Re-energizing

The University grants its faculty who are appointed to administrative posts a special type of leave, the so-called "re-energizing leave," recognizing the hectic schedules administrators usually have. It is practically a juggling act as administrator are still members of faculty and most have teaching loads despite the misleading load credits assigned to each for his/her admin post. In my case, being director of a center engaged in research and extension work I am given 6 units of admin load. Since the standard is 12 units of load (most if not all being teaching credits if the faculty member has no other appointments), I can teach a couple of subjects during the semester to get 6 more units. This practically deprives me of having research load credits despite The reason for this is what seems to be a general rule wherein overload credits are not allowed due to the costs (overload pay) borne by the university for something that could already be compensated by honoraria or similar fees incorporated in the budgets of research projects. Still, I would like to think that being a faculty member at a university such as UP should require that person to do research work and publish and/or present his/her results in reputable venues. And to encourage this, the person should be given incentives even in the form of a unit or two in recognition of such efforts for research.

Perhaps there should be a "burn-out" leave, too, considering many faculty members who are quite serious about their jobs as teachers at the university have to work so many hours to earn a decent income. Of course, there are those from the professional colleges who have sidelines or consultancies on the side that may be more financially rewarding than their university jobs. But many of these people, too, take their teaching and research quite seriously and often sacrifice projects for their commitments to the university. It is not surprising that given the hectic schedules, the various pressures and the ever-changing characters of students, certain faculty members might already be experiencing burn-out without them knowing it. It is a silent agent much like strokes and heart ailments whose manifestations are quite similar to other illnesses thus leading to misdiagnosis.

For now, I take the re-energizing leave that I am granted by the university. It is something that I have looked forward to after all these months - a welcome change in environment from the toxic one that is no different from a rat race (to use a term a good friend employed years back before deciding to migrate to the US to join his wife and family). Unfortunately, for rat races, the winner still emerges as a rat! This re-energizing leave should serve as detoxification and hopefully provide enough for the homestretch before my sabbatical next year. I can already see the smile on the face of the Clairvoyant as she reads through this.