In graduate school and probably as far back as kindergarten, I was the student who got my work in early. I did not miss deadlines, forget assignments, or miss work. Even at age eight, I was annoyingly focused on meeting expectations and being timely. In the tenure-track life, so many things compete for our time that I can no longer be that person with projects done weeks in advance. I have accepted some days (weeks, months, semesters) are busier than others, but struggle when I feel a lack of control over my time dedicated to projects. I have found that the most pressing item gets done while other tasks sit waiting. So, the syllabus gets edited since students will be arriving while the data sits un-entered or un-analyzed.
To combat my personal tendency to leave research as a secondary focus at my teaching-based institution, I embrace deadlines.
Is productivity benefited by deadlines? Do deadlines motivate you? My ability to balance research/teaching/service is getting better, but I still find research to be the hardest task to tackle since, for me, it requires an unwearied mind and blocks of time where I can focus (difficult in a multi-person office). My best tool to moving research forward: my love of deadlines. When it comes to organizing any project, I generally create "sub-deadlines"-- a mock deadline a week or two ahead of a larger project in order to give myself extra room for final details or for anything that might go awry. It is akin to the snooze button on your alarm. It generally works quite well for me. This summer semester I find applying my love for deadlines and structure can help my research. The deadlines are serving two key goals in my research world.
First, deadlines are motivating me. I have put them in my digital and hard-copy calendars. The digital calendar shows reminders, color-coded for type of work, and set to encourage forward momentum. The hard-copy calendar is tactile evidence (the blessed check mark!) of small tasks tackled for that larger project. The date with the giant star or exclamation point reminding me to submit is a constant reminder to keep the research at the forefront of my academic work.
Second, deadlines are, in themselves, rewards. I feel a huge excitement when I mark off an item that has been staring at me on my "to do" list. It is victory, it is accomplishment, it is relief. "When you get a task completely finished, your body naturally releases energy and good feelings associated with accomplishment. The bigger the task, the better you feel, " according to Whiteside of the Self-Improvement Association.
Deadlines and sub-deadlines help me manage my research goals when facing a busy week of committee meetings or grading. This week, midterm week, my students have a large presentation to complete and exams to grade alongside the June 30th deadlines for grant reports, conferences, and revisions or submissions for publications. It seemed everything would hit at once and the deadlines were slowly suffocating me. I re-evaluated what I could cut out (I had to let a conference submission go) and prioritized (grant report first) and then made all the calendar notes about sub-deadlines, slowly tackling items bit by bit. Despite a busy semester, I am two days away from my final date for submission and have all but one project completed EARLY. The final edits will be made on my last project and I'll submit one day before the deadline...which feels like sweet victory!
Then, of course, the next deadline looms and the another project gets underway--such is the life of the tenure-track faculty member.
---
Whiteside, R. (2009, June 24). 7 steps to prevent yourself from feeling overwhelmed. Retrieved June 21, 2010 from the Self-Improvement Association web site: http://www.sia-hq.com/articles/7-Steps-to-Prevent-Yorself-From-Feeling-Overwhelmed
Monday, June 28, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Strategies: A two-week reflection
After nearly two weeks of the fast-paced summer session, I find research continues to be an area where I must pressure myself to emphasize. With the immediate needs of my students, I often put research aside thinking, “I’ll work on this over the weekend” only to find myself buried in emails and exhausted by the time the weekend comes. I love my research areas and enjoy reading and exploring communicative concepts, but find my time is prioritized with teaching tasks always landing at the top of any to-do list. With this continued push and pull of the research requirement at a teaching institution, the last blog post focused on several strategies to continually focus on research this summer. How are they working? Here’s an update:
- Checking e-mail twice a day: Success! I am still responsive to the students’ needs and aware of institutional news but do not rush to immediately address every email I receive. Has led to more focused work time at the office where I can write.
- Scheduling (in day planner) and protecting blocks of research time: Success! I still have a long way to go but I have dedicated blocks of time to research and don’t allow anything to “steal” that time away. This week, however, this has been hard with conflicting meetings scheduled by those in administration where I feel I must attend. To off-set this concern, I re-scheduled the time. I have noticed that I must force myself to put away my grading and stop answering emails, though, so my natural inclination remains toward teaching-related tasks and I will continue to work on this throughout this term so the busier Fall term will see success as well.
- Accountability with research journal and “motivators”: The most successful strategy so far. I have reported in with colleagues both inside and outside of my institution and we have served as cheerleaders and points-of-reference for one another. It is exciting to see the progress we are all enjoying with this co-mentoring attempt.
- Organizational grids: These continue to work extremely well for my personality type.
