Planning Your Sabbatical Leaves Carla Schlatter Ellis Duke

Planning Your Sabbatical Leaves Carla Schlatter Ellis Duke University

My Story n n n To Duke as Associate Professor, 1986 Sabbatical #1 – 1991, Stay-at-home Sabbatical #2 – 1997 -98, Seattle WA n n Promoted to Full Professor while there*. Sabbatical #3 – 2006, Stay-at-home *Absence does make the heart grow fonder

Stay-at-home Sabbaticals n n Why choose to stay home? Family complications n Sabbatical #1 – 1991 n n Son, 8 years old Husband John n Faculty at Duke, but not on leave Diagnosed with cancer Sabbatical #3 – 2006 n n Husband Rick, retired; Son is at college 2 new puppies to train

Stay-at-home Sabbaticals n Making it work: Sabbatical #1 – 1991 n Not successful n Went into the office (WRONG!) n I didn’t know how to say “no” n 3 Ph. D. students in thesis mode (needed attention)

Stay-at-home Sabbaticals n Making it work: Sabbatical #3 – 2006 n Successful (so far) n n n Freedom to travel & using it Staying out of the office! I’ve learned to say “no” (it’s about time!) New projects / directions 3 Ph. D. students are also remote (for their own personal reasons -- not planned that way)

Sabbatical Away n n Why and why not? Sabbatical #2 – 1997 -98, Seattle WA n n Son (age 14): “You are going to ruin my social life. ” Lots of overhead – whose job to arrange? n n n n Housing there, house at home Spouse’s job, son’s schools Constraints of taking 2 dogs Packing for a year (who thinks about tax records in July? ) Had just graduated 3 Ph. D. students In serious need of a change Great place & great people invited me to come.

Sabbatical Away n Making it work: n Be open to new directions, unexpected collaborations n n n Involve yourself in the host institution n Don’t stick to the original research plan just because you made one Don’t expect too much from your host Make yourself available to students Participate in events Be a tourist & pay attention to family

Sabbatical Away n Coming back: n The Monday morning of your career n n Lots of overhead in returning n n n Don’t be hard on yourself Reversing all those logistics of going Give yourself time to do it Re-entry at work n n In some ways, you are starting over Recruit some new students ($ cohort of students you will never really know) Revive your research group Get assigned to teach a grad course (ideally a topics course: What I did on my sabbatical)

Experiences of Others n An Industry Sabbatical: ½ year at IBM n Why IBM? – it is almost local n n Industry issues n n n Husband could not leave for the full year Local apartment 2 -3 nights; 2 hour commute home. Leveraged an existing collaboration (she suggested visit). Legal agreement: all intellectual property generated there belonged to IBM Financial arrangement: Paid by host, then it’s a 2 nd job Recommendation: Maintain as much flexibility as possible; beholden as little as possible to host

Experiences of Others n A ½-year Sabbatical Away: UW in Seattle n Why UW? n n n Logistics – huge overhead for only 6 months n n They invited – new spacious building with room for visitors; Great people Seattle was attractive location Family went along (husband on leave from work, dog, cat) She did all arrangements Recommendation: amortize overhead – go a full year. Greatest benefits of sabbatical n n Switching gears & getting away Stepping back & enjoying life (lasting effect)

Experiences of Others n A Foreign Sabbatical: Full-year in Sweden n Long-standing professional acquaintances (not previously collaborators). He asked them. Deal: no financial obligations, just office & invitation letter to get visa Logistics – complicated! n n n Family – spouse quit job, 2 kids in school (find appropriate schools, language issue) Division of labor: He did housing arrangements in Sweden; She did arrangements at home. Benefits: enjoying lots of travel around Europe.

Summary n n Many women defer sabbaticals because of family considerations. Don’t do it! At least do a stay-at-home. Know what your institution offers n n How often are you eligible? Other kinds of leaves possible to exploit? (e. g. , Duke has a leave specifically for Associate Professors who have been delayed for promotion)

Summary n Be proactive in approaching potential hosts n n n Examples were ½ by host and ½ by visitor The logistics look daunting. Go away long enough to amortize the work. Have realistic expectations (for everyone), let yourself refresh, & have fun.