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Women have long known that the demands of balancing work and family can be overwhelming and often mean the sacrifice of something-time with family or achievement at work. The collection of essays in Papa PhD reveals how some men in the academy also tackle this balancing act. These men with academic and professional ambitions also reflect on their ideals and aspirations for fatherhood, experiences as parents, and sometimes their positive and negative relationships with their own fathers. Although there are several aspects of the work/family juggling act that may be unique to women, the fathers who have written for this collection reveal that men also face difficult choices in devoting time to children and partners or to the pursuit of scholarship, tenure, or the demands of teaching. Many of these authors acknowledge the privileges and opportunities a career in academia can afford men who want to be active and involved fathers, such as flexible teaching schedules and lengthy breaks between semesters. Some men view these features of academic life as beneficial to their fathering efforts, such as the father who is able to bring his young daughter on research trips throughout the world exposing her to different cultures and climates. Many other men, however, write about the stresses such positions, particularly untenured positions, can put on their attempts to fulfill obligations to both work and family. Their desires to be active fathers must be balanced with the demands of teaching several classes, pursuing research and publication, and performing service roles in the academy. Many men describe being acutely aware of the scrutiny of advisors, mentors, colleagues, and supervisors and the ways that their active fathering may interfere in their pursuits of scholarship. A few men write about the severe disabilities of one or more of their children or their partners and the ways this necessarily interferes in their professional pursuits. The need to invest significant time, attention, and care for a child or a partner means that time is not available for research, writing, or conferences. Many men reflect on the kinds of parents they want to be in contrast to the kinds of fathers they are able to be Men and Masculinities 15(2) 195-203