On the Right Track
I just got an email today saying that my tenure track renewal got accepted!
Obviously that’s not as exciting as GETTING ACTUAL TENURE, but it’s good to know that a) my application was good enough to grant an extension should I need it, and b) now there’s, y’know, an extension in case of unusual circumstances that prevent me from actually applying for tenure next year.
This notification is also a lot earlier than the timeline said it would be (it says mid-May), but maybe they do the renewals at a faster rate than the actual tenures.
ALSO, I did a LOT of work to create my application packet; it will be the same things that I’ll need to submit for tenure (with some more info added, of course, based on what I’ve done this past year), so a big chunk of that work has already been done and I don’t have to worry about starting from zero in the summer.
YAY
*SCREECHES IN TENURE TRACK*
I submitted my tenure track renewal package today. If it gets approved, I’ll have an extra two years to apply for tenure beyond next August.
I don’t plan on delaying my tenure application past next August, but you never know what weird stuff could happen to require a delay.
So it’s a “just in case” sort of thing.
Anyway.
Last Day of Classes!
I’m freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
At least until the actual fall semester starts, haha. Having spring off was REALLY nice, though. I’m not sure which of the two shorter semesters is better for teaching. Spring is nice because then you have a really long break until Fall, but Summer is nice because then you get a break right after the Winter semester and there is NO ONE on campus in the Summer.
Meh.
Opportunity!
So back around the middle of last semester, I met with Dr. Ware in sort of the annual “all tenure track employees should meet with their Department Head to make sure they’re making reasonable progress” sort of meeting. At that meeting, he mentioned that he’d been approached by the people running the Art and Science Honors Academy (ASHA) about having someone from the Math/Stats department get involved in the program. ASHA is, according to Dr. Ware, designed for undergraduate students who show an interest in both the arts and the sciences. All of the courses offered in the program involve some mix of information from the arts side and the science side.
Of course, this sounded absolutely fascinating and I intimated that I’d love to teach something like that.
Well, I got contacted today by the ASHA people and they said they’d like for me to teach their intro class if I still wanted to. The intro class, unlike the higher level classes, is a full-year course that is often co-taught, preferably with one instructor coming from the Faculty of Arts and the other coming from the Faculty of Science. They also said they’d never had anyone from the Math/Stats Department involved in this before.
So I readily agreed! There are no further details other than that right now – I don’t know who I’ll be teaching with or what exactly we’ll be teaching – but I’m super excited for this chance. Based on what I’ve read about this program, it sounds like something I would have absolutely LOVED as an undergraduate.
Woo!
Up to the Date
SO.
Life update (kinda).
I just got off a Zoom meeting with our department head and it sounds like the best course of action for me this year is to apply for tenure renewal. I AM eligible to apply for tenure (though I’d be doing it a year early), but tenure renewal was suggested instead because:
a) if approved, it would add an extra three (?) years on my tenure track timeline, which means that if anything were to happen that would prevent me from applying for tenure next year (the last year I’m allowed to do so), I’d have an extra three years to apply without any sort of penalty.
b) I MAY be doing a brand new class next year, and it would be a class that would look really good on my application due to its uniqueness
c) the application for tenure renewal is exactly the same for tenure – cover letter, CV, and teaching dossier (the only difference is that when applying for tenure you have to also provide referees) – so it’s kind of like a “practice run” for the actual tenure application.
So yeah. I think I’m going to do that.
Final
UGH I hate invigilating exams. I’d rather take an exam than stand around watching other people take one.
And then having to grade them.
Especially final exams, yo. Everyone just wants to be done with the semester at that point, including me.
ESPECIALLY FINAL EXAMS ON THE WEEKEND WTF
At least it wasn’t at 7 AM or 7 PM, as my final exams usually are.
UGH.
It’s the FIN-AL LEC-TURE (da-na-naaaa-na, da-na-na-na-naaaa)
WOO THIS SEMESTER IS OVER
Has it been an exceptionally stressful one? Yes and no. Yes because we switched from being online to in person IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEMESTER LIKE WHAT THE F and no because it wasn’t really any busier than most of my semesters.
Last semester, however, was brutal. And all the semesters since COVID have had their share of extra work. So I think I’m just really, really burnt out.
PLUS I haven’t been able to go back to Moscow since December 2019, and going down to Moscow is a very physical stress relieving activity.
So yeah. I’m glad I’m not teaching in the spring semester, ‘cause I need a few months to just chill back out and get ready for the summer and semesters beyond.
Edit: YAY A MIGRAINE WHAT A GREAT WAY TO END THE SEMESTER THANKS BRAIN OL’ BUDDY OL’ PAL
Got Class?
Heeeeey, so we got our (tentative) teaching assignments for the upcoming academic year and it looks like I’m teaching a new class! It’ll be MATH 275: Calculus for Engineers and Scientists.
Yes, I’ve taught calc before, but not this specific class. So I’m counting it as new. Exciting!
I’m also coordinating STAT 213, which will be my first time coordinating in person.
Online?
Ooooooooh so we just got an email saying that the remainder of this semester’s final exams will all be converted to online delivery. I think there was a COVID case in a big chem final room and now everyone’s freaking out because it’s probably omicron and super-spreadable.
I wonder what this means for next semester?
OH THE FUN ROLLERCOASTER OF COVID AT UNIVERSITY, AMIRITE????
??
?
NOPE
No, we are not back online.
Dang.
Sorry, I’m really nervous about being around that many people.
Back Online?
OH SHIT are we going to be online for the upcoming semester?
(Please say yes)
Line On
UGH, okay, so we’re doing STAT 213 online for this semester. I think it’s the smart thing to do, even though I’m sure it will bring some degree of anger and disappointment.
Well, LIFE is a disappointment right now.
At least I can TRY to keep people safe.
Nerves
I’m so nervous about having to go back in person for teaching, yo. I’m not ready for it. COVID is still EVERYWHERE and even if there is a mask mandate campus-wide, there’s still that risk.
I haven’t been around that many people since we ended in-person classes back in March 2020, so the thought of just being in those hallways is…scary.
AND IT BEGINS AGAIN
Winter Semester = over.
Spring Semester = beginning.
I’m still teaching from home, but I’m teaching a class I’ve never taught before (STAT 321), so that’ll be interesting.
Hopefully it will go well.
It’ll be nice to have the summer off, at least.
Annnnnnnnnd SPRING SEMESTER GO!
There was a little break between Winter and Spring semesters, which was nice. But now we’re at it again with STAT 321.
I’ve never taught this course before so I’m a little scared, but for some reason I feel like it will be easier to teach than 323, mainly because the progression through the material is a little bit more straightforward.
But I guess we’ll see.
I’ll have Summer semester off, though. It’d be better if I could go back to Moscow during that time, but I still don’t know if that would be a good idea given all the COVID stuff still going on.
Eigenblogger 
