2008 Woodie Awards
RPC considers shortening faculty sabbatical cycle
Under the new policy, professors would be able to go on sabbatical every three, rather than six, years
By: Tressa Versteeg, Staff Writer
Issue date: 4/25/08 Section: News
Professors may have the opportunity to take a sabbatical more often, if a proposal by the college Resource and Planning Committee goes through. The plan will allow tenured and tenure-track professors to take sabbatical leave after their third year of teaching, a cutback from the current requirement of six years.
The faculty endorsed the proposal in November 2007. The change was also discussed by the Board of Trustees at their March meeting and will be up for approval at their upcoming meeting in October. If passed, the transition will begin in 2010.
The idea began in Fall 2006, when the provost asked the RPC to find ways to strengthen Macalester's support for the faculty. According to Provost Dianne Michelfelder, no study had been conducted to gauge ways to increase faculty support in 10 years.
"As a top liberal arts college," Michelfelder said, "it is important to create the conditions under which a top-notch faculty can excel in their professional development, in order to enhance the academic quality of Macalester as a while."
According to a report filed by the RPC, there was a need to give professors the chance to work on projects and research that they can't do while teaching. They came up with several solutions, including lowering the teaching load, increasing funding and shortening the sabbatical cycle.
This change is an effort to better support the faculty, Michelfelder said, by giving them more time to increase their scholarship and proficiency, which they will bring back to the classroom to ultimately benefit students.
"During normal years, teaching takes top priority," said physics professor James Heyman, who was chair of the RPC when the proposal was written.
"Sabbatical leaves allow me to refocus on my research, try to catch up with my field, and also to develop new courses - all things I don't have time to do during normal semesters. I'm learning new techniques which I hope to implement back at Macalester."
The faculty endorsed the proposal in November 2007. The change was also discussed by the Board of Trustees at their March meeting and will be up for approval at their upcoming meeting in October. If passed, the transition will begin in 2010.
The idea began in Fall 2006, when the provost asked the RPC to find ways to strengthen Macalester's support for the faculty. According to Provost Dianne Michelfelder, no study had been conducted to gauge ways to increase faculty support in 10 years.
"As a top liberal arts college," Michelfelder said, "it is important to create the conditions under which a top-notch faculty can excel in their professional development, in order to enhance the academic quality of Macalester as a while."
According to a report filed by the RPC, there was a need to give professors the chance to work on projects and research that they can't do while teaching. They came up with several solutions, including lowering the teaching load, increasing funding and shortening the sabbatical cycle.
This change is an effort to better support the faculty, Michelfelder said, by giving them more time to increase their scholarship and proficiency, which they will bring back to the classroom to ultimately benefit students.
"During normal years, teaching takes top priority," said physics professor James Heyman, who was chair of the RPC when the proposal was written.
"Sabbatical leaves allow me to refocus on my research, try to catch up with my field, and also to develop new courses - all things I don't have time to do during normal semesters. I'm learning new techniques which I hope to implement back at Macalester."
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