Genius!?!

Oklahoma is the latest trailblazer in work flexibility. The Office of Juvenile Affairs piloted a flexible schedule and found that staff turnover decreased. Here is an excerpt from the article:

After the flexible-schedule program was put in place, employees who participated took less leave time compared to the previous 90-day period, said Jeff Gifford, Juvenile Affairs division director of support services. During that same time, staff turnover was down by 1.5 percent, he said.

Cutting state staff turnover could save money. In 2007, turnover cost the state about $85 million, according to figures from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. At the Office of Juvenile Affairs, turnover costs about $3.6 million a year, said Gene Christian, Juvenile Affairs executive director.

5 on Friday

5. My car was buried in a sheet of ice on Wednesday. Snow + Sleet = Ice Covered Snow
4. My teaching evaluations from last semester were very positive. Yay!
3. Spinning/cycling is kicking my butt.
2. No crawling or walking yet. Mack seems to be taking her time.
1. My latest book arrived in the mail this week. Check it out here.

Pay Act

There is much evidence of the salary disparities that exist in higher education. Women often make less than men, regardless of rank and position. Of course, we should not be surprised given the pay disparity that exists in most jobs.

Today, a step was taken in the right direction. Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Act. The National Women's Law Center explains the details of the act:

In Ledbetter, the Supreme Court held that employees cannot challenge ongoing compensation discrimination if the employer's original discriminatory decision occurred more than 180 days before, even when the employee continues to receive paychecks that have been discriminatorily reduced. Because pay information is often confidential, it may take a long time for an employee to realize that she is experiencing compensation discrimination. And if employers are insulated from liability after 180 days, they have little incentive to correct pay discrimination that occurs. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act would restore long-standing law and promote voluntary compliance with anti-discrimination laws by employers. It would ensure that employees subject to discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age or disability have the opportunity to challenge every discriminatory paycheck that they receive.

See a pic on Whitehouse.gov. BTW, I love the new white house site!

Mack Monday: Infant Swimming

Yesterday, Mack attended her first swim lesson. While I was initially reluctant to consider swim lessons under the age of 1, I was reminded of the necessity when I heard a statistic (this was during an NPR discussion on climate change) -- 78% of the world is covered in water. So, off to lessons......

5 on Friday (or Saturday)

Here is my 5 on Friday just posted a little late:

5. Going back to work this week resulted in a cranky baby. I think she was used to mom and dad being around a lot. Sigh.
4. No one told me that age results in achy knees while running. Double sigh!
3. Mack starts swim lesson on Monday. Wish me luck!
2. We have a new president. Whoo hooo! Go Obama!
1. The first week of classes is exhausting.

Higher Ed Reports

A few important Higher Ed reports released this week:

1. A Measure of Equity: Women's Progress in Higher Education presents the only current comprehensive overview of data on women’s status in higher education.



2. Females on Academic Boards of Trustees: Slow But Steady Progress documents the slow but steady progress in the representation of women on college boards.

3. Referral, Enrollment and completion in Developmental Education Sequences in Community Colleges by the Community College Research Center provides evidence of the "remedial black hole." Students often get stuck in remedial education and do not matriculate to college level work.

Academic Capitalism

Although not about parenthood, we need to concern ourselves (as academics) with the rise of academic capitalism. A recent article in the NYTimes paints a sad picture for the humanities. One of my favorite exerts:

What is happening in traditional universities where the ethos of the liberal arts is still given lip service is the forthright policy of for-profit universities, which make no pretense of valuing what used to be called the “higher learning.” John Sperling, founder of the group that gave us Phoenix University, is refreshingly blunt: “Coming here is not a rite of passage. We are not trying to develop value systems or go in for that ‘expand their minds’” nonsense.

Quote of the week - holidays

Although yesterday was a federal holiday and my university was closed, I worked. I went to the office, had two important meetings, and continued to work on my latest book. A friend asked me why I was working on a holiday. My answer, "CHILDCARE!"

If I have childcare, I will come!

