tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post1964914227989336299..comments2024-03-25T02:33:41.590-05:00Comments on FemaleScienceProfessor: Sabbatical EconomicsFemale Science Professorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15288567883197987690noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-23442316824686800292010-12-09T08:32:59.236-06:002010-12-09T08:32:59.236-06:00Having been out of academia and at a government la...Having been out of academia and at a government lab for more than a decade now, I think one of the odder aspects of sabbaticals is that an entire research group is left essentially unsupervised for 6 months to a year. In most universities, this means a group of people who are not even proper "employees" of the university (i.e. grad students and postdocs) are fending for themselves in a regulatory sense (OSHA, RCRA, etc). Moreover, the PI of several grants is not directly overseeing the work for this period of time. (Yes, I know there are phone calls and emails to keep tabs on students' progress... sometimes). <br /><br />This arrangement would seem to have staggering legal implications should something go wrong, e.g. a major fraud case or a fatal accident in the Lab.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-29294747173246429522010-12-09T01:53:38.126-06:002010-12-09T01:53:38.126-06:00I understand and sympathize with the NSF position....I understand and sympathize with the NSF position. The way it was explained to me is: NSF wants to support promising graduate students. They feel that's the best use of taxpayer dollars, the best bang for the buck. I have to say that, while I might like to get more funding for myself, I can see the merits in the NSF position, and I think the NSF has got a good point, on public policy grounds.AnonProfnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-83579912435098716702010-12-06T18:16:40.037-06:002010-12-06T18:16:40.037-06:00At our institution, and others in this country, pr...At our institution, and others in this country, professors get full pay on a sabbatical. However, nobody is now allowed to take a full year sabbatical so six months is the maximum. As well, you must either complete your teaching commitments prior to going on sabbatical (eg by moving a semester 2 course to semester 1) or alternatively arrange for a colleague to cover all of your teaching (note that they will expect you to reciprocate in the future), with the result that many colleagues go on to their long dreamed of sabbatical absolutely exhausted.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-69921974741517573752010-12-06T16:22:15.987-06:002010-12-06T16:22:15.987-06:00You just have to justify the academic year salary ...You just have to justify the academic year salary in a very specific and thorough way, but it is allowed if you are not otherwise being paid.Female Science Professorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15288567883197987690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-29231708617388385692010-12-06T16:19:14.179-06:002010-12-06T16:19:14.179-06:00Wait, isn't the two-month limit specific to wh...Wait, isn't the two-month limit specific to when you have a nine-month salary? I.e., just for summer salary? I'm going to have to go read up on the GPG.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-83328657065293118172010-12-06T13:06:32.906-06:002010-12-06T13:06:32.906-06:00This was beautifully articulated! It also raises ...This was beautifully articulated! It also raises the issue of the 2-month max for NSF faculty support. I have been told by NSF staff that it is policy in the MPS Division that faculty cannot take more than 2 months of "summer" salary per year, period. So no sabbatical support. This seems backward for the same reasons -- a heck of a lot more would be accomplished if the PI could really focus on a project for several months, and it would lead to better follow-up science since he/she would be more fully engaged. And the upshot is that faculty on sabbatical therefore are NOT working on NSF-supported science.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-40625192404085119792010-12-06T11:44:02.720-06:002010-12-06T11:44:02.720-06:00Anon 2:05: That is not my "logic", econo...Anon 2:05: That is not my "logic", economic or otherwise, except every 7 years, when it's nice to focus on one thing and have a break from institutional service (committees). I wouldn't want to be at a university that totally split the research and teaching functions.Female Science Professorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15288567883197987690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-52464996156434626162010-12-06T11:25:44.568-06:002010-12-06T11:25:44.568-06:00The vast majority of nonacademics think all we pro...The vast majority of nonacademics think all we professors do is teach and are quite negative when they hear we may teach 1 course per semester and still get good salaries. (And summers off! And holidays! Ahahahaha! I wish...) Of course they think we are overprivileged elitist fatcats. It is unfortunately not hard at all to sell to the public that we academics are overpaid and lazy. Support for discontinuing sabbaticals is just one aspect of how the public views us. <br /><br />I don't know what it would take for the general public to understand what it is that we as academics do (especially in sciences and engineering at research-intensive universtities), but I don't think we are even trying to communicate it widely enough even though it's very very important.GMPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17872461021953583473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-21085546761591148222010-12-06T10:10:38.442-06:002010-12-06T10:10:38.442-06:00I think all this anti-sabbatical rant is just the ...I think all this anti-sabbatical rant is just the usual American puritan extremism. Why should those liberals need time of from work when the middle class is poor and jobless (say some fat cat with his pockets bulging). Heaven forbid anyone promote a more leisurely work pace (which as you say, most profs use to actually work) Is this the little town from footloose?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-88957645071897481712010-12-06T07:13:47.743-06:002010-12-06T07:13:47.743-06:00The institutional finances of sabbaticals are tota...The institutional finances of sabbaticals are totally the opposite in medical schools. During a sabbatical medical school faculty take their own salary charges *off* their grants and replace them with institutional funds.Comrade PhysioProfhttp://physioprof.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-71708085957895668832010-12-06T02:05:51.800-06:002010-12-06T02:05:51.800-06:00By your logic, then why shouldn't the institut...By your logic, then why shouldn't the institutions just pay research profs 4.5 months/yr every year and hire adjuncts to do all of the teaching?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com