something along the lines of, "I understand C and M's situation, and I'm sympathetic to their position. They are both valuable to the university, but right now, due to budget constraints, there isn't anything to be done. Once the department budgets are finalized next month, we can revisit this topic." And of course, all of this was filtered through Dr. Nice Guy, so who knows what she actually said other than, "Um, no, not now. No money. Tell C to have a great trip to Chicago. Get back in touch when one of them has an offer we can take seriously." Dr. Nice Guy urged C to talk to him again if he gets an offer. My lovely husband is pissed, PISSED. He read the email from Dr. Nice Guy and said, "F*** them. Now we're playing hardball."
C is an incredibly easy-going man. It takes a lot to get him angry--a lot. But when he feels like he's being screwed or when he feels like I'm being screwed, you really want to get out of his way. So he's gone from not wanting to go to the interview to wanting to rock the interview and get the job. In fact, in his mind, we've already moved. Me, I don't know. I expected this response, but I made the mistake of hoping. So I'm feeling demoralized all over again.
And for the record, Dr. Nice Guy, who has become a family friend, handled it badly. He emailed C this news while C was teaching and then, knowing C wouldn't have had a chance to check his email, stopped by C's office as soon as C had gotten out of class to discuss another departmental issue. He never once mentioned his meeting with the dean; instead, he let C read about it as soon as he left C's office. I understand he wanted to avoid confrontation, but given that they go out for beers on a semi-regular basis and our families spend time together on the weekends, I know this hurt C.
I did get some good news on Friday. Dr. Feminist has asked me to teach the intro Women's Studies course over the summer, which is great. This means I'll have an income over the summer, and I get to teach something new. I also feel like it is a test of sorts. So maybe if I do well with this course, I'll have more leverage. . . Who knows? Here's hoping next year's job list looks better than this year's. . . Now to get that article published.
6 comments:
Oh dear! I'm sorry that nothing comes of it and that C became so angry with the whole situation. :-(
I'll be rooting for him and his interview.
And I understand why you're feeling demoralized again, but you need to think positively and blame it all (mostly the failed job search) on the bad economy, because it really is the main reason why things are so crappy for us academics right now. :-(
(well, that and the fact that the humanities are being cut right and left)
Please forgive me if I missed something.. but, did the Dean promise a position for you as a means for getting C? If so, I can see why C is pissed. If not, then I can see why he's upset at the way Dr. Nice Guy handled things, but angry at the Dean?
Really, y'all are like many (perhaps most) academic couples. Hubby and I did three long-distance years before concluding that, since I have tenure, he should go to law school.
I hope he kicks butt at his other interview(s). I'd love to see him demand a position for you in order to get him --
ITPF, no, there was never any promise, at least not from this Dean. And, I totally agree with you. We're in a position similar to many academic couples, and we're very lucky that CU continues to offer me part-time employment. And, as frustrated as I am by the situation, I am very thankful for that. C's frustration stems a lot from things he was told when he initially offered the position. He was very honest about me and about our desire to have an appointment for me at some point--in fact, I think he was too honest, initially. The then-Dean and Dr. Nice Guy assured him, based on looking at my CV and reading my dissertation abstract, "that something could be done in the short term and the long term" (this was almost 2 years ago, but I'm fairly certain of the wording). Dr. Nice Guy told C lots of anecdotes about partner placement and specifically said that I would likely get a position without either one of us having to go on the market. At the time, I was skeptical, but C believed it. It turns out I was right to be skeptical, so while C is well aware of the situation in academia, he is somewhat frustrated that he was one thing only to quickly learn that what he was told was, in fact, entirely inaccurate.
There are also other issues, specifically budgetary issues and other examples of partner placement, within CU that have some bearing on our situation that are frustrating, but that I can't really blog about.
As for me, I expected this response, totally. CU has got me teaching in 3 departments, so why would they want to give me a t-t position in which I'd only teach in 1 or at the most 2? And they're currently paying me a fraction of what they'd pay me if I was t-t. It is a bit of a no-brainer from that angle.
Hubby believed anecdotal stuff at the beginning of his time in Red State-- he both saw and was told stories of spousal placements etc.. all of it turned out to be smoke and mirrors -- and an in-department spousal team ended up to work against him...
Maybe if C gets an offer, they could turn your 3 part-time positions into a better paid and shared permanent appointment? It wouldn't be a bad bargaining move.
The three years I spent driving from here to Red State made me wonder if another philosopher or political scientist was making the reverse commute... for love :). So, I have some kind of utopian vision of a huge job swap -- so that all the academic couples can work and live in the same city...
I wish you all the best of luck.
The hope is that if C gets an offer CU will then offer me what is called a term-appointment, which is equivalent to a visiting prof position. We're trying to be realistic about this. We know the university isn't going to offer a full out t-t position right now--CU has responded very conservatively to the economic downturn even though it is one of a few universities in Canada that is still operating in the black. But with that sort of offer, I'd be in a position to negotiate when the position could become t-t. I'd likely still be teaching a 3-3 (which is fine with me), but I'd also be able to apply for university research and curriculum grants.
And thanks for the good wishes. For what it's worth, I'm so glad for you and your husband that after 3 years community you're now in the same city. C and I did that for 3 years before we were married--only we weren't driving distance. It was hard enough to be engaged living across the country from each other; I can only imagine how hard it is to be married and doing the same thing. We're definitely hoping to avoid that.
The Women's studies class sounds like fun!
Husband and I both agree that if one of us landed a permanent, good position, the other would do something that allows us to still live together. Kudos to you all for living separate but that would ruin us if it were for any length of time.
No matter what, I hope C rocks out the interviews because above all, it's good experience. My dad deliberately goes on interviews every few years to stay fresh (he has to prep, keep up on trends and questions etc) as well as remind his employer that other people want him too. (Dad doesn't work in a field where he can get a tenure equivalent.)
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