I had a conversation not too long ago with a colleague (not at UVM)
who recently was granted tenure. Part of what was shared with me is
that while you are on the tenure track, you have to make sure you
don't do anything to get your fellow faculty members angry with you
because you want their votes for tenure.

Bear, your post reminded me of this conversation. I've pretty much
decided not to go tenure track in part because I'm 51 and have only
been teaching for 4 years now. While I have research interests, and
certainly multiple scholarly interests, I don't see myself as the
aggressive grant receiving type. (Now I realize there are biases
contained within that statement but I am honest if nothing else. Or
perhaps transparent is a better descriptor.) I do not see myself as
gearing up over the next batch of years, which, in part, is what
generated my first post that led to this conversation. I see myself as
working as hard, mostly at teaching, and as much as I am now, but not
MORE. Then, hopefully, maybe, there might be a time of gearing down?
But you get my drift.

Two qualities of my personality are that I am flexible and responsive
to the needs I see presented around me, whether by my family, clients
or by my colleagues or by my department. This has resulted in my being
willing to change my schedule to meet needs that cannot otherwise be
met. As a result, the only course I have taught more than once is
clinical. Do you know how hard it is to write new lectures every
single semester? Okay, well not every semester but most semesters. I
would love to find my niche. Currently, I am nicheless. Plus, my
interests are so varied...and I haven't landed on one thing to focus
on, so I do tons of things. Ugh. Maybe these qualities are part of my
problem.

So Bear, given the above, I bristled when I read the conclusion of
your post. While you strike some honest chords, it also felt very
cynical to me.

I need to focus and not rant.

Fran, it was so good to read your post with your accent (in my mind).
I've missed you.

Marcia
--
Marcia E. Ring, PhD, APRN-BC
Clinical Specialist Psychiatry/Mental Health
Clinical Assistant Professor
College of Nursing and Health Sciences
Department of Nursing
University of Vermont
221 Rowell
106 Carrigan Drive
Burlington, Vermont 05405-0068
Tel: (802) 656-9013
Fax: (802) 656-8306