- Weekly check-ins on project deadlines: A wonderful addition to the research plan—I have continued to stay focused on the on-going projects while determining if various deadlines are realistic or need to be modified with plenty of time to accomplish the tasks. This, however, has also shown me that I might want to employ a new strategy regarding limiting what is tackled during various points in the semester. For example, I have a lot of items due at the end of June, which will coincide with a big speaking assignment for my students (increased student needs, emails, grading). If possible, I will try to navigate my research tasks away from heavy teaching times to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
- Office hours: Keeping my teaching work during office hours hasn’t been as successful. The teaching tasks spill over to home and to other hours of the day, especially this summer. I am continuing to work on a more balanced allocation of time, but continue to struggle in this area.
There are many strategies those of us at teaching-heavy institutions employ (and at research institutions as well) to manage the pull of teaching, research, and service requirements in our professional lives. As http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/earlycareer/index.html noted, “Ultimately, you will be most successful, and feel most comfortable in your chosen career, when you learn how to balance competing demands on your time, both personally and professionally.” This lesson is particularly challenging for me, but as Blackburn (1979) showed, the gap between productive and non-productive faculty increases over time. So those who learn to be research-productive early stay productive and those who are less productive only continue on that pattern. He also noted that faculty productivity is often influenced heavily by the institution, organizational factors such as support, colleagues, and environment. For all of these reasons, I believe it is important to continue to focus on discovering what helps me be productive and what my needs are institutionally so I can co-create the professional culture which allows for the most success with the least stress.
Blackburn, R. T. (1979). Academic careers: Patterns and possibilities in faculty career development. Current Issues in Higher Education, 2, 25.
- Checking e-mail twice a day: Success! I am still responsive to the students’ needs and aware of institutional news but do not rush to immediately address every email I receive. Has led to more focused work time at the office where I can write.
- Scheduling (in day planner) and protecting blocks of research time: Success! I still have a long way to go but I have dedicated blocks of time to research and don’t allow anything to “steal” that time away. This week, however, this has been hard with conflicting meetings scheduled by those in administration where I feel I must attend. To off-set this concern, I re-scheduled the time. I have noticed that I must force myself to put away my grading and stop answering emails, though, so my natural inclination remains toward teaching-related tasks and I will continue to work on this throughout this term so the busier Fall term will see success as well.
- Accountability with research journal and “motivators”: The most successful strategy so far. I have reported in with colleagues both inside and outside of my institution and we have served as cheerleaders and points-of-reference for one another. It is exciting to see the progress we are all enjoying with this co-mentoring attempt.
- Organizational grids: These continue to work extremely well for my personality type.
- Weekly check-ins on project deadlines: A wonderful addition to the research plan—I have continued to stay focused on the on-going projects while determining if various deadlines are realistic or need to be modified with plenty of time to accomplish the tasks. This, however, has also shown me that I might want to employ a new strategy regarding limiting what is tackled during various points in the semester. For example, I have a lot of items due at the end of June, which will coincide with a big speaking assignment for my students (increased student needs, emails, grading). If possible, I will try to navigate my research tasks away from heavy teaching times to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
- Office hours: Keeping my teaching work during office hours hasn’t been as successful. The teaching tasks spill over to home and to other hours of the day, especially this summer. I am continuing to work on a more balanced allocation of time, but continue to struggle in this area.
There are many strategies those of us at teaching-heavy institutions employ (and at research institutions as well) to manage the pull of teaching, research, and service requirements in our professional lives. As http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/earlycareer/index.html noted, “Ultimately, you will be most successful, and feel most comfortable in your chosen career, when you learn how to balance competing demands on your time, both personally and professionally.” This lesson is particularly challenging for me, but as Blackburn (1979) showed, the gap between productive and non-productive faculty increases over time. So those who learn to be research-productive early stay productive and those who are less productive only continue on that pattern. He also noted that faculty productivity is often influenced heavily by the institution, organizational factors such as support, colleagues, and environment. For all of these reasons, I believe it is important to continue to focus on discovering what helps me be productive and what my needs are institutionally so I can co-create the professional culture which allows for the most success with the least stress.
Blackburn, R. T. (1979). Academic careers: Patterns and possibilities in faculty career development. Current Issues in Higher Education, 2, 25.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Teaching VERSUS Research?
