Fieldcourses: expensive or priceless?

I've just returned from a week teaching 24 undergraduates on a fieldwork course (under the path of ex-hurricane Katia) and have yet again been reminded how rewarding teaching can be under the right circumstances. This course involves staff and students from two different universities and is residential in a remote place which has conditions very different to anything the students are used to. Days are long and intense - usually 7.30am to 9.30pm for students and longer for staff. Students complete several different exercises both outdoors (including a long hike) and indoors and hand in work for assessment before leaving to return home. The work to some extent depends on weather conditions and so there is always an element of "surprise" and crisis management. However, overwhelmingly the students and staff get a lot out of it, and I feel reconnected to teaching and to our undergraduates.

It is obvious that the staff/student ratio here is far better than you would ever get in ordinary teaching - approximately 1 to 6. Plus we use postgrad demonstrators and IT and technical support staff. We have to pay for board and lodging, transport and computers and field equipment. The students make a contribution but it is heavily subsidised by the department. I am increasingly conscious that it looks like a large amount for one module - and the less fieldwork based staff have sometimes questioned the use of resources. However, I will continue to defend field courses like this one because to staff they are refreshing and to students the requirement to combine knowledge across their other modules and the resulting revision ahead of the final year is a unique experience that cannot have a value placed upon it.

3 days

Well, I've just received an "invitation" to participate in a workshop to shape the admissions procedures and processes of the University (we have just re-organised to one central admissions office rather than separate undergrad and postgrad offices). Whilst I admire the ambition to include the views and creativity of people from all parts of the university and all steps in the change from application to acceptance - the workshop is for 3 consecutive full days 9-5 in week 4 of term. On what planet do people think that a part-time research active professor with full teaching and admin "service" loads can spend 3 full days navel gazing with administrators? I would have been happy to be involved for one or maybe even 2 days, but 3 is ridiculous.

Rant over.

OYCR or OYCN

"Offer you can't refuse" or "Offer you can negotiate"?

Is it ever acceptable to say "no thanks" to a suggestion from "management" that you "consider" taking over one of the 3 leadership roles in the Dept in 9 months time, which will be 9 months after your promotion to full professor. This role would put me in charge of all the teaching management, and the management of all Faculty academic staff, as well as strategic decisions regarding the direction of the department. It currently takes up around 0.6 of someone's full time post. I only work 0.8 FTE (full time equivalent) so unless I negotiate it down, I will be spending a disporportionate part of the next 3 years being an administrator. I accept that at some point I will need to do this or a similar role, but I wasn't expecting it to be yet. I am also conscious that there has never been a female HoD in this department (nor a part-time one either). Do I:

a) say "no, I can't do it now" - with justification that I am too inexperienced to do the academic staff management, and it would have a disproportionate reduction on the amount of time I have for research?

b) say yes ok, I'll take part of the role, but 20% of it needs to be split out to other people (I would rather this were the academic staff management role as I will feel very underqualified to be doing reviews of senior professors in the department)

If b, what else would you negotiate? More money? Sabbatical at the end of 3 years? A female mentor (mentorship for leadership positions is dire in this university).

Here we go - the September rollercoaster

Finally, the month of chaos is here. September sees me with a total of 8 days teaching on a fieldcourse (incidentally this absence quadruples the maximum time I have been away from home in one block since I had my first child), 5 days away at other conferences/meetings, 3 full day meetings in the office and approx 33 hours on long distance trains. This leaves 6 days unaccounted for in the office, but these will be taken up with preparation for all the meetings, and indeed for the new University term which starts in early October here. My youngest child moves rooms at nursery while I am away.

Now ordinarily I like roller-coasters, but only when I can freely wave my hands in the air and scream loudly - possibly not acceptable in a working environment.

Roll on October, when ironically, although the students are back, things will be a bit quieter.