tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post8643346390342968485..comments2024-03-25T02:33:41.590-05:00Comments on FemaleScienceProfessor: OverscheduledFemale Science Professorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15288567883197987690noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-28959507289277182502010-09-28T02:43:05.882-05:002010-09-28T02:43:05.882-05:00I used Doodle to schedule my defence as well. It ...I used Doodle to schedule my defence as well. It certainly helped, but it didn't make it easy. In my case it was my advisor who was by far the least flexible of any of the people. I think I tried something like a three week window, most of the committee members put in quite a few open days. I thought we had a date, but my advisor had made a mistake in one of the two days he thought he had available. I ended up having to shuffle committee members to make it happen. Luckily my department was very flexible about this so it ended up working, but barely. Actually, on the the day, one of the committee members had a medical issue and had to pull out so I had an additional re-shuffling on the day itself!bobnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-6659674253283679022010-09-27T08:56:05.630-05:002010-09-27T08:56:05.630-05:00There is a saying: "Scheduling the defense is...There is a saying: "Scheduling the defense is the hardest part!"Jean Greynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-58221202790527851602010-09-25T23:31:45.330-05:002010-09-25T23:31:45.330-05:00Several of our students have started using Doodle ...Several of our students have started using Doodle polls to try to find an empty time slot when all the faculty can make it. The student talks with their adviser to get a range that seems feasible (about two weeks) and then lists all 3-hour slots that don't conflict with classes. The committee members mark which slots they can make.<br /><br />This sometimes takes a couple of iterations, with the faculty marking all conflicts the first time, and only the absolutely immovable conflicts the second time.<br /><br />Many of our grads advance or defend over the summer, when scheduling is easier.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-67843645386704097382010-09-25T22:41:50.485-05:002010-09-25T22:41:50.485-05:00I'm the student who sent the e-mail. First, th...I'm the student who sent the e-mail. First, thanks FSP for posting and responding to my e-mail, and thanks to all the commenters for their suggestions (and sympathy). <br /><br />I did, in fact, use doodle to schedule my committee meetings and defense. The trouble was that some committee members either continuously postponed responding to the polls ("I saw your e-mail but I'll have to wait until next week to reply because of xyz." and 2 weeks later, I was still waiting....) to the point that the original responders were no longer available, while other committee members simply replied "no" to every single suggestion, and ignored my requests for them to submit alternate times. <br /><br />In terms of the "magic scheduling window" -- it doesn't seem to matter how far in advance I try to schedule things, as the "magic window" seemed to be different for each committee member. For example, one committee member often needed 2 months notice, while another was reluctant to commit to anything more than 4 weeks away. I suppose this will really depend on the personalities of your committee members and the nature of their other obligations.<br /><br />I do agree with the commenters who suggested that working with secretaries or having the advisor (or someone else with more clout than the grad student) schedule the meeting might be easier on the graduate students. Unfortunately, however, many PIs don't have secretaries, and there's no guarantee that the PI or other delegate will have much luck with scheduling either. <br /><br />And in terms of having everyone keep a shared calendar -- this only works if everyone is very conscientious about keeping their calendars up-to-date, and if "unscheduled time" is really the same as "available time." There are some people for whom this might be the case, but in general, I don't see it working as well in academia as it does in the business world.<br /><br />At the end of the day, I do agree that the student is the one who has the most riding on the defense and will have to take ownership of it. I just wish policies could be put in place to make it less of a headache for everyone involved.<br /><br />In the end, I was able to schedule my defense in time to meet the graduation deadline. It took multiple doodle polls, a slew of e-mails, several in-person requests, and finally, an exasperated e-mail from my advisor to the most recalcitrant committee members asking for their cooperation. But at least it got done. Now I just have to make sure I pass. :)<br /><br />Again, thanks everyone!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-30963982091328519262010-09-25T21:01:16.458-05:002010-09-25T21:01:16.458-05:00I always used doodle for committee meetings. I wou...I always used doodle for committee meetings. I would put up a schedule that excluded any known conflicts with committee members (I would look up their classes and office hours ahead of time), and I think that helped. My one committee member who didn't seem to like it? I would just email her with any final times that worked for all others and should would respond within hours.<br /><br />My department also mandated certain meetings - committee meeting within a couple weeks of the grad student's annual department seminar, for example. This way committee members knew to expect these meetings and you could schedule them in the context of them being <i>required</i>.