As a new semester begins, I am feeling the familiar pull of a common dichotomy: Teaching versus research. Already I have sat through hours of advising and registering to face classes which are overflowing and the rigors of daily summer classes for the next nine weeks. After two weeks of productivity on articles, research, and transcribing it is amazing how quickly the familiar TUG of the two areas of teaching and research start to pull on my time. Today my schedule included creating course syllabus and calendar for two on-ground classes and beginning to structure the modules for the online course. Somehow, the time is already flying away with the student communication and course needs. And so, I find myself wondering if my research goals will take the back seat to my teaching load this summer. I continue to struggle with the balance of my time between these two worlds and have developed several strategies that I am employing with vigor beginning the first day of the term:
- I will only check my email twice a day to avoid being pulled away from research work in "non-teaching" blocks of my time
- I have already scheduled (in my day planner) hours where I will be focusing on research. I will protect this time, making sure I don't schedule meetings or other work in those time frames.
- I will remain accountable with a research journal and by keeping "motivators" around me, other junior faculty who are striving for tenure. We will keep one another focused on our bigger goals.
- I will track my progress continuing to use my organizational grids for each semester.
- I will check in each week to see where I stand and to modify deadlines and dates if necessary.
- My office hours will be kept for teaching tasks (if no students attend) and answering emails to avoid excessive work at home.
Let's see how it works out...
- I will only check my email twice a day to avoid being pulled away from research work in "non-teaching" blocks of my time
- I have already scheduled (in my day planner) hours where I will be focusing on research. I will protect this time, making sure I don't schedule meetings or other work in those time frames.
- I will remain accountable with a research journal and by keeping "motivators" around me, other junior faculty who are striving for tenure. We will keep one another focused on our bigger goals.
- I will track my progress continuing to use my organizational grids for each semester.
- I will check in each week to see where I stand and to modify deadlines and dates if necessary.
- My office hours will be kept for teaching tasks (if no students attend) and answering emails to avoid excessive work at home.
Let's see how it works out...
Friday, May 14, 2010
Delayed gratification: researching and publishing
It has been a year since the first draft, but news that an article will be published has come! Any academic loves to hear their work has moved into publication-phase, but it had me considering the fact that research (and service and teaching elements, too, I suppose) in academia is really not for those seeking instant gratification. This article in particular had a lot of time both in research and writing/revising, and patience is difficult when eager to see the fruits of our labor. There are a lot of steps to tackle before finding success in this tenure-track world, which makes time management all the more important skill for those of us with heavy teaching loads and the requirement to also make a name in research. It is also interesting to see how the news of acceptance for publication can make all of those hours of research and writing melt away to a misty memory and amp up my energy to get MORE before tenure review.
Balancing the duality of research and teaching continues to be an ongoing lesson for me after three years on the TT. In fact, this past year is really the first time I have felt myself becoming more equalized in the realm of research and teaching time. As Lang (2005) commented, life on the tenure track is about finding a personal ability to manage different responsibilities and research takes a lot of mental space. After a year on the tenure track he wrote, "I still haven't mustered the intellectual energy to work on my scholarly articles. The prospect of paging through all the critical articles and works of scholarship I have assembled in order to top off the pile with my own small insight doesn't seem as intellectually invigorating as it did in graduate school" (p. 158). I latch on to the "intellectual energy" component--after teaching 5 sections of class and attending committee meetings all week, that energy can be difficult to find and even more challenging to direct into multiple projects. But, the TT does not wait and those of us trekking along that track seem to find a few tricks that work to help cope with the various demands on our time.
I may have mentioned my organizational grids created at the beginning of each semester which chronologically lists the research and conference projects on the agenda for the upcoming months, breaks them into stages, and lists by date what needs accomplished. Though it can change, the structure has been a real motivator this past year and it is exciting to see things in the "pipeline" finally finding their way to publication.
In the end, delayed gratification is better than no gratification -- so with the good news of a publication comes the renewed energy to keep the next project moving forward and to allow the research wheels to continue to spin.
----
Lang, J. M. (2005). Life on the tenure track: Lessons from the first year. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Balancing the duality of research and teaching continues to be an ongoing lesson for me after three years on the TT. In fact, this past year is really the first time I have felt myself becoming more equalized in the realm of research and teaching time. As Lang (2005) commented, life on the tenure track is about finding a personal ability to manage different responsibilities and research takes a lot of mental space. After a year on the tenure track he wrote, "I still haven't mustered the intellectual energy to work on my scholarly articles. The prospect of paging through all the critical articles and works of scholarship I have assembled in order to top off the pile with my own small insight doesn't seem as intellectually invigorating as it did in graduate school" (p. 158). I latch on to the "intellectual energy" component--after teaching 5 sections of class and attending committee meetings all week, that energy can be difficult to find and even more challenging to direct into multiple projects. But, the TT does not wait and those of us trekking along that track seem to find a few tricks that work to help cope with the various demands on our time.
