So Much to Do, So Little Time: Balancing Teaching, Research, and Service

1. So Much to Do, So Little Time:Balancing Teaching, Research, and Service Charles Sturt University Wednesday, June 6, 2018 Dr. Karen Gavigan School of Library & Information Science University of South Carolina

2. Balancing the Three Legged Stool • Teaching • Research • Service All three compete for our time, energy, and resources.

3. The Three-Legged Debate • McCaughey, in the Chronicle of Higher Education, argues that effective teaching and productive scholarship seem to be inherently compatible. • Mary Frank Fox presented data in Sociology of Education supporting the notion that teaching and research, particularly at large universities, are distinctly different enterprises. • Others claim with equal fervor that teaching and research are undeniably companions and to dilute one is to diminish the other. Balancing Teaching and Research by R.D. Simpson in Innovative Higher Education, VoL 17, No. 4, Summer 1993

4. Publish or Perish "A great teacher is known all over the campus. A great researcher is known all over the world.“ • Pressure to publish and present • Pressure to bring in funding for the university - expectation of "rainmaking" is often built in to job descriptions • How much, depends on your institution / the university administration’s priorities

5. Voices from the Field “In part, research is more prized because it is easy to determine the dollar value that professors bring to universities through outside grants. It is more difficult to establish the economic value of good teaching in such institutions. But it is not impossible.”

6. Set Specific Goalsfor Teaching and Research • In order not to have teaching overpower research (or vice-versa), decide on specific goals for both categories. • Make a list of attainable, but specific, long-term and short-term goals • Long term (for the semester, e.g. finish writing a book, finish prepping for new class for next semester) • Short Term (for the semester, e.g. grade assignment 3 and post in BlackBoard, finish writing a grant by Friday) • If you don't achieve your goals in the time you allotted, adjust the goals accordingly, or, you may come to realize that it is a goal that you can drop.

7. Voices from the Field… “I did learn that a perfectly fine lecture or discussion could be hammered out in one or two hours instead of six, and thatteaching preparation could be limited to the days I was actually in the classroom so that I still had time -- and headspace -- to work on my own projects on the other days.”

8. Tips for Balancing Teaching Time • Avoid constant emails / questions from students by providing explicit directions / assignment rubrics, etc. – anticipate what they will ask • Bring your research into your teaching – share your passion for your research with your students • Students will benefit from your enthusiasm and energy

9. Tips for Balancing Teaching (Continued) • Invite colleagues to give guest lectures on their areas of expertise, and do the same for them • Build a teaching library of videos, class activities, and webinars that you can use in your classes when you are overwhelmed by other demands.

10. Voices from the Field… “My best friend has adapted Coco Chanel's advice to take off one accessory before you leave the house: Take one thing off the syllabus before you give it to students. You'll be glad you did.”

11. Don’t Reinvent the Wheel • If you are teaching a course taught by others in your department, or by colleagues at other universities, ask them to share their syllabi and assignments. • Rather than spending time starting cold, this gives you the opportunity to learn some ideas from others who have taught the course longer than you have.

12. Time Management Tips • Divide time in your day, or week for teaching and research (e.g., mornings will be devoted to preparing your classes or teaching them, afternoons to conducting research and / or writing publications, creating presentations) • Set these time limits and work within them • Do not open / read emails during a specific segment of the day (e.g. - before 11 a.m. or after 3:00 p.m.) • Have a consequence if you don’t actually use your protected time to write.

13. Grants Can Help • Include funds in your grant to give you a course reduction • Include “summer” pay, so that you don’t have to teach classes – extra time to work on the grant and publications

14. Reserve Time for Research and Writing… • Working on a study doesn’t tend to have hard deadlines like teaching, so it is easy to postpone / put research and writing time off. • Consistently protect the time you block out (like working out at the gym) • Don’t apologize or make excuses when you tell someone no - "I am not available during that time / can't make it.“ • Consider collaborative sessions with colleagues for protected time (Tenure Tuesday, Writing Wednesday)

15. Voices from the Field “Re-evaluate your priorities each semester. I reached a point with teaching where I realized that I wasn't necessarily adding much to my CV or my research record. Every time some new opportunity came along, I started to ask myself: Does this expand my research profile?”

16. Location, Location, Location • Where you choose to write can make a big difference in how productive you will be. • Consider interruptions from others (“You’re not busy are you?” “Have you got a few minutes?”) • Choose what works best for you: • Your office, with the door closed • From home • Study room at the library

17. Keep Your Distractions at Bay(and away from eBay) • Turn off email notifications • Turn off all forms of social media • Turn off your phone • Put a sign on your office door – (Work in Progress – Please Come Back Later, Recording a Class)

18. Give Yourself Permission… • To realize that you cannot do everything (excessive advising emails, reading all of the latest journals in your field, etc.) • There are some things that you just have to put aside / • Try not to worry about • Offending people • Looking uncooperative / Not looking like a team player / Appearing to be un-collegial • Not being prepared to teach / publish

20. Professional Burnout A 2012 survey of 13,510 faculty members at 69 public and private four-year institutions by Coache -- the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education, based at Harvard University -- showed that associate professors are less satisfied than full professors and even than assistant professors, over whom the tenure broadsword still hovers.

21. Mid-Career Faculty • Professors at midcareer may wonder how it is that recent hires and even junior faculty all seem better off. And regardless of how relatively "privileged" associate professors are as tenured academics, they may feel slighted and underappreciated. • Post Tenure Depression Syndrome (PTDS) • When it comes to reviving flagging professors, "three brown-bag lunches and a mentor match doesn't cut it."

22. Voices from the Field "If you don't have an agenda, you just become part of everybody else's agenda.“

23. Service • Doing service within your community (university committee meetings, board member of associations) counts as well; however, at most universities, not as much as teaching and research. • Turning down an offer to create a webinar, or write an article for a university website, is legitimate if it cuts into your productivity.

24. Service – Guard Your Time • Be selective • Resist unreasonable service demands – (5 year commitment on a committee, being asked repeatedly to review manuscripts for a journal) • Pass service duties along (Board / committee duties) to other colleagues – early career people who would like the opportunity

25. The Fourth Leg of the Stool:Your Personal Life • Spouse / Partner • Children • Parents / Siblings • Friends and neighbors • Volunteer work, hobbies, travel, and other personal commitments that are important to you

26. Voices from the Field… “Self-care, self-care, self-care. This is nonnegotiable…. Nor could I work nights and weekends if I wanted to stay healthy… Figure out what balance of work and life works for you and your responsibilities… Cultivate hobbies that you can lose yourself in… Take a full week off (if you can) after the end of the semester. Having time to recharge and strengthen your relationships will allow you to do your best work.”

27. Why We Do It…

28. References • Monaghan, P. (2017, May 12). Helping Professors Overcome Midcareer Malaise: After tenure, many faculty members feel unmotivated. Here's how to keep them on track. Chronicle of Higher Education. pp. A8-A11. • Newport, M. (1992). You have to Finish and You Have to Teach. Chronicle of Higher Education vo. 38, Issue 29. • Simpson, R.D. (1993). Balancing Teaching and Research in Innovative Higher Education, VoL17, No. 4. • Vicens Q, Bourne PE (2009) Ten Simple Rules To Combine Teaching and Research. PLoSComputBiol 5(4): e1000358. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000358

29. Discussion Questions • What are some ways that you balance the 3-4 legged stool? • Do you have some time management tips that work for you? • How do you balance family / personal life with your career?

30. Questions? Karen Gavigan kgavigan@mailbox.sc.edu