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-88591149619913906122010-09-25T10:15:48.090-05:002010-09-25T10:15:48.090-05:00It's not so much of being over scheduled. I wo...It's not so much of being over scheduled. I would argue that many faculty especially at the Assoc. Professor level lack leadership and management skills including time management. You say YES to everything because you guys have no balls. Be assertive, direct and honest enough to say NO. I have found that American academics are completely obsessed with, among other and many things, not wanting to sound or be labeled as "negative". <br />A responsible member of faculty/committee does what they say they'd do, because they said they would. Period. Think about the responsibilities you already have including the trainees in your lab and the student thesis committee you have been selected AND agreed to serve on, and take them more seriously, no matter how pointless they might seem. OR how busy you are. Consider it a way to pay your dues and your commitment to excellence in teaching students who've committed so much time and money to their study. <br />Professors are always making pathetic excuses. There are many things we can't control or unforeseen circumstances arise all the time in academia (just as everywhere else) but IRRESPONSIBLE people always shift the blame on someone or something else. It's irresponsible to make commitments that you probably can't keep, even if you really want to keep them. In which case, saying "no" is the MOST responsible thing for you to do. If you have bitten off more than you can chew just send a professional and honest email to say "no" OR maybe delegate. If you've stretched yourself to the max trying to keep other faculty (including your Chair) happy, you might also want to learn how to stop being such an ass-kisser. Either way, there is such a thing as taking on too much responsibility, and that is irresponsible in and of itself. <br />I wish faculty members would just keep their end of the bargain. <br />I have learned, that you if you don't, you'd get away with it for awhile, but don't be surprised when one day, you're the only person standing in the middle of the lab. Or have been asked to leave the Dept because of lack of funding or scholarship. My previous mentor's career and lab imploded after 18 years because he was so irresponsible.<br />In Australia, where I am from and where I received my PhD, it is both an honor and privilege to be asked to serve on thesis committees and to me a mentor.<br />It shows that you have become a leader in your field, an excellent and caring educator who has been recognized as a responsible member of faculty who takes care or and will always take care of trainees.<br />You should always endeavor to be a responsible educator. I would be personally and professionally satisfied to see students move on with their career and become successful and even more so that I played a role in their success.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-61199813850277033132010-09-25T10:03:15.190-05:002010-09-25T10:03:15.190-05:00In my experience this problem is real, but managea...In my experience this problem is real, but manageable if everyone is well-behaved, and not interesting.<br /><br />The first problem you described, overscheduled professors with no time to think, is the more fundamental and serious, and difficult to solve. You should write about that one.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-43944077503999284652010-09-25T05:38:39.749-05:002010-09-25T05:38:39.749-05:00I like what Notorious PhD said in the first commen...I like what Notorious PhD said in the first comment on this post.Gingeralenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-30908856392445973692010-09-25T01:15:41.310-05:002010-09-25T01:15:41.310-05:00I struggled scheduling my qualifying exams (which ...I struggled scheduling my qualifying exams (which were not as time sensitive). However, scheduling the defense was no problems. I attribute that largely to the time of year; I wanted to schedule my qualifying exam end of September and everyone was swamped. My defense was during "low season" (May) so quite easily scheduled.<br /><br />Students often forget that they have a number of resources available to them to assist their degree completion. In my program, I had my supervisor, graduate secretary and grad advisor all cheering me on, available to help get all the signatures, meetings etc.. (i.e. jump through all the hoops). All these people ultimately have more influence than the student and certainly should be used, when needed, to ensure you complete your degree on time.<br /><br />I did use doodle for the first time to organize a 40 person meeting - 50% of people emailed me after submitting their response, explaining their response and any stipulations regarding their response. Errgggg!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-81525544072267597422010-09-25T00:55:51.815-05:002010-09-25T00:55:51.815-05:00I was amused by Anonymous comment about his compan...I was amused by Anonymous comment about his company where "we are ALL REQUIRED to use shared Microsoft outlook calendars/email. What I like about it is that I can see when you are free and I schedule you."<br /><br />You've just given the slamdunk argument why I, a professor, will never adopt such a scheme. Never. The idea that someone else could put something on my schedule, without my approval, would be unacceptable. I control my own schedule. Period.<br /><br />In addition, I have many slots in my schedule that may look "free" to others but are actually essential to teaching preparation, scholarly work, etc. It's the difference between, say, software developers, who rely upon getting into the flow (and a single interruption can take hours to get back into the flow), vs business types, who do not understand why scheduling "just a one hour meeting" in the middle of the day is such an imposition. For this reason, I would hate a shared calendar. Someone else would just see "you don't have any meeting listed in your calendar 1-2pm, why can't you come to my committee meeting then?" and hard feeling would ensue. If I didn't block out big contiguous chunks of my work week for myself (e.g., for reading papers, thinking creative thoughts, preparing for class), I'd never get anything useful done.AnonProfnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-73190135308087135862010-09-24T20:03:39.556-05:002010-09-24T20:03:39.556-05:00From now on, whenever a student contacts me about ...From now on, whenever a student contacts me about scheduling a committee meeting, I will refer them to my secretary.