I may have mentioned my organizational grids created at the beginning of each semester which chronologically lists the research and conference projects on the agenda for the upcoming months, breaks them into stages, and lists by date what needs accomplished. Though it can change, the structure has been a real motivator this past year and it is exciting to see things in the "pipeline" finally finding their way to publication.
In the end, delayed gratification is better than no gratification -- so with the good news of a publication comes the renewed energy to keep the next project moving forward and to allow the research wheels to continue to spin.
----
Lang, J. M. (2005). Life on the tenure track: Lessons from the first year. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Writing, reflection, and impact on our research
At age seven I remember peering over the counter of Kmart slowly adding money from chores for the purchase of a bright pink notebook with a fake leather cover (it was the 1980s, so don't judge the fashion too harshly) and magnetic closure. I wanted to keep a diary after I learned how to write enough words to express my feelings. That day, I began journaling and have continued to journal throughout my life. I have a box full of my old journals stored away. Though I transitioned in 2005 from paper and pen to a private blog, I have found the act of writing and reflecting a powerful element in my life. As the semester draws to a close, I look back and feel glad that I have taken a new step in my reflective process. I keep a "research journal" where I free-write, reflect, and make notes about the research element of faculty life. 
Sometimes my entries are desperate pleas to find time to write [February 20, 2010: "I can't do this. I can't balance all of this committee work and (title omitted of the article) that is due at the end of the month. I need large blocks of time where I can focus"] and other times the entry is a brief observation on methods, participants, or future project ideas [April 4, 2010: "I see a lot of pathways from this entry point in (project name omitted) and can't wait to dig into the literature to see if we've considered the student perspective."].
The writing is not forced, there are no rules, no structure. It is one place where I can simply dump all of my thoughts out to help focus on the path that needs to be taken. I began my research journal this past January and have found it to be a wonderful tool to help me stay motivated on my research--in fact, it has helped me to really keep my research a bigger priority this past semester. Often, though it is tough to admit, my research is a last priority for me. That is dangerous for the tenure path, but it often fades to the back-burner when faced with grading and committee work threatens all of my time. Since using my research journal, though, this semester I have submitted more articles, completed more projects, and worked with more data than in the past semesters. While some of this productivity can certainly be related to the ever-present and increasing-in-volume TICK-TOCK of my tenure-clock, I also believe a portion of the success has to go to reflective writing in the research process.
I'm writing on this journal as I feel that it has been a useful tool for me. This past Monday I was surprised to receive our college Scholarship award for the academic year! I truly believe this new focus on research is a driving force for my new motivations to keep research at the heart of the work that I do in future semesters. Would this work for you? What other tips might serve us well as we balance our service, teaching and research?
Monday, April 19, 2010
Research recoil?
I am transitioning from the Service component of tenure-track life to the Research element for a few posts to examine the balance of Research at a Teaching institution. Research weighs heavily on many tenure measures and I believe it should--it keeps us abreast of new developments in our disciplines and can push us to explore new pedagogical areas. I love doing research, but finding time to COMPLETE the research projects I've begun has been an ongoing challenge since starting on the tenure track. I've enjoyed the data collection and analysis, but find that partnering (co-authoring) has been a very helpful path to push many projects toward completion. The problem, some institutions do not weigh a co-authored article the same as a single-author article. This is understandable in many respects, but it does seem to push academia into more of an isolated, individualized endeavor. For me, collaborative work which crosses disciplines is very engaging and informative. I struggle with the potential recoil of the Research element when at a teaching institution.
Most teaching institutions carry a heavier load of teaching per faculty member. At mine, I often carry a 4/5/3 or 4/4/3 (anything above a 4 would be an "overload" based on the need for additional courses due to high enrollment or demand). With classes bearing 30-35 students each, the grading and energy required for instruction easily draw me away from the intellectually-intense research writing. I've been seeking advice from senior colleagues and new faculty members as well to explore the nebulous area of balance in the tenure track and found a few great guidelines to help us stay focused on a balanced tenure picture:
- Set deadlines and give incentives to meeting the deadlines (my advice, move deadlines up by two weeks to allow for the unexpected and work with mini-deadlines on larger projects).
- Work on having something "in the pipeline" so that you don't experience stagnation between projects.
- Determine boundaries on your teaching time (this is one where I struggle) and protect your writing/research time.
- Connect with others on the same timeline and consider peer reviewing /editing or simply meeting to support each other's research work.
What are some tips that have helped you, whether at a teaching institution or research institution? Feel free to post, email, and explore concepts together.
