Starting what I hope to be a regular thread, inspired by a recent exchange with @meghan_mcgrady concerning experiences with rejection in the academy. #facultyfailtale 1/

We hear from others-and we see for ourselves-that academic work means getting papers and grants rejected left and right, but how do faculty struggle with (and learn from) rejection? 2/

Do frequencies of rejection decrease with experience (nope!), do they all hurt as bad as the first rejection (sure hope not!), and do rejections always end badly (that’s the best part: no!)? If you find value in this thread, vote with your thumbs, and I’ll do another one 3/

#facultyfailtale (issue 1) is about one of my favorite collaborations, made possible by an @IESResearch grant that (finally!) hit in 2018; mentioning those involved who are also on #AcademicTwitter @ClayCook_phd @MaggieMSullivan @bridgetmakol @rorymackeeley 4/

@ClayCook_phd (back in his @UW days, now at @UMNews) + Frank Gresham ( @LSU) contacted me in 2012 regarding a grant app focused on a central element of my lab’s research agenda. Immediate “yes” from me! 5/

First application submitted in 2012. We get the reviews in 2013: Not discussed, that means no score! Add another rejection for me, on what had become a growing pile of straight “no’s” from funding agencies. 6/

Great feedback from reviewers + while we were revising, we published some theoretical work that helped shape our “story.” @IESResearch has one cycle a year, so we took a year off to absorb the reviews and figure out a game plan; we submitted our (first) revised app in 2014. 7/

This (first) revised app did better (it got scored!) but not funded (we missed the payline by a fraction of a point). We received good feedback as with the first submission, and onto the next revision, which we submitted in 2015. 8/

Reviews in 2016: We got scored again (woo-hoo!) but again not funded (we missed the payline by a smaller fraction of a point than we did with our 2014 app), we received more good feedback but c’mon, we need a win here people! 9/

The win didn’t come in 2016. Why? Because a certain doofus ( @JCCAP_Editor) didn’t read the funding announcement! That year, @IESResearch funding priorities changed. We submitted our app in 2016 only to discover in 2017 that we were not responsive to the announcement! 10/

This is the “despair” portion of this #facultyfailtale, and you probably wouldn’t fault us if we called this one quits, but here is the thing: we really wanted this one, because we believed in the work! 11/

Fifth submission, now in 2017, and things felt different. @IESResearch funding priorities swung back in our favor. We had seen many reviews. We responded to a ton of commentary over multiple revisions. Things came together in a way that we had not experienced before. 12/

I still remember what it felt like to open the email on February 28, 2018, letting us know that the scoring decision came in; heart pounding, hand shaking over the touchpad, you know the feels. I log into the system to see that the score was a fraction of a point….. 13/

…..UNDER the payline! Huh?! I email @ClayCook_phd + Frank with a screenshot of the scoring decision: Is that score what I think it is? Is this process over? Yes, THIS PART of the process is over, now the hard part….doing the damn study! 14/

We just started the third and final year of this @IESResearch project. @ClayCook_phd @MaggieMSullivan @bridgetmakol @rorymackeeley and the rest of the team: I cannot express in words how much I cherish working with you all. You make me love my job. 15/

Equally so, I cherish the lesson learned from this #facultyfailtale: I would rather spend 6 years trying to fund the project I would love to work on than spend just 1 year to fund the project that I would dread taking on! 16/

I may not be able to top this epic #facultyfailtale in future posts, but that’s not because my rejections run in short supply! As far as grants go, I am currently at 3 wins/50+ losses! 17/

If you found value in this story about rejection, let me know, and I will have more soon when the next #facultyfailtale comes into focus! 18/