Wednesday, March 12, 2014

I Was Away From My Desk

A recent post over here reminded me that I have been meaning to write about the sabbatical I took a few years ago. I blogged the entire time I was on sabbatical, although I did not blog about my sabbatical.

When I was just starting to think about going on sabbatical, I mused in a post about the possible differences between going on a sabbatical with an elementary-school child (as I did for my first sabbatical, to an international location) and going on a sabbatical with a teenager (as I was planning for my second sabbatical, to a different international location). There were many comments about positive sabbatical-with-teen experiences, and so it turned out for us. We are very fortunate to have an adventurous and healthy teenager who was willing to leave her school and friends for a while and hurl herself into a strange environment. She loved our sabbatical, and her parents enjoyed it as well.

I know that not everyone can go away for their sabbatical and that not everyone wants to do that even if they can. And for those who can spend some or all of their sabbatical at another institution, there are of course many possible choices in terms of location and type of institution to visit. For me, sabbatical = international location, or at least it has so far (n = 2). At one point in our pre-sabbatical planning discussions, my husband suggested that we spend all or part of our sabbatical at a Certain Domestic University and I thought he was joking. He wasn't, but he was happy to go to an international university that had excellent colleagues for both of us.

For the type of sabbatical arrangement at my institution (50% salary while on sabbatical), it takes a lot of planning and effort to attempt to raise the rest (not to mention the usual summer salary). The reasoning behind the 50% salary is that we aren't teaching while on sabbatical, so we are paid only for the research-component of our job (on the not-so-accurate but what-the-heck assumption that the research-teaching ratio is approximately 50:50). I know that some institutions have better arrangements for sabbatical pay, but so far I have been able to manage with the 50% system.

And what of those left behind -- our students, postdocs, research scientists, others? (see older post here) I was quite unperturbed by my advisor's sabbatical when I was a grad student. Even though he went to an international university for the year, I felt that in some ways I had more of his attention than when he was just down the hall. When he was away, I emailed him and he emailed me back. Sometimes I just sent him an update by email (he told me later that he appreciated this). Sometimes I emailed him a question, and he sent useful replies. I had seldom had his attention like that before. He had many grad students, many grants, many projects, and lots of professional and institutional service activities, and I was not very assertive (in person) about getting his attention.

During my advisor's sabbatical, I also got help and advice as needed from more senior grad students, from research scientists, and from other faculty. The various labs kept running in his absence, and all was well.

I think/hope it was much the same during my own sabbaticals. And of course now, in addition to email, there is Skype, so one can participate in various meetings and other discussions with students, postdocs, and colleagues at the home institution.

Whether you go halfway across the world or stay at home, sabbaticals are great for the very reason they exist -- you have time to think, read, write, start new projects, meet new colleagues, and learn new things relevant to research and teaching. On my last sabbatical, I wrote a long paper that I probably would not have been able to write in non-sabbatical life and I developed a collaboration with some excellent new colleagues. My new colleagues and I are now working on plans to send our grad students to visit each other's institutions -- kind of like a mini-sabbatical for students(?).

If your department gets to keep the half of your salary that you are not getting while on sabbatical, your department head (or chair) might even be very happy that you want to take a sabbatical. He/she might complain about the problem of dealing with your classes while you are away but you need not be sympathetic to this. I know of some cases of people delaying or foregoing sabbaticals because of grumbling department heads. That should be the least of your concerns.

It might sound obvious to say "sabbaticals are great", but sabbatical planning can be very daunting and stressful for a wide range of complex reasons involving family, money, advisees, and research facilities, to name just a few key issues. Nevertheless, it's worth it if you can get all your ducks in a row, even if your ducks are mostly going to paddle around in a local pond.


14 comments:

road to tenure said...

One colleague was recently telling me that since he has been back from sabbatical, it has been very difficult for him to connect back to his network for funding and attracting projects. Do you see the sabbatical period disconnecting the stream new projects and funds?

Female Science Professor said...

That surprises me. I guess it depends on what you do during your sabbatical. During my sabbaticals I submitted proposals, attended conferences, etc. And because I was able to make more progress than usual with my research and because I had more time to think and I forged new collaborations, I think my sabbatical strengthened my subsequent proposals (although not necessarily enough to survive the sequester).

Anonymous said...

I appreciate this post, as I have been seriously considering a sabbatical. Due to my partner's work (non-academic) and kids school situations, it's looking like the best I'll be able to do is a 4-6 week stint abroad. I realize that this kind of negates the advantages of having months to really dive in to a new area or tackle a new problem, but my hope is that with some careful planning it will still be advantageous. Any thoughts on the relative merits of "mini-sabbaticals" like this would be appreciated! I've had a hard time finding colleagues with sabbatical experience.