Most teaching institutions carry a heavier load of teaching per faculty member. At mine, I often carry a 4/5/3 or 4/4/3 (anything above a 4 would be an "overload" based on the need for additional courses due to high enrollment or demand). With classes bearing 30-35 students each, the grading and energy required for instruction easily draw me away from the intellectually-intense research writing. I've been seeking advice from senior colleagues and new faculty members as well to explore the nebulous area of balance in the tenure track and found a few great guidelines to help us stay focused on a balanced tenure picture:
- Set deadlines and give incentives to meeting the deadlines (my advice, move deadlines up by two weeks to allow for the unexpected and work with mini-deadlines on larger projects).
- Work on having something "in the pipeline" so that you don't experience stagnation between projects.
- Determine boundaries on your teaching time (this is one where I struggle) and protect your writing/research time.
- Connect with others on the same timeline and consider peer reviewing /editing or simply meeting to support each other's research work.
What are some tips that have helped you, whether at a teaching institution or research institution? Feel free to post, email, and explore concepts together.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Conference season begins
April in my world is full of conferences and all kinds of exciting deadlines for publishing and presenting opportunities. As my conference season begins I am left with the scars of funding concerns in higher education. Many institutions, mine included, have been heavily hit by state funding shortages and one solution which many seem to adopt is limiting (or removing) funding opportunities for faculty travel to conferences. This is especially difficult for those of us who represent the only member of our discipline in an institution--conferences provide a much-needed exposure to scholars in our field, pedagogical advancements, and networking for future endeavors. I wonder, as we look at service-- including service within our associations as well as the continual look at how faculty members are rewarded (tenure requirements and more), will this lack of financial support result in a change in the way faculty are reviewed and rewarded? Or are many of us dipping deeper into our pockets to continue to attend conferences? This is especially concerning at some institutions which require conference service and presentation of research for the tenure process.
Last year the Chronicle reported "The recession is having a big impact, with attendance down at many academic and professional meetings, and next year is expected to be even worse." (J.R. Young, March 29, 2009 Economic downturn limits conference travel). There are institutions which have struck any funding for conferences, those which limit to one national conference a year, and those which have instituted application procedures for funding--but as the financial cuts continue where will it leave the academic conference in the landscape of higher education?
As I spoke about this with a colleague he noted that there are those who will always be able to travel and he felt those most impacted were junior faculty members and graduate students who are working to build their CVs and feel it necessary to travel. I personally dealt with this dilemma: The deadline for submission to a national association was in February and I took one look at the West Coast location and groaned. I priced a flight, hotel, and when the estimated cost hit $1200, I called others in my field to talk about what fallout could exist if I opted not to attend or present. It was a very difficult decision, but I decided to not attend. I've told myself I will focus on publishing and will attend next year when it will be in my state, but the nagging concern won't leave and each update on the looming conference brings a wave of concern.
I suppose higher education will continually adapt during these tight times and wonder what the changes will mean for both associations and for tenure review/faculty development. Until I know, I will attend my regional conferences and commit to service with these associations to continue to build my CV, contribute to my discipline, and operate under the assumption that a lack of funding for travel will not mean lessened scrutiny when the tenure review takes place.
Last year the Chronicle reported "The recession is having a big impact, with attendance down at many academic and professional meetings, and next year is expected to be even worse." (J.R. Young, March 29, 2009 Economic downturn limits conference travel). There are institutions which have struck any funding for conferences, those which limit to one national conference a year, and those which have instituted application procedures for funding--but as the financial cuts continue where will it leave the academic conference in the landscape of higher education?
As I spoke about this with a colleague he noted that there are those who will always be able to travel and he felt those most impacted were junior faculty members and graduate students who are working to build their CVs and feel it necessary to travel. I personally dealt with this dilemma: The deadline for submission to a national association was in February and I took one look at the West Coast location and groaned. I priced a flight, hotel, and when the estimated cost hit $1200, I called others in my field to talk about what fallout could exist if I opted not to attend or present. It was a very difficult decision, but I decided to not attend. I've told myself I will focus on publishing and will attend next year when it will be in my state, but the nagging concern won't leave and each update on the looming conference brings a wave of concern.
I suppose higher education will continually adapt during these tight times and wonder what the changes will mean for both associations and for tenure review/faculty development. Until I know, I will attend my regional conferences and commit to service with these associations to continue to build my CV, contribute to my discipline, and operate under the assumption that a lack of funding for travel will not mean lessened scrutiny when the tenure review takes place.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Efficiency and your committee work
Now that we've been exploring committees and have had some discussion about the benefits and struggles of committee work, it might be interesting to explore how to maintain your committee work and remain efficient. There are a lot of great resources for navigating academic life for faculty members. While exploring some of these, I found this advice and thought it might be useful to pass some items on.
