Recent research has emphasized the affective components of both learning and teaching. While the former has been extensively studied, the emotional challenges faced by instructors are comparatively less so. Micro-communities, such as the one assessed in the present study, have been identified as potentially effective resiliency strategies for faculty in higher education, but little is known about how these often private, behind-the-scenes groups function to support wellbeing. Based on our grounded theory analysis of artifacts generated in one such community, we propose the concept of academic witnessing as a means for understanding how informal social structures can enable individuals and institutions to thrive.