From Empty(ing) the Nest to Families Flocking Together: Holding Space for Loss During the Transition to College

Erin K. Anderson-Camenzind, Ph.D.

Professor of Communications4D Director of Faculty Innovation

University of Denver

4D Director of Faculty Innovation; Professor, Communication Studies

I am the 4D Director of Faculty Innovation and a Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Denver. In my work as an artist/researcher/teacher/leader, I hold space for questions such as: How can we cultivate creativity, compassion, community, and well-being in the face of illness, death, and loss? How can art and other embodied practices allow us to resist oppressive structures in the name of moving toward/in freedom? How can we create academic spaces where students, staff, faculty, and administrators experience belonging, courage, trust, purpose, and love?

I take great pride in my academic publications and the awards I’ve received for my research and teaching, but I am proudest of the ways that I have vulnerably shared my life’s greatest losses, and in so doing, inspired my students to do the same in their own scholarship and classrooms. My greatest failures in the academy include, over-committing myself to the point of burnout (several times) and stepping out of my own light out of fear of burning others. Though my work blurs the bounds between my professional and personal life, in my “free time” you can often find me in search of awe—running mountain trails, making art out of words and memories, and serving as a witness to the stories of those suffering the calamities of life—all in the name of answering my life’s call to question “are you alive?”

This is an anti-bio, learn more.