There are some good tips from the University of California, Fullerton web site:
http://fdc.fullerton.edu/teaching/resources/faculty_and_committee_service.htm
And more advice from Ms. Mentor's recent book via Tomorrow's Professor-blog: http://tomprofblog.mit.edu/2009/11/04/980-will-i-drown-in-committee-work/
The advice primarily centers around several key constructs when in a committee meeting, which ties nicely to communication research on group processes:
- Try to identify finite tasks with realistic details when sitting on committees
- Help the committee stay focused on the tasks/work at hand, don't contribute to extremely tangential directions that lead one to leave the hour-long meeting bemoaning, "we didn't do anything!"
- Contribute: adding your voice seems to allow more buy-in and can add great input for those in the committee
- Do the work when you've agreed to serve on a committee, doing this ahead of time can help the meetings stay on track, be productive, and can make a new/introverted faculty member more likely to speak up in meetings
There was also advice centered on the elusive balance we all seek in our jobs and lives when it comes to Service work in the university:
- Set aside specific reading/writing/researching times in your day planner and protect those times
- Ask for advice from chairs and senior professors
- Say "no" when you know you don't have the knowledge to serve on a committee or when you know you cannot appropriate the proper amount of time
- Limit the number of committees on which you serve (one site suggested ONE standing committee and ONE other committee and some recommend taking a total break from committees to rejuvenate yourself as needed).
After reading this advice, I can see where a lot of my own heavy load has been facilitated by my desire to please those around me, to be involved on campus, and to not want to appear unwilling or uncooperative. All those feelings have done, though, is burden me with a heavy service load which threatens my energy level in all aspects of my work and can even lead to a sense of burnout. While I don't plan on avoiding committee work, I do hope to become a more positive, contributing member of the committees I'm on and to work hard to balance my own work load--because after all, if I don't protect my time, who else will?
A few other references to consider:
Boice, R. (1992). The new faculty member. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Magnan, R. & Schoenfeld, A. C. (1994). Mentor in a Manual: Climbing the Academic Ladder to Tenure, 2nd edition. Atwood Publications.
Toth, E. (2008). Ms. Mentor's New and Ever More Impeccable Advice for Women and Men in Academia. University of Pennsylvania Press.
And a personal read that I enjoy to help me avoid becoming overwhelmed,
Kasl, C. (2005). If the Buddha got stuck. Penguin.
There are some good tips from the University of California, Fullerton web site:
http://fdc.fullerton.edu/teaching/resources/faculty_and_committee_service.htm
And more advice from Ms. Mentor's recent book via Tomorrow's Professor-blog: http://tomprofblog.mit.edu/2009/11/04/980-will-i-drown-in-committee-work/
The advice primarily centers around several key constructs when in a committee meeting, which ties nicely to communication research on group processes:
- Try to identify finite tasks with realistic details when sitting on committees
- Help the committee stay focused on the tasks/work at hand, don't contribute to extremely tangential directions that lead one to leave the hour-long meeting bemoaning, "we didn't do anything!"
- Contribute: adding your voice seems to allow more buy-in and can add great input for those in the committee
- Do the work when you've agreed to serve on a committee, doing this ahead of time can help the meetings stay on track, be productive, and can make a new/introverted faculty member more likely to speak up in meetings
There was also advice centered on the elusive balance we all seek in our jobs and lives when it comes to Service work in the university:
- Set aside specific reading/writing/researching times in your day planner and protect those times
- Ask for advice from chairs and senior professors
- Say "no" when you know you don't have the knowledge to serve on a committee or when you know you cannot appropriate the proper amount of time
- Limit the number of committees on which you serve (one site suggested ONE standing committee and ONE other committee and some recommend taking a total break from committees to rejuvenate yourself as needed).
After reading this advice, I can see where a lot of my own heavy load has been facilitated by my desire to please those around me, to be involved on campus, and to not want to appear unwilling or uncooperative. All those feelings have done, though, is burden me with a heavy service load which threatens my energy level in all aspects of my work and can even lead to a sense of burnout. While I don't plan on avoiding committee work, I do hope to become a more positive, contributing member of the committees I'm on and to work hard to balance my own work load--because after all, if I don't protect my time, who else will?
A few other references to consider:
Boice, R. (1992). The new faculty member. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Magnan, R. & Schoenfeld, A. C. (1994). Mentor in a Manual: Climbing the Academic Ladder to Tenure, 2nd edition. Atwood Publications.
Toth, E. (2008). Ms. Mentor's New and Ever More Impeccable Advice for Women and Men in Academia. University of Pennsylvania Press.
