tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post2083373813188277188..comments2024-03-25T02:33:41.590-05:00Comments on FemaleScienceProfessor: Fulfilling FurloughsFemale Science Professorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15288567883197987690noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-74996687550626801022010-05-02T00:41:35.271-05:002010-05-02T00:41:35.271-05:00I was allowed to cover my salary shortfall from fu...I was allowed to cover my salary shortfall from furlough with grant monies. I did so. My total furlough was 14 hours, and my position description reads 30% teaching. Therefore I cancelled one lecture class when I was out of town on business anyway as a result of the furlough. I'm untenured, but I think that it would be illegal for me to teach during the furlough when I'm paying myself from federal grant money.EnderWigginnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-47699464550503074892010-04-14T17:09:03.376-05:002010-04-14T17:09:03.376-05:00So, my question, perhaps naive is that don't w...So, my question, perhaps naive is that don't we have to redo all NIH budgets reflecting this "paycut" that furloughs are inducing? I can't imagine the university can collect my "pay" (and indirects from that pay) from NIH and then keep it? Have any of you seen anything from NIH on their policy about this?Bonniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00456280290714460693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-72369737296163299562010-03-02T14:00:08.302-06:002010-03-02T14:00:08.302-06:00Faculty at my university are supposed to be furlou...Faculty at my university are supposed to be furloughed for one day this year and up to five days next year. This year, they designated the Friday before Memorial Day as the day to be furloughed. My question is, Since we are under a 9-month contract, and this date is not within that window, how can we be furloughed on that day? Perhaps the state was thinking about state employees in general and not universities when they chose this date, but it's still unclear what will happen.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-86560072327389568472010-03-02T10:09:15.408-06:002010-03-02T10:09:15.408-06:00Yet another reason I'm taking my spectacular e...Yet another reason I'm taking my spectacular engineering education to industry and not attempting the tenure race.Leaky Pipelinenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-16514737263331369562010-02-28T19:58:08.981-06:002010-02-28T19:58:08.981-06:00of course you keep on working as usual during your...of course you keep on working as usual during your furlough time, do you want to fall behind in your work?? so many things to do and deadlines that don't wait for furloughs to end - grant proposals, manuscripts, preparing lecture notes....if your univeristy prohibits you from doing certain specific activities like teaching or being in your office then fine, don't do those! but a professor's job is so varied because we wear so many hats, that it's nuts to think that just because it's a furlough day that there isn't anything you CAN do, or that by not working you will still come out OK and able to fulfill all your varied responsibilities.<br /><br />Just think of it not as a furlough but as a pay cut - same amount of work but just for less pay. (and you should keep your productivity up if you want to keep your job)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-20841511314730474352010-02-28T11:56:48.786-06:002010-02-28T11:56:48.786-06:00My school hasn't instituted furlough days yet,...My school hasn't instituted furlough days yet, but I can see it coming. For me, it would just be a paycut. I am tenure track, with a 4/4 teaching load and research expectations. Needless to say, I already work 7 days a week. Taking any days off from working would just hurt my tenure case.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-37616134930156191522010-02-27T13:55:31.815-06:002010-02-27T13:55:31.815-06:00We are tenatively to take 8 days furlough during t...We are tenatively to take 8 days furlough during the next academic year, also without canceling classes since the governor declares that teaching classes makes us essential employees during that time. There is some discussion in our union to take the furlough days during the week after finals before graduation, i.e., when we would normally be grading finals and certifying students to graduate. Several of us are conflicted about this, since it will impact students and possibly delay or cancel graduation. On the other hand, we agree that this needs to be visible to the public. At a minimum, it could be funny to have the governor officially issue an order that grading exams is an official essential duty to the survival of state government.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-17006282870132381372010-02-27T13:00:24.647-06:002010-02-27T13:00:24.647-06:00As qaz said we must take the furlough days during ...<i>As qaz said we must take the furlough days during teaching days.</i><br /><br />Yeah, well, I'm untenured and trying to avoid winding up in the situation of anon at 2/27/2010 03:21:00 AM. Doing less work, or work of lower quality (and covering the same amount of material in fewer lectures is work of lower quality) is not an option for me.