A tricky conversation with adviser

[mathsnotmath]

Hello friends!  Let me start by saying that being a part of this community has been helpful beyond measure throughout my graduate career-thanks for always being so awesome.  

I chose to apply to the school which I'm currently attending because of the intriguing work of the lone professor in my area of interest.  I came and visited the school, got to sit down and talk with my potential adviser for 45 minutes, loved him and his work, loved the department, etc., and decided to attend.  The catch: my adviser was selected for a prestigious research fellowship at (one of) the most influential math institutes in the world (not at the school I'm attending, to say the least...) for the 2014-2015 school year.  Great!  Meeting with him when I visited, he indicated that this was probably not an issue with regards to our working together-pure math requires pen and paper and not much else so (to a greater degree than for laboratory sciences) the distance really isn't a huge issue, and that he would be back in a year's time anyway.  We've been having meetings over skype twice a week since the first week of school.  Not only is he a "big shot," but he's completely humble, patient, and an excellent teacher.  Everything you would want in an adviser.  

Now...every time I mention to someone in the department that I'm working with this particular professor they say something to the effect of "Oh, he's great isn't he!  We absolutely love him.  We sure hope he's gonna stay with us..."  That last sentence.

Now, I should make it clear that he has never indicated to me that he's planning on leaving.  He just got his tenure last year.  When we talked in April he talked about how the "two body problem-academic edition" influenced his decision to take a position at my current institution, spouse hire, etc.  So I've never had much of a cause to allow this comment from people in the department to worry me.  

Until now.  When we were on the phone on Monday, we were talking about "life stuff" (as opposed to "maths stuff"), and he mentioned the fact that in January, his wife and children were relocating to his location.  His wife had a teaching job lined up at the university nearby, and his children were starting school there!  Now, he didn't say what sort of duration this new living arrangement would have, and in the moment I didn't think to ask.  In fact I didn't realize the implications of what he said until later...

My question to you is...what do you make of this information?  I feel that it would be wise for me to ask him directly what his plans are, but haven't had the courage.  I also feel as though it's in my best interest to make an excellent impression on him as quickly as possible.  How would you frame this conversation?  What specifically would you ask?  Should I wait until I've had more of a chance to impress upon him my drive and intelligence, or should I try to clarify as soon as possible?  

My great apologies for the length, and my great thanks in advance for your advice!  

[fuzzylogician]

Well, I wouldn't assume anything about the current information you got other than that spending a year away from one's wife and kids sucks and good for them for figuring it out. I think the way I'd go about trying to figure out if/when he is coming back is to bring up your summer vacation plans and (innocently) ask if he knows already when he will be back in town, because you want to be away visiting family (or similar excuse) for part of the summer and if possible you'd like to plan it for the time when he's gone or moving so you can return to town and start working with him again once he's back. He may not know yet or may not want to tell you, but I'm not sure how direct you could be or whether or not he wants to (or can) share more with you now. He may have received another offer or he may be negotiating, but in both cases I doubt he would confide in a first-year advisee before the plans are finalized. That said, another similar kind of attempt at getting more info might be to ask him about the courses he might be teaching next year and link it to your coursework plans for the coming semester and next year, if that's possible. So, try to link his plans to something relevant that you can legitimately ask about, and see how it goes from there. Unless you know him well and know he will respond reasonably, I would not straight up ask him if he's planning to leave if there is no indication of that, but I might be on the lookout for potential places where this question could be asked if he brings something up that would create that opportunity.

[TakeruK]

I agree with fuzzy. Also, I think if this prof is as amazing and great as he sounds, he would probably look out for you and make arrangements for you. Not saying that you should count on this of course, but just saying. But fuzzy is right that you can't really read too much into what you know so far, and that even if you asked right now, the prof might not even know his future (i.e. he might still be negotiating and doesn't know what way he'll decide yet). Or, he might be negotiating just so he can use the other job offer to negotiate a better salary at your current school.

 

It might also be nice to know that in my field (also not usually a heavy lab sciences field), professors that move schools generally negotiate a big enough startup package so that they can relocate you (if you wish) and provide for you. This is jumping the gun a bit, since we don't know if your advisor is moving but if it would help ease your mind, I've known a few grad students who had an advisor move and the choices they get tend to be:

 

1) move with the advisor and completely change programs (so that they would get their degree from the new school) -- this is rare and requires the other school to agree to grant you a degree from their program, which usually only happens if you are either willing to redo courses (or just started so switching is easy)

 

2) move with the advisor but stay affiliated with your original program (you would get your degree from your current school); this might mean a lot of travel back and forth depending on how many more semesters of classes/TAing (or your advisor might buy out your teaching requirements) and being present at the old school for milestones like quals, candidacy and your defense.

 

3) stay at old school and work with advisor remotely, perhaps spending some time at your advisor's new school when timing works out

 

4) switch to a different advisor in the old program.

 

Either way, I think you don't have to actively worry about anything right now. Fuzzy's suggestions on how to get more information is good. The only thing you can ever really "prepare" for in this case is Case #4 above, i.e. develop relationships with other professors that you might be able to work for instead. However, I would argue that every grad student should develop relationships with professors other than their advisors for things like 1) side projects in case your main project gets scooped or otherwise doesn't work, 2) making more connections/network/collaborations, 3) sometimes other profs can be better mentors and 4) for unexpected/unavoidable cases where you need a new advisor.

