Category Archives: Promotion & Tenure

Resesarcher-Mom: Finding Work-Family Balance in Academia

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Work & Life      Children & Career      Academia &  Family

“I heard about the workshops with a researcher about work-life balance. I didn’t have time to go, of course – I’m too overwhelmed. Did she have a solution?”

Bookcover of Professor MommyDr. Rachel Connelly visited campus in May bearing tips for parents in academia – particularly for women. Co-author of the book Professor Mommy: Finding Work-Family Balance in Academia (Rowman & Littlefield), she presented research and international examples of the problems– and strategies to address them.

She also offered personal stories from raising four children while succeeding as a professor of economics and of gender studies. “Having achieved tenure, I feel the obligation to give back,” she said. “There are things that individual women can do to adapt, but we also need to change the institutions.”

In workshops for students, post-docs, faculty and staff, and a lecture open to the public, Connelly addressed feelings such as guilt (“for not doing more in mothering / for not doing more in teaching and research”) , offered reassurance (“ it gets better”) and got down to practical tips – for work as well as home life.

Here are her ten on-the-job tips for academic researchers (For full explanations, refer to her publications)

1. Figure out when your best research time is and use it for research.

2. Always have a plan for the day and one for the month

3. Don’t prepare for teaching until the last possible moment.

4. Go to conferences every year even if you don’t have something new to present

5. If you really don’t like your position, go find a new one. This can be inside the university or at another institution

6. Apply for grants even if you don’t think you will get them

7. Don’t be afraid to take on a new branch of research.

8. If you know you are going to have to do some committee work, try to insure that it is work you want to do.

9. Don’t answer every email immediately

10. Think of ways that will make you happier with your teaching.

Rachel ConnellyConnelly’s area of research is at the intersection of demographics and labor markets. She has published articles on the effect of broad demographic trends on the labor market decisions and on the economics of child care.

Connelly’s visit was hosted by the President’s Commission on the Status of Women, as part of the President’s Lecture Series.

For those who did not have time to attend, here are resources:

President’s Commission on the Status of Women, Oregon State University  http://oregonstate.edu/leadership/pcosw/

 

-  Jana Zvibleman

The Role of Research in Promotion and Tenure

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Sitting on the University’s Promotion and Tenure Committee is one of the most important roles that I can fulfill as VP for Research.  Most tenure/tenure track faculty appointments include a percentage of time dedicated to research activities.  The measures of performance in research are varied, and their relationship to scholarly productivity proves to be an important focus of discussion.

It doesn’t take long before some challenging questions emerge from individual curriculum vitae:

  • How much effort should be focused on hypothesis-driven research, versus more service-oriented productivity?
  • What constitutes a legitimate proportion of attention to “high-impact” journals?
  • How should one represent one’s contribution to publication activity (e.g. first authorship)?
  • Is there a best balance of students and post-docs?
  • How do we weigh the respective merits of intellectual property development (e.g. patent disclosures) to peer-reviewed publication?
  • What is the “community ” standard for rates of publication within a given discipline?

ladder and moonAs an oceanographer, I bring my own “community” biases to the discussion of research impact.  For example, I’ll look at a publication in Nature (with its high impact factor) much differently from one in, say, Journal of Geophysical Research.  I also know what it means to have served as a Chief Scientist on a major research cruise, but I may not know what an equivalent activity might be in another field.  Those are metrics that may not be part of the culture in, say, plant pathology.  You should know the culture of your field.  If you don’t, speak with your mentors, ask your peers.  It is to your benefit to understand early in your career how you will be judged within your field so that you can reach your aspirations.

This year, alone, the P&T Committee read through nearly 10,000 pages of dossiers, and spent hundreds of cumulative hours in review, discussion and consideration.  And that doesn’t count the time and effort put in by the candidates, faculty committees, administrators and staff!  The time-honored traditions of P&T merit this investment, an investment that pays off to guide the careers of our university’s educators, researchers, administrators and service providers.

So, as we close out another academic year, let me be one of the first to congratulate those who’ve been promoted and/or attained tenure.  Your accomplishments are noteworthy and significant.  It’s a pleasure to recognize your success!

 

 

Rick Spinrad
Vice President for Research
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