Finally surfacing

I'm not done with everything - guess I never will be - but this project is at a stage of completion.

For my "real" job, I am the assistant to one of the professors. We have a major program where we are partnered with another University. According to our grant, we are committed to holding a summit each year with both University's faculty and students. The original date was September, so I planned meals, activities, agendas, etc. They ended up not being able to make it because plane fares exceeded budget. So, we re-planned it for November. Re-did planning and they made it to the airport but weather here canceled their flight. So, we held a "virtual" summit as a teleconference and started plans for a third attempt at a face-to-face summit. That happened this week. At least its done. I don't know that I could plan it again.

One of my struggles is that I am professional staff. I have a Master's but not a PhD. As a result, it's harder to convince faculty to take me seriously. And, as hard as it is to get our faculty to take me seriously, it's even harder to convince faculty who have never met me and see the word "administrative" in my title and assume that I am more clerical help to take me seriously.

This summit has done a bit to allow the faculty from our partner university to see that I have a larger role.

I've also learned how little our faculty listen to me. They were great at criticizing things but not with full facts. And, as they are apt to do, they were more than willing to say that we should "do" more completely ignoring the fact that they don't have "time" to do it.

So, I feel a little less motivated to work (not good) and trying to figure out HOW to get my message heard much in the same way I need to find what will motivate my students.

Maybe someday I'll figure it out. Or, maybe I should just take the opening the Graduate School Dean gave me last night when she said she would love to have me working for her.

If I didn't like the guarantee flexibility my current job gives me I might consider it.

Now, I just have to organize the notes, type the minutes, pay the bills, etc and finish my grading before next Thurs. But today, I'm taking the day off! except the 9:30 meeting I've been roped into.