And a personal read that I enjoy to help me avoid becoming overwhelmed,
Kasl, C. (2005). If the Buddha got stuck. Penguin.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
The reward and demographics of Service
To briefly update, I want to thank folks for all of the great e-mailed comments on the blog! Please feel free to add your comments to the blog itself for all to read. I'm including a few comments that were sent my way via email:
- The reward for solid committee work is "more committee work" AND another comment received, "once you are seen as productive on committees you're getting 'rewarded' by being on more committees" {seems like a common consensus!}
- Several readers commented on the demographics of committees and one noted an interest in national and cultural backgrounds of the committee members as an interesting avenue to explore. I agree! In fact, there is some research in this area--
It has been noted that those "unique" from the dominant culture or background of the institution disproportionately serve on committees in higher education [see Aguirre, A. (2000). Women and minority faculty in the academic workplace. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report, 27(6). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass OR/AND Kelly Ward's 2003 article, Faculty service roles and the scholarship of engagement found at www.ericdigests.org/2004-3.faculty.html ]. Often, these unique faculty members are called on to represent his or her sex or ethnicity in organizational affairs, according to Ward (2003). One could see this as highly negative tokenism, or as an opportunity (standpoint theory) for those with less power to become more enmeshed in the dominant culture's world (and therefore gain more power, have a greater voice, etc.). It is intriguing.
Such research also showed rank relates to committee/service load. Those with tenure or with longer administrative time appear to feel more confident saying "no" or self-ascribing roles in various campus committees. Those further along in their careers, with higher rank, serve on notably less committees. So, it is quite common for those new to the professoriate, like myself, to end up struggling with committee loads simply based on rank. Adding other demographic contributing factors may compound the service load.
This hidden curriculum to faculty life is one I do not shoulder with distaste, however. I value most of the committees and the solid work tackled by busy people for positive change in our institution. It does seem though that this facet of faculty life could lead to problems with work/life balance as one proceeds along the tenure track.
Thanks again for the thoughts!
- The reward for solid committee work is "more committee work" AND another comment received, "once you are seen as productive on committees you're getting 'rewarded' by being on more committees" {seems like a common consensus!}
- Several readers commented on the demographics of committees and one noted an interest in national and cultural backgrounds of the committee members as an interesting avenue to explore. I agree! In fact, there is some research in this area--
It has been noted that those "unique" from the dominant culture or background of the institution disproportionately serve on committees in higher education [see Aguirre, A. (2000). Women and minority faculty in the academic workplace. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report, 27(6). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass OR/AND Kelly Ward's 2003 article, Faculty service roles and the scholarship of engagement found at www.ericdigests.org/2004-3.faculty.html ]. Often, these unique faculty members are called on to represent his or her sex or ethnicity in organizational affairs, according to Ward (2003). One could see this as highly negative tokenism, or as an opportunity (standpoint theory) for those with less power to become more enmeshed in the dominant culture's world (and therefore gain more power, have a greater voice, etc.). It is intriguing.
Such research also showed rank relates to committee/service load. Those with tenure or with longer administrative time appear to feel more confident saying "no" or self-ascribing roles in various campus committees. Those further along in their careers, with higher rank, serve on notably less committees. So, it is quite common for those new to the professoriate, like myself, to end up struggling with committee loads simply based on rank. Adding other demographic contributing factors may compound the service load.
This hidden curriculum to faculty life is one I do not shoulder with distaste, however. I value most of the committees and the solid work tackled by busy people for positive change in our institution. It does seem though that this facet of faculty life could lead to problems with work/life balance as one proceeds along the tenure track.
Thanks again for the thoughts!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Service: who participates?
This entry continues the topic of Committees/Service work in the university.
After talking to several colleagues, I realized that I carry a very heavy service load compared to others in my cohort, triple some of the others. I've been appointed to a LOT of committees by my Dean or other administrators at work and have found them to be a great way to accomplish a few key issues for new/junior faculty members:
1. I was able to learn a lot about the inner workings of my institution
2. I met many people quickly (and they were able to know/recognize me much earlier than my counterparts without committee loads)
3. My voice mattered in shaping the direction of the university which fostered a deeper connection to the university my first couple of years
4. I began to recognize political undercurrents and was better prepared to navigate them
5. My image on campus seemed to be crafted as one willing to work
But there have been drawbacks as well:
1. Time--I have at least 3 committee meetings each week and some weeks there are as many as 6. This might not sound like a lot to some, I have no real point of comparison, but when it is a work-heavy committee there are a lot of demands on time. Add a full (and overloaded, some semesters) teaching load this is the chief issue with heavy service requirements
2. Rewards--There seems to be minimal institutional rewards built in for committee service. It is a much smaller part of the tenure/annual review process
3. Energy--At times, I find myself depleted of any energy when facing endless meetings and tasks on quick deadlines
This made me ponder WHY faculty are appointed to committees and to wonder if other tenure-track faculty members find themselves feeling unable to say "no" when appointed by Deans or higher administrators as I have felt in the past couple years. I must say, I've begun employing "no" more often and feel partially responsible that I didn't start out more assertively in setting the tone on committee work. I assumed if appointed one should sit on that committee.
