Intervallo
Intervallo
I know that the academic year is approaching its end when I have to start walking farther each morning for my fix of caffeine, the most convenient spot at the tunnel junction having shut down its operation for the summer. That, and the sudden absence of students outside the Dean’s Office at the tables in the lobby of the third floor of Paterson. It seems like only yesterday that we were gearing up for the start of classes … and now it is all going quiet again. Another year has passed, both in the academic and fiscal senses, since of course our budget year also ends on April 30th. From one perspective this brings a certain sense of sadness, but from another I take considerable pleasure from the sense of closure. We made it! Carleton has survived; FASS has survived; I have survived. All of us will live to fight another day … and for that we can all be very grateful.
It has been a year of highs and lows, one which has witnessed the significant triumphs of many FASS colleagues and students, but also the tragic loss of some whose friendship I valued dearly. And on a personal level, going back to the classroom last fall was a definite ‘high’, even though the additional hours almost killed me!
Over the next few weeks the financial planning for the 2012-2013 fiscal year will all be finalized, and all academic units will receive formal notices of their budget allocations. The submission which will go from the VP Finance to the Board of Governors on April 30th will apparently propose a reduction in operating budgets of something just under 1%, which for FASS amounts to some $367,500. This will mean not filling a handful of vacant positions … most assuredly not desirable as an outcome, but certainly much better than initial predictions. And on the plus side there will also be funding for some new initiatives, and thus I can predict with confidence that the coming year will see the development of a direct entry path to the B.A. program in Child Studies, as well as the expansion of African Studies to the Master’s level.
But that’s only the beginning. The Faculty is moving ahead on many fronts, from initiatives in Indigenous Studies and aboriginal languages, to a dramatic expansion of courses taught in non-traditional formats or at non-traditional locations (including Québec City, Greece, and Burkina Faso). Once again we shall be hosting some major national and international conferences, and many dozens of visiting speakers; and our plethora of partnerships with community organizations and national institutions will all remain firmly in place, as will the Faculty’s support for the conference travel and distinguished visitor programs. There is much to which to look forward in the coming months, including expanded physical space for a number of departments, and our new Language Centre.
But for the moment it is time to ease back on the throttle, and shift gears from Ravel’s Bolero to Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune. My advice to all is to get a good rest over the summer. It is important to recharge our batteries. Come September there will be far too much going on to catch much shut-eye!
2 Comments
Dear John,
Thank you for your advice to “get a good rest over the summer”. If only that were possible! While there are fewer students and coffee outlets on campus during the summer it is the busiest time of year for many support staff. An enormous amount of work must be done behind the scenes to launch the forthcoming academic year. Many departments offer summer courses.
Most support staff who take a few weeks leave will face seemingly insurmountable backlogs of work when they return. They will also perform additional duties when their colleagues are away.
The work is unrelenting and exhausting. It is my humble opinion the University is far too under-resourced for anyone I know to “ease back on the throttle” as you suggest during the summer or any other time of the year.
Sincerely,
May Hyde
Undergraduate Administrator
Thanks, May. This comment was of course directed specifically at faculty and students, for whom the rhythms of the year do change appreciably at this time of year, and especially once grades are submitted. Support staff members have their work spread more evenly over the entire 12 months. Yes, the work is unrelenting and exhausting, and the financial realities are such that it will likely get worse before it ever gets better, as seems already to be the situation at other universities across the country where budget cuts are resulting in cuts to both faculty and staff complements. I believe that it takes a very special sort of person to work in this challenging environment, someone who, like you, derives strong personal satisfaction from being part of a university and making an important contribution to its mission. It is not just a “job”, but a “passion”. That said, I hope you too will find some time to take a bit of a breather in the coming months.