[mathsnotmath]

Thanks to both of you for your thoughts!  I like the idea of trying to fish for information with tact.  On the other hand, might it be the case that direct and straight forward communication is appreciated?  From my perspective time seems to be somewhat of the essence-assuming that he is leaving and is able to negotiate some other situation for me (I stress that he is the only person in this department whose research interests me at this point; I accept that this sounds awfully close-minded) will I still need to formally submit an application by the regular application deadline (December 2014)?  Will I need to take the GRE again?  These are the sorts questions which are on my mind.  

I'm hoping that you two are right-the relocation of his family is temporary and he'll be back in September 2015 as was originally the plan-I don't want to have to go through the horror that was applying to Math PhD programs again.  

[dr. t]

The department may be expressing concerns about the professor in question being hired away rather than him seeking to leave.

 

Still, I'm not sure why this is tricky, or why he might take "hey, I heard these rumors, I'm worried, what's happening" at all poorly. 

[TakeruK]

Also, in academia, I hear professors use the phrase "Gee, I hope no one steals/poaches him/her" as an equivalent to "Wow, Person X is a real superstar, we're sure glad they are with us!" rather than expressing a serious immediate concern. It's kind of a self-deprecating comment, i.e. "our school is probably not good enough for a great person like him/her". That is, I hear this comment far more often than I see professors actually moving. Of course, there is some truth: people recognize the job market is a competitive one and it's not that rare for a professor to move around (although it's more common when the professor is untenured). 

 

I do think direct questions are important for healthy advisor-advisee relationships. However, from the details currently provided, I don't think there is enough information to warrant enough concern to have a direct conversation. That is, in your shoes, I would not be worried at all about my advisor leaving. Of course, it's much easier for me to say that to you than to actually be in your shoes! But that's the reason why I don't think it's necessary to initiate a direct conversation. You are the best judge of your situation though. Perhaps there is other information that you haven't mentioned yet that makes you feel that you should have a direct conversation. If so, go with your gut/instinct and do it. 

 

One potential downside of being direct here, in my opinion, is that it might sound like you are just reacting to rumours/gossip about them. In addition, you might put them in a very uncomfortable spot. If a professor is actually leaving, it's pretty unlikely they would tell anyone, not even their own students, until the decision is final. Moving jobs is a delicate situation and the prof needs to be in control of who knows what at all times, until the final decision is made. So, if you are asking before the final decision is made, you might force them to lie to you, or potentially cause them to reveal some information that might not be finalized, which might cause more harm/worry than necessary. These downsides are not that significant though, so if you do feel that something is wrong and you need a direct conversation, you should definitely do so.

 

Finally just to clarify, by direct questions I meant direct questions about the rumors you heard about him leaving only. You should still ask direct questions like "Would you be available to advise me on my dissertation in the coming years?" if it makes sense to do so. I did this in my first few months of my PhD program because in our first year, we do 2 research projects and then decide a PhD advisor after passing quals at the end of year one. I didn't want to do a research project with someone who would have no funding or time to advise me beyond year one so I asked this to both of my first year project advisors before starting their projects. If there is some similar format (assuming there is, since it doesn't sound like you have locked this person down as your PhD advisor yet), then you should be able to ask a direct question like this without problem. Just phrase it as a discussion of your own future academic plans, rather than rumours about his.

 

I think it's a good idea to let this prof know that you definitely know for sure you want to work with him on your dissertation. In the chance that he is actually leaving, this will let him know that you will want to work with him and make plans accordingly (or inform you as soon as he can). 

[TMP]

I used to get really nervous in my first year as well about my adviser leaving because one of the best jobs in our field had opened up.  Of course, nobody said anything of that sort in my department- just not really the culture.

 

Still, until you have facts from your adviser's mouth, gossip is gossip.  Also, I agree with TakeruK's take on the self-deprecating comment, especially if your institution isn't one of the top 10-15.  Once the professor receives tenure, it's quite difficult to move because tenured professors required more money (salary, start-up costs for buyout, etc) than tenure-track professors.   If you're already in a well-positioned department, I wouldn't worry, because it's harder tot move "up" than down.

 

But if you just *have* to know, next time you discuss your coursework, ask him about his plans for Fall 2015 and whether or not he can do independent study with you in your specific area.

[mathsnotmath]

Thank you all so much for the insightful replies!  A very interesting point about the self deprecating comments about the department-I hadn't thought about it this way.  Indeed, it is the case that my present department is not highly regarded whereas the university where he's spending his fellowship year is world class.  

I suppose that I should re-emphasize that I haven't really been all that concerned about what other people in the department have to say with respect to his staying or leaving (after all, what do they know?)  For me the alarming piece of information is that his wife and children are relocating to where he is in January.  To me, this seems like a much greater "warning sign" than what people in the department have said in passing.  

When I first came and visited I asked him something to the effect of "what made you choose to take a position here?"  In mathematics there is a (rather superficial) divide between pure maths (maths we do without any immediate application in mind) and applied maths.  The department here is very much focused on the applied maths side of the divide, so I felt that my question was a reasonable one to ask.  He told me that his decision to come here basically came down to the fact that the university offered his wife a position as well.  So when I heard that his wife had a teaching gig (at the university where he is now) lined up in January, that also caused some angst.  

Thank you for all being willing to hear and respond to my concerns!  As I'm sure you will agree, it's probably not a great idea for me to be voicing these concerns to people in my department...

[serenade]

Mathsnotmath, just out of curiosity, what ended up happening? I have a friend in my program going through a very similar situation with her advisor. Wishing all the best for you!