<br /><br />I get what qaz is saying, I just can't do it.Alexnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-12293899178357733322010-02-27T12:15:55.637-06:002010-02-27T12:15:55.637-06:00About furloughs: I'm in one of the very first ...About furloughs: I'm in one of the very first universities to impose furloughs on faculty (already mentioned in another comment), and we were told not to use any university resource (including e-mail). We couldn't not do anything that affected students, and we couldn't take furloughs while travelling to conferences, seminars etc (when the university insurance covers you).<br />Therefore, I couldn't see any option that would send a message out, and because I didn't want to affect my research I worked as usual. The university couldn't care less that I was working for free (it would have been interesting if one of us had an accident during the days we were supposed to be unemployed), so for me it was basically taking a pay cut. I could have applied for unemployment (and some colleagues did out of spite), but for me it was too much of a hassle.<br /><br /><br />Regarding the blonde comment. I want to thank you for leaving it here for us to see that we are not delusional when we say that many people today are completely blind to the issue. <br />Although... how do I know that this is a real post and not something you made up just to support your feminist rant blog? It is clear that you need material for your ridiculous posts, and since gender issues have been solved decades ago, it wouldn't be surprising that you make stories up (including the blond post).<br />Aghhh...Thanks so much for blogging. I followed you during most of my untenured years (I'm putting my packet together in a few months), and you've been the best mentor one could ask for. I have a 'real' mentor, but I wouldn't be surprised if he is the author of the 'blonde' post!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-43818465470018757502010-02-27T08:35:00.708-06:002010-02-27T08:35:00.708-06:00As qaz said we must take the furlough days during ...As qaz said we must take the furlough days during teaching days. It's the only way for people to see the consequences of the actions of "lower my taxes" rhetoric.<br /><br />If you recall, it worked for Clinton when he let the Republican congress shutdown government. People came to realize just how much they depend on services provided by the Federal Government.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-72263054445040044792010-02-27T03:21:32.476-06:002010-02-27T03:21:32.476-06:00I got laid off, so I envy people who are furloughe...I got laid off, so I envy people who are furloughed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-85612077077098087052010-02-26T23:14:02.363-06:002010-02-26T23:14:02.363-06:00My university (university system, actually) is req...My university (university system, actually) is required to take 4 furlough days, one per pay period, for the rest of this semester. We are allowed to take them on any day we want, and some faculty have talked about taking them on the same day in order draw attention to the problem rather than hide it.<br /><br />We have been told not to check e-mail, log on to Blackboard, come to campus or do any work on our furlough days. The chancellor actually told us this was a legal requirement so that the university has no obligation to pay us back for those days in the future. I guess we can't get paid for work we didn't do, even though most people I've talked to have continued to work on their furlough days.<br /><br />My first furlough day, sadly, occurred on the same day I had to leave town for a family emergency, so I didn't do any work. My next furlough day is next week, but with papers to grade, two manuscripts I am working on and two upcoming conferences I need to prepare for, I don't see how I could possibly take the day off. <br /><br />I am a first-year faculty member, and this has really exposed some ugliness among our faculty. I know that the people sending out the name-calling and sarcastic e-mails don't really represent most of the faculty, but it has been quite disheartening to read all the mud slinging on a daily basis. My wife (who also has a Ph.D.) and I moved here with high hopes and didn't really want to move again so soon, but we have been looking for new jobs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-34435091068365549172010-02-26T22:06:35.912-06:002010-02-26T22:06:35.912-06:00Like several others, I am at a state university do...Like several others, I am at a state university doing 8days/year for 2 years..<br /><br />We were originally told the no e-mail/work or we would get in big trouble. Then the faculty senate got clarification - since we aren't hourly, there really is no way they can tell us when to take furlough. <br /><br />Translation: just take the pay cut, but keep working.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-29762869014619544242010-02-26T18:20:29.250-06:002010-02-26T18:20:29.250-06:00We were furloughed in the 90s when I was tenure-tr...We were furloughed in the 90s when I was tenure-track. Like many others, here, we were told that furloughs couldn't be taken on teaching days and that was about it. We were supposed to take the days when it wouldn't "inconvenience anyone." Any attempts to actually take a furlough day was usually made impossible by service duties that were scheduled by a more senior colleague taking a different furlough schedule.