Hello! Welcome to Sabbatical Studio.
My name is Liz Delia. I’m an Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and I’ve spent over a decade researching identity and how we find meaning in our lives. I’m also drawn to travel, adventure, and the kind of experiences that create space to think differently. Sabbatical Studio sits at the intersection of these worlds.
The Story of Sabbatical Studio
In 2025, several significant life and career moments converged for me. I turned 40, walked the Camino de Santiago, lost both of my parents, applied for promotion to Professor, and received an endowed fellowship, all in a matter of months.
Individually, each of those things invited reflection. Strung together, they nearly mandated a sustained period of stepping back and rethinking my relationship to work and time.
That period reshaped my priorities in life, and also led me to create Sabbatical Studio. This project began with a simple idea: space away from the day-to-day of work is rare and deeply valuable, and yet it’s often treated as an isolated (or even risky) pause rather than a meaningful part of our lives and careers.
Over the years, I’ve experienced several forms of stepping away: formal university sabbatical, a research-intensive semester, family leave, and informal time away I refer to as pseudo-sabbatical (which I wrote about on Inside Higher Ed). Each has shaped how I think about creating space within an academic career, and what it really means to pause intentionally.
Through these experiences, I’ve come to see both the potential and the gaps around time away. While academics often receive plenty of guidance around promotion and productivity, there’s often limited support for stepping back and reconsidering our goals and priorities. I view the latter as especially important in the mid-career phase and beyond.
Sabbatical Studio grew out of these realizations. I offer practical resources and thoughtful support to help academics approach sabbaticals and work breaks with greater clarity, intention, and purpose. At the center of this work is the belief that stepping back can help us see our work (and ourselves) more clearly.
Sabbatical Studio is a resource and support space for academics who want to approach sabbaticals and intentional time away with greater clarity and purpose.
Here, you’ll find practical guidance and personal insights for planning, navigating, and returning from sabbatical or intentional time away.
This work is grounded in the belief that stepping away can help us reconnect with what matters, reassess where we’re headed, and create space for renewal, creativity, and change – not only in our time away, but once we return as well.
One more thing: you may notice I mention “intentional time away” quite a bit, in addition to sabbatical. I’m aware sabbatical isn’t always available to academics when they need a break, and that sabbatical isn’t available to some academics at all. I don’t think this should prevent us from taking the time away we need, and I think it’s possible to have meaningful breaks (intentional time away) within the boundaries of regular academic life.
At Sabbatical Studio, I share resources, reflections, and guidance for approaching sabbaticals and international time away with greater clarity and purpose. Some resources focus on planning and navigating sabbaticals, while others explore deeper questions that often surface when we step back from work and routine.
For deeper and more personalized support, I also offer one-on-one sessions (or longer term coaching) for those looking to make the most of their time away.
My approach combines research, lived experience, and work with academics and others navigating different forms of leave, pause, and transition.