Work and Home

Today was our first day back from spring break and we had a department meeting in which my tenure case was considered. (Even though I don't go up for another couple of years, my case is presented to the department every year so that people can watch my progress).

My case was received well, and interestingly three different professors came into my office today, closed the door, and proceeded to talk to me about the two people who were denied tenure in the past month. They each started off saying basically the same thing, which was "word on the street is that you're feeling a little nervous." Then they proceeded to tell me why I shouldn't worry about my own tenure case. One of my committee members had lunch with me last week and laid out her reasons why my case is strong and I shouldn't be worried. One of the members of the divisional committee (the very committee that denied tenure to my colleagues this month) has set up a lunch meeting with me later this week so that she can explain parts of what happened and reassure me. Other folks just sat down to encourage me and let me know that they see my case as a strong one.

A big difference is that the two failed tenure cases came out of a different (but closely related) department. My own department is pretty good at writing strong tenure cases, and the other department is rumored to have messed things up. Now, it doesn't boost my confidence to know that a person's tenure case rests on so much more than the quality of her work. It also rests on her committee's ability to write a strong case, and that means the department in question has to be smart and savvy about finding ways to communicate what constitutes strong scholarship to people outside the field. So you can be a terrific researcher but if you've got a bonehead committee or a bonehead department, your case could still end up being weak through things you can't control, and this can sabotage your tenure bid.

So that isn't exactly reassuring, but on the other hand, everybody was quick to remind me that our department is good at doing this stuff. We write good cases and we have a solid record with getting people through the divisional committee. So I just need to buckle down and keep doing what I'm doing, getting papers out the door and securing grants.

It's really nice to be in such a supportive department. I feel incredibly valued and lucky that the senior people are concerned enough to stop by my office and talk to me about this, all because of the word on the street. It did help, too; I'm feeling less freaked out.

I came home and the twin whisperer told me that 5 minutes before I arrived she had the shock of her life. She took Nora upstairs to change her diaper and left Milo downstairs looking at a book. By the time she came back down, she saw a cardboard box that had been moved near the dining room table. She then saw Milo....sitting on top of the table. He's lucky the leaf didn't collapse and fall under him. I have no idea how he climbed on the table like that. I guess we can't leave him for even a minute, even in a childproofed area!

Actually, I guess there is no such thing as childproofed.