Female Science Professor said...

I haven't done a mini-sabbatical so maybe others will comment from experience, but I think it could be great. Imagine how excellent it could be to have 4-6 weeks to work with interesting colleagues, ideally with lots of uninterrupted time. It's very nice if your partner and kids are supportive of this and I hope it works out for you.

Anonymous said...

I've done the mini sabbatical and it was great. DO WHATEVER YOU CAN even if it seems small and do it as OFTEN as you can.

Don't put off a sabbatical for even a year, because as soon as you take your first one, the countdown can start for the next one! YEAH!!! DO it and do it often!!!

Anonymous said...

Currently on sabbatical halfway across the world (over 9 months away now). Thoroughly enjoying it and I think professionally it will be an inflection point in my career (as well as non-academic spouse who had a great opportunity). Not to mention said international location has family. Completely agree with the meticulous planning bit. In my case, I am in a country with lower cost of living and we could rent out our place. So 50% salary was not a big deal (we never quite got out of the grad student/postdoc mindset when I started at R1 U - so living pretty lean). Helps that kid in still not in school. Still needed months of careful planning.

I keep in close touch with my students over Skype and have chosen to continue my thesis committee assignments. Even have sat in on thesis defenses now pretty efficiently. Overall my group is productive - more so - because I think they get to keep my positive influence and get rid of my sometimes overenthusiastic meddling.

Only negative (or positive depending on perspective)is that I have spent an inordinate time working on proposal writing.

Once I get back I am going to try to convince my colleagues to take the plunge - particularly international sabbaticals.

Phillip Helbig said...

"not to mention the usual summer salary"

You thus give away the fact that you work in the USA. (At least, I am not aware of any other country which does not pay university professors 12 or even 13 monthly salaries.) We will identify you yet! :-)

Anonymous said...

I spent my first and so far only sabbatical at home with a new baby (one aspect that women in academia use it for, since there is often no teaching release nominally allowed for family leave). However, I organized a conference and wrote a number of proposals, two of which got funded. But on account of baby-induced sleep deprivation and being away from office and students, we did have fewer papers that year than usual. So it was personally rewarding, but not professionally recharging...

However, even without a baby, I would not be able to leave for a year. I think you are fortunate in that your spouse is able and willing to take the year off with you. For most couples where the academic has a working spouse that's just not an option if the spouse wants to keep the job. And that doesn't even go into the logistics of putting multiple kids in school at a foreign location, although I might be overestimating the hassle. Maybe on sabbatical No 4, once my youngest is in college, spouse and I can embark on a year abroad. But till then, the best I can hope for are a few weeks away here and there.

pyrope said...

Most critical question for me - did you bring your cat(s)? We would very much like to do sabbatical abroad, but would be very sad to leave our 'kids'.

Female Science Professor said...

Leaving the cats was the most difficult part for us! We were lucky to find cat-loving house-sitters both times. For the first sabbatical, our house-sitters were a couple, one of whom worked from home, apparently with our orange tabby in their lap every day. They loved our cats and still ask about them, ~10 years later (we still have 2 of those cats). For our more recent sabbatical, our house-sitters were a very nice family with two cat-loving daughters. One of the parents also worked at home a lot and became very attached to the cats; they sometimes stop by to see the cats. Also, we got 'cat reports' throughout our absences. We missed the cats a lot but knew they were being well cared for and were having their own sort-of stay-at-home sabbaticals, developing new collaborations and learning about different family cultures. I think it was very stimulating for them.

pyrope said...

I love the idea that the cats are having a new cultural experience too - that's a great way to think about it. Hopefully we will be similarly lucky with house/pet sitters.

Anonymous said...

FSP (or others) - How was it with a young child? My next sabbatical will coincide with the year kids start school (age 5).

Amy said...

I'm on sabbatical now and ended up at home. Sabbaticals are not designed for families with kids but it is working out ok. Mostly been focusing on proposal writing and paper writing.

Female Science Professor said...

For us, a sabbatical with a young child (sabbatical #1) was great. Our daughter was in an early grade in elementary school and she went to a local public school in our sabbatical city. She did not know the language, though she learned it quite well within 3 months. She loved living in an apartment in a new and interesting city; even going to the grocery store was fun. (Note: We had to bring 57 million stuffed animals and pet every cat in the neighborhood as often as possible.)