There seems to be a trend, though. A lot of the committees seem to involve a core group of the same folks. We appear heavily female in most committees, as well. So, I've posted a research article to examine this element of faculty life (Porter) regarding participation on committees. Porter noted that females and minority faculty perform more service than their male, majority counterparts and claims that excess committee participation may harm career prospects (since it takes time away from grants, research, and publications).
Armed with new literature to read, safely tucked in a file folder next to my upcoming two committee folders, I plan to dip further into the research and explore this issue to better inform my own career trajectory.
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_higher_education/v078/78.5porter.html
After talking to several colleagues, I realized that I carry a very heavy service load compared to others in my cohort, triple some of the others. I've been appointed to a LOT of committees by my Dean or other administrators at work and have found them to be a great way to accomplish a few key issues for new/junior faculty members:
1. I was able to learn a lot about the inner workings of my institution
2. I met many people quickly (and they were able to know/recognize me much earlier than my counterparts without committee loads)
3. My voice mattered in shaping the direction of the university which fostered a deeper connection to the university my first couple of years
4. I began to recognize political undercurrents and was better prepared to navigate them
5. My image on campus seemed to be crafted as one willing to work
But there have been drawbacks as well:
1. Time--I have at least 3 committee meetings each week and some weeks there are as many as 6. This might not sound like a lot to some, I have no real point of comparison, but when it is a work-heavy committee there are a lot of demands on time. Add a full (and overloaded, some semesters) teaching load this is the chief issue with heavy service requirements
2. Rewards--There seems to be minimal institutional rewards built in for committee service. It is a much smaller part of the tenure/annual review process
3. Energy--At times, I find myself depleted of any energy when facing endless meetings and tasks on quick deadlines
This made me ponder WHY faculty are appointed to committees and to wonder if other tenure-track faculty members find themselves feeling unable to say "no" when appointed by Deans or higher administrators as I have felt in the past couple years. I must say, I've begun employing "no" more often and feel partially responsible that I didn't start out more assertively in setting the tone on committee work. I assumed if appointed one should sit on that committee.
There seems to be a trend, though. A lot of the committees seem to involve a core group of the same folks. We appear heavily female in most committees, as well. So, I've posted a research article to examine this element of faculty life (Porter) regarding participation on committees. Porter noted that females and minority faculty perform more service than their male, majority counterparts and claims that excess committee participation may harm career prospects (since it takes time away from grants, research, and publications).
Armed with new literature to read, safely tucked in a file folder next to my upcoming two committee folders, I plan to dip further into the research and explore this issue to better inform my own career trajectory.
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_higher_education/v078/78.5porter.html
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Committees and higher education: is there a balance to faculty life?
Faculty life, it seems, is made up of more than just teaching and research--this was the largest lesson of my first couple of years on the tenure track. In fact, that service component has become a time-consuming monster! I run from one class to a meeting and back to office hours before another committee meeting and then wonder why my research has slowed--well, then it is of little surprise that I was in a committee meeting today (Strategic Planning) when a colleague mentioned blogging. I maintain a personal blog for friends and family full of the short quips and pictures that keep them up to date and never thought of anything further, though I enjoy many excellent blogs in higher education (check out http://millennialprofessor.blogspot.com) I was new to an academic blogging endeavor. But the idea of a blogging community to explore the balance (or lack thereof) of faculty life at a teaching institution was suddenly very appealing. I found a desire to further explore some of the many objectives, goals, and tasks faced by institutions of higher education--particularly teaching institutions. Slanting this through a lens of my research (faculty socialization, communication, pedagogy, technology and the larger issue of access to the culture of higher education) I thought I'd try a little blog to see if others shared this interest. Let's see where this blog goes!
A few questions I've been pondering, though all thoughts are welcome!
- what is your committee load and how do you feel about your committee work?
- how is the communication at your institution?
- what role does/did mentoring play in your academic socialization?
- have you found balance in your tenure track?
- what new tips or strategies do you have in teaching, research, or service?
A few questions I've been pondering, though all thoughts are welcome!
- what is your committee load and how do you feel about your committee work?
- how is the communication at your institution?
- what role does/did mentoring play in your academic socialization?
- have you found balance in your tenure track?
- what new tips or strategies do you have in teaching, research, or service?
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