<br /><br />In our case (Ontario) the furloughs were very visible to the public because they were also legislated for doctors and nurses. When your family physician closes offices one Friday a month or your physiotherapist cancels appointments for a furlough, people notice.<br /><br />As qaz said, if you can take the furloughs without anyone noticing, you're just enabling a more permanent cut to your own position or future hirings so tenured faculty ought, at least, to support untenured and furloughed colleagues from being doubly exploited through an expectation that they work as normal while furloughed!Janicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14093558563358431804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-31100440779314692010-02-26T15:47:38.788-06:002010-02-26T15:47:38.788-06:00Furloughs... not allowed on teaching days, not all...Furloughs... not allowed on teaching days, not allowed to affect students of any shape or form. We were to take furlough over the semester break when the university was closed. Cute. For our other faculty furlough days, no one is monitoring. However, there is a form going around asking some faculty to report the specific days they took for their furloughs. I think it's a legal ploy -- the administration knows most of the faculty didn't really take furlough (afterall, when do we take any days off?!). They want us to sign something saying that we did so that they have a legal out if/when this is contested in court. My new year's resolution was to stay home on Sundays. I still read and do email, but that's as close to "furlough" as I get... nice.inBetweenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17212548401525577878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-77353009292188878092010-02-26T15:07:53.361-06:002010-02-26T15:07:53.361-06:00I am still working on furlough days, during the ti...I am still working on furlough days, during the time I am not taking action against them. The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign campus has a Campus Faculty Association that has named "common furlough/action days" and I am one of the organizers. We have had a teach-in so far and are planning a rally on March 4th (the natl day of action), organizing training on the third day, and lobbying on the fourth day. We are trying to maximize furlough impact rather than minimize it, because it doesn't make sense that we keep having to do more with less.<br /><br />I don't say this because I am completely opposed to furloughs, I'm saying it because the faculty at my university have had their trust eroded over the last several years by an inefficient and dishonest administration. Why do administrators keep their high salaries when returning to faculty posts? Why has corporate relations gone from two employees to thirty seven in the last eight years? Why have we cut facilities employees after claiming furloughs were to PREVENT layoffs?<br /><br />So I'm not skulking at home on my furlough day. I'm joining my colleagues in protest regarding our lack of shared governance.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-36205790273304608232010-02-26T14:09:13.957-06:002010-02-26T14:09:13.957-06:00Well I must say that my belief was that this comme...Well I must say that my belief was that this comment was never going to be allowed. I am rather suprised that you let it past. I have now a bit more regard for you.<br /><br />Now in less rancorous tones: Doing things for "more representation" for the sake of it is not a good idea. Try instead to achieve higher quality. Please do not sacrifice sincere and motivated individuals who are devoted to their subject, for the sake of promoting under-represented groups. This should be possible.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-87937614624100743212010-02-26T13:30:41.633-06:002010-02-26T13:30:41.633-06:00That is exactly why I allowed the off-topic commen...That is exactly why I allowed the off-topic comment with the recycled not-funny "joke" that undermines the comment writer's delusional belief that sexism does not exist (and that this is a feminist rant blog).Female Science Professorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15288567883197987690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-38350229468523860382010-02-26T13:20:38.725-06:002010-02-26T13:20:38.725-06:00@2/26/2010 11:26:00 AM
Introducing yourself using...@2/26/2010 11:26:00 AM<br /><br />Introducing yourself using a sexist joke might not be the best way to endear yourselves to those concerned with women's issues...<br /><br />It's also possible someone might point out that it's a little funny to say that women are always treated equally and there is no sexism, and then to follow with a joke having the punchline that women are dumb and only good for sex.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-87066621672276378342010-02-26T12:20:28.184-06:002010-02-26T12:20:28.184-06:00Please delete "Blondes" post, which is a...Please delete "Blondes" post, which is a lame cut-and-paste from a poorly rated JokeCrazy post:<br />http://www.jokecrazy.