Thursday, October 13, 2011

Tenure and Promotion





When I was a student at Arizona State, a wise professor once stated that academics was the last bastion of feudalism in our society. My "apprenticeship" is nearing an end, as I am up for promotion this year. Once I have this promotion, I will be tenured and be removed from a long, probationary period. You may be asking, what is involved in this process? How are you assessed? Well, in classic feudal fashion, I am hardly involved in the process at all. I prepare this "box" or "tub" with a bunch of papers, letters, and other crap that is supposed to represent who I am as a teacher and scholar. My professional life, the 32 liter version. I anticipate the process will go well, but it is very cumbersome and unsophisticated. It is so laborious and tedious that I had significant thoughts about a different career path during the past summer months. This process has unfortunately produced collateral damage. The dogs are bored. Julie has been crawling around on pins and needles. My office is a complete mess. I am so tired and strung out! Hopefully, the family life will normalize soon, but I do not hear results of the decision until April! One day, I will look back on this posting and laugh-- and isn't that what a blog is all about?

Kevin