change it.

And like most things given enough time, publish or perish has evolved. Now, not only do academics experience pressure to publish in order to progress and keep their careers, but the burnout associated means they perish anyway. Or, perhaps, this isn’t a recent evolution at all. Perhaps it was always like this, but now, just like when the term “publish or perish” was first coined, we are now aware enough of it to give it a name.

Regardless of whether it’s new, however, I think there is power in being able to name something. It gives us the power to address it; and it must be addressed. In addition to the central issue, that being the very human cost involved with an individual burning out, I think it’s important to reflect on the follow-on costs, especially for universities themselves and society.