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=540<br /><br />This is a discussion of furloughs, and even if women's issues were central, which they are not, it adds nothing.John Vidalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09871768524749705799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-29004521767775739652010-02-26T12:15:55.236-06:002010-02-26T12:15:55.236-06:00Well, I'm on furlough. All that means is I go...Well, I'm on furlough. All that means is I got an 8% pay cut---I'm still working 7 days a week 10-12 hours a day (I did take Dec 25th off). My teaching load is up this year (4.4 semester-sized classes, not counting my lab meetings) and likely to go up to 5.4 classes next year. Three of the classes were being taught for the first time this year, so I had to develop them as well. There was a TA (unpaid) for one of the classes.<br /><br />Part of the problem is my fault---I decided to create one of the new classes at the last moment (it starts in 4 weeks and still hasn't been approved by campus committees).<br />Also, as a full professor, I was taking on some overload to shield the assistant professors. <br /><br />As it turns out, I was the *only* person in my department who did not have grant funds to buy-out their furlough days (except one person on an H1 visa, whose salary could not be legally reduced).<br /><br />I am looking forward to taking a sabbatical the year after next---I've got over a year's worth of sabbatical credit accumulated. Maybe I'll have some time then to write up the huge backlog of papers I need to write. (I've been wasting all my writing time on grant proposals that don't get funded---I think it is time to give up on that and just do research on surplus computers without grad student help.)Kevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14528751349030084532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-6311985714666326522010-02-26T12:11:45.157-06:002010-02-26T12:11:45.157-06:00Quiet, there's no discrimination against women...Quiet, there's no discrimination against women in academia. AAAAAAAAnd, here's a funny funny joke about stupid women in academia!fubaratornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-56097627365374821662010-02-26T12:01:33.926-06:002010-02-26T12:01:33.926-06:00We had a furlough several years ago, but everyone ...We had a furlough several years ago, but everyone took it at the same time. The university closed for the week between Christmas and New Years. I think it was sort of a mixed bag. No one really wanted to have their salary cut, but most people take that week off anyways. Classes were not in session and nothing much is regularly scheduled during that week. I did end up working that week and got a lot done because no one was around. However, it was pretty chilly because they had turned the heat way down since the university was closed. From what I heard, it saved a bunch of money, but they haven't done it again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-58412583225340860012010-02-26T11:26:25.091-06:002010-02-26T11:26:25.091-06:00I read through your feminist rant blog. When you s...I read through your feminist rant blog. When you start on career issues on generalities, you make good sense and the blog is interesting. When you start loudmouthing on feminism, it is simply mind-numbing. Nobody is victimizing women nowadays. Women are always respected if they are good. There is no gender discrimination like you think. You are simply deluded and ranting on about trivialities. Even in the most rigorous subjects like math, there are women in the most prestigious places even. If they are good, they will get recognition. Why on earth are you irritating with this "more representation" crap? If you want more represenation, be better. Do the job. That's it.<br /><br /> Here's an answer to you, in the form of a joke I read once:<br /><br />Blondes Deptt.<br /><br />The Blondes at the university were tired of not fitting in. They were tired of other students assuming they were just stupid bimbos. They wanted somewhere where they felt they belonged.<br /><br />So they pressured the administration to set up a new Department especially for them. The university agreed, and set up the Blonde Education Department.<br /><br />The Blondes were ecstatic to have a department of their own where they could gather without being ridiculed. They felt they really belonged now.<br /><br />They wanted other students to see that they weren't just stupid bimbos -- after all, they now had their own department at the university.<br /><br />So they now all proudly wear the official sweatshirt of the Blonde Education Department, which sports the saying: "I Belong in B.E.D."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-9388749635449521612010-02-26T10:45:08.615-06:002010-02-26T10:45:08.615-06:00I totally agree with qaz -- the effects of furloug...I totally agree with qaz -- the effects of furloughs have to be visible to the public at publicly funded institutions. I think it's awful that institutions are forbidding people to take furloughs on teaching days, *and* not reducing research requirements for tenure at all. Basically, they're asking people to work for free (though I guess that's not unusual for academics).<br /><br />I've been really lucky not to have furloughs yet. All we lost are travel funds. I'm still expected to go to 2 conferences a year, of course, but there's no money to cover them. So it's coming out of my pocket. It'll come out to about a 5% paycut, so it could be worse.amynoreply@blogger.com