Supervisory Update

In response to a few of the comments on my previous post:

I do really feel like I am actually in a better position (from a supervisory standpoint) that I was originally with ex-supervisor (X-sup). I am trying to think of this as an opportunity to "start over", I will now have three supervisor instead of just one, and likely innumerable opportunities as a result.

However, I did speak to X-sup's "would-have-been" honor's student yesterday (who will now be working with me instead - yippee!!) and she forwarded the email he sent her. X-sup's email to her contained all sorts of apologies, "what can I do to help you"s, and "I will make sure you are looked after"s. This really makes me question myself and what I did to deserve such a short, unfeeling email. I guess working really hard and being really nice was just not good enough for him.

My Supervisor "Broke-Up" With Me.

Here is the email that I received on Monday:


Hi Psych-O,

I'm afraid I have some bad news. I'm leaving the University so that my fiance and I can live together. Unfortunately, that means you'll have to find another dissertation advisor.

-New Advisor

This email seems to be lacking a few very important things: 1. An apology for leaving me high and dry, 2. Any sort of feeling or compassion for the awful situation he has left me in, and 3. any suggestion that we meet to talk about my options, etc. This is the most rude and unfeeling email he has sent me in the entire year that we have worked together - good timing on that one!!

This effectively limits my options as we only have one professor in our area group who is not going to be away for the next year (either on secondment or sabbatical) and that professor is not taking any students. This means that the department is going to have to try and strike a supervisory committee for me containing one I/O professor (who will be absent for the next year), one business school professor, and one other psychology professor with an in depth knowledge of my dissertation topic. This is because no one on their own has enough specific expertise to supervise my topic except for my ex-supervisor.

I am very disappointed in my ex-supervisor's behaviour and sad that he did not have enough respect for me to tell me this news in person.