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.