<br /><br />Yeah right.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-6358202984757844032010-09-24T18:59:59.429-05:002010-09-24T18:59:59.429-05:00There's one other possibility that hasn't ...There's one other possibility that hasn't been mentioned in this thread: sometimes committee members postpone qualifying exams (not sure about defenses) because they don't think the student is ready. If the student pushes ahead anyway, they'll fail the exam. I saw this happen in my doctoral program: one woman's committee refused to schedule a qualifying exam for a whole semester... finally, toward the end (or maybe afterword?) one of the committee members said that it was because they didn't think she was ready. By the time she was finally able to take the exam, she WAS ready. Obviously, committee members should communicate this directly to the student, but if they can't or if the student isn't listening, then some of them stonewall.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-84240917107128592802010-09-24T17:53:16.891-05:002010-09-24T17:53:16.891-05:00This is a slightly different topic, but what about...This is a slightly different topic, but what about professors who don't have time to administer their grants? For example, a multiple pi grant that included planned monthly meetings and postoc mentoring that is simply not done, which could have easily been foreseen since none of the pis have any time. At what point is it unethical to accept funding if you don't have time to do what is promised?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-42678753326648265272010-09-24T16:48:20.722-05:002010-09-24T16:48:20.722-05:00Wow. Did some Doodle marketing person find this th...Wow. Did some Doodle marketing person find this thread?<br /><br />My thesis defense somehow miraculously worked out. My advisor was back from his sabbatical and had a two-week interval before leaving for his home country for most of the summer. Another member of my committee was recently back from paternity leave, and the third fortuitously had decided to return to town for three days in between two trips to Europe instead of just staying there. It worked, but barely, and I don't know what I would have done otherwise, being required to submit proof of my degree before starting my postdoc. It seems like there should be a special sort of travel fund to guarantee that all members of a thesis committee can return if necessary. Well, probably the easier thing is for universities to relax their policies enough that the committee members don't have to be physically in the same place. (I think the rules at my grad school allowed one, but only one, of them to teleconference.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-45819337606224285272010-09-24T15:20:19.081-05:002010-09-24T15:20:19.081-05:00scheduling doesnt solve every problem: one of my ...scheduling doesnt solve every problem: one of my committee members only told me he wouldnt be at my defense when I said "see you tomorrow" to him as I left work the day before.<br /><br />luckily, my committee chairperson just forced him to approve it.<br /><br />in other words, the solution that solves nearly every problem is a kick butt committee chairperson.TLHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-29004099860258017742010-09-24T14:47:38.406-05:002010-09-24T14:47:38.406-05:00I scheduled my defense about 3 weeks in advance an...I scheduled my defense about 3 weeks in advance and the process went really smoothly. I was living out of state at the time that I defended and I had a young child so I had my own logistical issues to deal with that required this advance notice. I did all the scheduling by phone and email and pretty much told the profs that I wanted to defend sometime during week X, preferable on day Y or Z and they told me when they were not available. I picked a day and time when everyone was available and told them what I chose and gave them a chance to confirm that it would work for them. The whole scheduling process took only a couple of days and might have gone quicker had I not been both excessively nervous and in a different time zone.<br /><br />I know that rules vary from dept. to dept., but what seems to happen when people have scheduling issues is that they adjust who is going to serve on the committee. In my grad dept. the committee was set at the time you scheduled the defense so rather than finding a time when all of your committee members were free, people often picked who was on their committee based on who could be available when they wanted to defend. Even in other depts. where people chose their committees when they did their dissertation proposals, I've heard a lot of anecdotes about last minute committee member changes resulting from scheduling issues.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-18641306987608767032010-09-24T14:17:09.728-05:002010-09-24T14:17:09.728-05:00Your point about optimum timing was right on; I...Your point about optimum timing was right on; I've never had trouble as a committee member because people HAVE contacted me about a month in advance in all cases thus far. <br /><br />And I am definitely over-scheduled, to the point that I've been finding ways to escape from things that I used to love like all day workshops and canceling or postponing extraneous meetings with other colleagues' PhD students or post-docs who need help.AmericanInOxbridgenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-50908430828254504792010-09-24T12:18:27.215-05:002010-09-24T12:18:27.215-05:00I'm gonna talk about the intro to your post be...I'm gonna talk about the intro to your post because I find that topic a lot more interesting than whether doodle, email, or calendar scheduling is better. :)<br /><br />I know many young profs that are completely over-scheduled. I also know many young profs that seem to have a lot of free time to think about and do science. Based on the apparent stress levels I've observed in the former, I'm doing my best to try to figure out how to be one of the latter. <br /><br />Unfortunately, it seems to have a lot to do with personality. That is, if you're a very collaborative, outgoing and generous person everyone will assume it's ok to demand your time. If you are a more retreating person who simply doesn't respond to requests or turns them down, sooner or later people will stop asking, and you'll get your time to yourself. More time to yourself to get grants and write papers and less time in meetings.