Mack Monday: Sick Baby

About 10 days ago, I came down with a mystery cold. Most of the time you can point to where you acquired that illness, such as the coworker who insisted on coming to work despite the fact that he/she is sneezing and coughing all over the office. Oh, the contaminated air!! I have not been around anyone with an illness and I don't really interact with many people at work -- such is the life of an academic. Nevertheless, I am responsible for giving Mack a cold which manifested this past Friday.

For days, her nose went drip, drip, drip and now she goes cough, cough, cough. As parents, we don't have many options to deal with the symptoms. Cold medicine is ineffective and often just keeps babies from sleeping. We can use a humidified or vapor rub, but ever those have no scientific proof.

We just have to make them comfortable and hope for a swift recovery. Any tips?

5 on Friday

5. Classes start next week and I my syllabi are still in draft form. When will I ever become proactive and not reactive!
4. My university just canceled classes on inauguration day which is wreaking havoc on my course planning.
3. A plan crashed in a river and everyone survived! The images of a plane in water are just scary and the news that everyone is okay, including an infant, make be overjoyed.
2. Mack sounds like a gremlin.
1. The inauguration is next week and I have high hopes for Michelle Obama's family initiative.

Friday: Higher Ed Reports

Every week, I read a ton of great reports that examine issues in higher education. Some of them may interest you so I am going to start posting my favorites each Friday. You know, for your weekend reading! HA HA HA!

4. Impact of Affirmative Action Ban (I included the Insidehighered.org link because the comments are really interesting)
3. Grad Students and Family-Friendly Policies
2. Trends in College Spending
1. New book on diversity in higher education

Grad Student Want Family-Friendly Universities

Mary Ann Mason and colleagues at University of California, Berkeley are continuing their good work on family-friendly issues in higher education. Insidehighered.com reported on new findings which illustrate the importance of work-life balance for doctoral students. The article states:

The survey — of more than 8,300 doctoral students at University of California campuses — finds that they increasingly care about finding careers at “family friendly” campuses. And the survey finds that they doubt seriously that they can build such careers at a research university. Both men and women have these attitudes although they are more pronounced in women.

There is a tension here between reality and desire. I realize that the current reality of higher education is such that obtaining tenure and having a family at a research university is difficult, if not impossible in some cases. Yet, I don't want to discourage my doctoral students from considering research universities. I desire for them to have access to research universities and to have the option of raising a family without committing career suicide. How do we move from desire to a new reality? I know that efforts toward making all universities more family-friendly is essential and must include marketing efforts to show graduate students that they can be an academic parent and get tenure at a research university. Change is slow.

Taking your child to work

A while back, I posted on the new phenomenon of taking your child to the workplace as an alternative to extended maternity/paternity leave. The NY Times has picked up this topic again in an article that describes how a few companies are allowing for children to be cared for in the workplace. The author notes:

More companies are allowing women — and some men, too — to bring their babies to work. The advantages are clear: The women don’t lose money by taking maternity leave. They can breastfeed conveniently. And they can bond with the baby rather than worry that he or she will develop a closer connection with a nanny or a day-care provider.

I have been thinking a lot about work-life balance culture in the academy lately as I craft a grant proposal on the subject. I keep asking myself what a work-life balance culture in the academy looks like and how does it get established? Are we too far from a collective sense of responsibility, an academic community, to consider bringing kids to work? How does such a policy gain acceptance?

Back from vacay -- Mack Monday

Finally back from a long and relaxing vacation to see family in New Mexico. Post start today and classes next week.

In honor of Mack Monday, I thought that it would be fitting to discuss a topic that I think about on a daily basis -- crawling. My little adorable daughter has decided that crawling just isn't for her. Maybe she doesn't want to get dirty. Maybe she is content with the toys in front of her, not the balls/fake TV remotes/dolls/musical toys/etc across the room. Maybe should would rather watch the other babies struggle to wiggle across the room. At almost 10 months old, her lack of interest in moving off her tush bothers me since I want her to explore the world. To go where no baby has gone before.........

What do I do? Anyone else have the same concerns?