Saturday, June 21, 2014

Sabbatical

I am happy to announce that my sabbatical proposal was accepted after all, and I will be on sabbatical during the 2014-2015 school year. Readers who have trouble imagining what college professors do during the summer months will be equally stymied at the thought of a whole year off teaching, so it is important to clarify that in an academic context the original "restful" meaning of the term is secondary. One's sabbatical application is evaluated on the basis of its potential to result in scholarly output, not on the extent of one's fatigue and need for a break. Failure to produce something approximating the sabbatical proposal will reduce the chances of being awarded another one in future. That said, the chance to take a sabbatical is a huge privilege. I don't take it lightly.

I may say more about the details of my research project(s) presently. Basically, I am looking forward to being able to read and think about two of my major fields of interest: the writings of Luke and early Judaism.

My other (secret) goal is to take advantage of the extended break from teaching to work toward a more healthy rhythm of living--to reintroduce disciplines that I let fall by the way side, to focus on matters that are important but not urgent, that sort of thing. Judging from the last two months, this will not happen automatically. Even sabbatical has its pressures and deadlines, real or contrived. It doesn't look like I will suddenly feel less busy. But I hope to have more sustained experiences like the one I jotted down in April, near the end of marking season:
I can feel my heart and mind begin to relax. So good to wake up in the morning--or even in the middle of the night--with a fresh thought, a new idea, with something to say, with clarity. What a relief to realize that I may be able to write again, that with a day or two with the pressure off, the words come bubbling up. 
I also look forward to a change of location, and a real break from things academic on the Oregon coast in a few weeks. Blogging may pick up too. Who knows?

9 comments:

Edith said...

Sounds wonderful. Be equally nice if you could make your way out east for a few days or a week...

Karen said...

I agree with Edith in that we would love to see the whole family sometime, but I do understand the pressure to go West.

Enjoy your break, and take lots of photos of Oregon for us, please.

d. miller said...

For the record, anonymous comments will be deleted.

For more information about a standard university approach to sabbaticals, consider this post: http://www.universityaffairs.ca/first-sabbatical/explaining-a-sabbatical-to-non-academics/.

Anonymous said...

Why have "Anonymous" listed under "Choose an identity" in the "Leave your comment" section if you aren't willing to hear from anonymous voices? Seems disingenuous to me.

d. miller said...

It's a limitation of the Blogger platform. I don't want to require commenters to have a Google account, and I'd like for them to be able to provide more information than the OpenID apparently allows.

Randy Enns said...

You didn't answer my question about how one gets paid during a sabbatical. I'm still wondering how that works.

Yes, I read the "university approach to sabbaticals", but that did not answer my question (nor did it seem to jive with Karen's wish that you enjoy your "break").

Oh, and since blogger won't allow you to do as you wish, I have posted with the "Name/URL" option rather than the "anonymous".

d. miller said...

Hi Randy,

A reduced salary covered by the university appears to be standard policy. I note that the University of Saskatchewan awards 1 year sabbaticals at 90% salary; New York University and Brown University offer 1 year at 75% salary. Links: http://www.usask.ca/vpfaculty/documents/Application%20form%20revised%20Apr2014.pdf; http://www.nyu.edu/faculty/governance-policies-and-procedures/faculty-handbook/the-faculty/other-faculty-policies/sabbatical-leave.html#term; http://www.brown.edu/about/administration/dean-of-faculty/sabbaticals-and-leaves.

Randy Enns said...

Thanks.

What does Briercrest do?

d. miller said...

Re: Briercrest's policy: You would need to inquire with Briercrest directly as that information does not appear to be publicly available online.