Balance in research, teaching, service and life at a primarily undergraduate institution

As an undergraduate physics major I wanted to become a physics professor when I grew up where I would do pure physics research…oh, and teach a little too. Some postdocs later I reached my goal but with a slight caveat: I ended up a physics professor at a primarily undergraduate institution (PUI). A PUI is a 2-year or 4-year university or college generally without any Ph.D. granting graduate programs. Needless to say, PUIs are many and widely varied. They are perhaps better defined by what they are not—they are not so-called R1 (or Research 1) universities which commonly are large research universities with many Ph.D. granting graduate programs. It turns out that I am now doing very nearly what I originally hoped and imagined I would be doing those years ago as an undergraduate. In this talk I will describe the highs and lows of an academic position at a PUI, how it can be considered an attractive alternative to a position at an R1, and discuss the required balance of life, family, top-level research, teaching, and university/community service.