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-31690341990698378332010-09-24T11:15:13.656-05:002010-09-24T11:15:13.656-05:00At the risk of being soundly shouted down by your ...At the risk of being soundly shouted down by your readership, perhaps faculty members who cannot meet their commitments to graduate students should refrain from serving on their committees. Every faculty member knows that serving on a thesis committee entails a number of meetings over the years and certainly includes reading a thesis and attending a thesis defense. Don't have time for this? Don't agree to do it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-20396110591163452792010-09-24T11:14:39.957-05:002010-09-24T11:14:39.957-05:00Yes, pleasepleaseplease use a scheduling service l...Yes, pleasepleaseplease use a scheduling service like Doodle. I even have a doodle account that is linked to my calendar so that when I get a meeting request, I just push a button and Doodle will fill in my availability for me, and even let me know if it's adjacent to another meeting. Then I just review and submit. GODSEND. We <3doodle at my institution, and only a few holdouts seem to refuse, who knows why. <br /><br />You even have the option of letting people choose from three options (available, not available, could be available if absolutely necessary) which might be helpful for those hesitant to give a real "yes" to any particular date.<br /><br />I also have a "public" Google calendar that only shows in/out of office, no details. That way when somebody asks me a vague question about my schedule I can tell them to just go check it out for themselves.<br /><br />As a last resort, I was once replaced on a PhD committee a month before the defense for the sole reason that I was not available on the only day that worked for everybody else + the deadlines. It was annoying to me, but I understood how frustrating it would have been to miss the deadline.Average Professorhttp://averageprofessor.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-20758890740470380542010-09-24T10:54:59.895-05:002010-09-24T10:54:59.895-05:00SECRETARIES!!
To schedule my prelim, I first got ...SECRETARIES!!<br /><br />To schedule my prelim, I first got the schedule for the whole month for the professor that is out of town the most (from his secretary). Then I emailed all the professors with a list of possible dates/times. They didn't all get back to me. So I went to the departmental office and asked the secretaries to email the professors (our secretaries our awesome and understand how, um, quirky, our professors can be). I got responses within hours and reserved the room later that day. So, if your departmental office or the individual professors secretaries (if they have them) are helpful, I'd use them as much as possible to help with scheduling as they are often able to "encourage" faculty to respond to emails.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-20040774843334677092010-09-24T10:38:17.033-05:002010-09-24T10:38:17.033-05:00Online calendars (like GoogleCalendar) are the bes...Online calendars (like GoogleCalendar) are the best bet as long as everyone keeps theirs up to date. I don't even ask the committee members with GCal to suggest times, I just ask the slackers that don't to choose from among the shared times of those that do, then double check with the calender users once I pick a time. I'm strongly considering making GCal a requirement for my lab once I start mine. You want to know when to schedule a meeting with me? Just look at my public calendar and request a time that's not blocked out. Easy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-53873531575078272172010-09-24T10:37:21.417-05:002010-09-24T10:37:21.417-05:00Fuck doodle, I agree with anon at 8:45. We should ...Fuck doodle, I agree with anon at 8:45. We should be able to look at the profs calendar and schedule the meeting for them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-76767292374638776822010-09-24T10:19:56.449-05:002010-09-24T10:19:56.449-05:00I love when people use Doodle to schedule events. ...I love when people use Doodle to schedule events. I wait until as many other people as possible have given their dates/times, and then I mark myself available only for those that everyone (or the most possible) else can make that are most convenient for me, even if there are some others that I could, strictly speaking, make.Comrade PhysioProfhttp://physioprof.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-10504994494770283332010-09-24T10:19:24.785-05:002010-09-24T10:19:24.785-05:00If online scheduling doesn't help you schedule...If online scheduling doesn't help you schedule a defense time before the University deadline, you may be able to get special permission from the University for a late defense. I had to take a late defense as one of my committee members was overseas for the last six weeks of the term. He was returning a few days after the deadline for depositing dissertations.<br /><br />I contacted the office of the Dean of Graduate Studies, explained the problem, and they agreed to let me turn in the signed cover page a few days late. I didn't have to wait for the Summer term deadline and I was able to walk in the June commencement.Sallynoreply@blogger.com