Time and Control for Faculty and Administrators

As I prepare for my first semester of full-time teaching after 10 years of academic administration, I find myself reflecting on differences in both #time and #control for faculty and administrators.

At one level, faculty have limited control of their time. They have to meet students at the same times each week. They have to schedule vacations around breaks and holidays. They have no sick days. But in another way, faculty have significant control over their time. They can schedule personal appointments in mid-day. They can work on research projects at any hour of the night or day. They often have teaching schedules that make long weekends easy to create.

Administrators have little control over their time. Someone else manages their calendars They are usually expected to be on campus from at least eight to at least five for at least five days a week. They often move from meeting to meeting with little time for the most personal of needs (e.g., bathroom breaks). But they do have sick days and vacation days. And vacations don't have to coincide with the academic calendar. Their offices often set the times of meetings, so they have some control over the rhythm of their work lives.

I am readjusting to "faculty time." I got my hair cut in the middle of the day. I finished drafting my syllabi in the early morning hours when I have the most energy. And I look with joy on my calendar for the next few weeks. It is blissfully almost blank on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  As I remember a task force I recently chaired on managing classroom capacity, I feel vaguely guilty. But you won't find me complaining about my Tuesday/Thursday classes that are scheduled either in the same building as my office or in a building about a block away.

Faculty and administrators both have challenges in controlling their time. But, at least for now, I'm happy to be back on faculty time.