New Resources on Work-life Balance

A friend recently brought this new resource to my attention: the national clearinghouse on academic worklife. It is designed as a location for information, articles and research on work life balance.

"The National Clearinghouse on Academic Worklife combines into a single
website information resources and community discussions to support those
who study or participate in academic work: faculty, administrators,
graduate students in the pipeline, staff.

Up to date articles, policy examples, and discussions are available on
topics ranging from family-friendly benefits, tenure attainment, and
faculty satisfaction to policy development, productivity, and
demographics.
This one-stop website was developed at the University of Michigan Center

for the Education of Women through a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan
Foundation."

On another note, I am back from my first of several trips. It went well. My talk was well-received and several people commented on how comprehensible it was. A few years ago, I changed my tactics for giving talks. I now make them extremely visual, with very few words (try to limit to less than 10/page). I use powerpoint, but not the templates, and I try to label all graphs directly above the line or bar rather than in a legend. Also, I envision my audience as 1st year grad students. I see my talk as more of an opportunity to educate other scientifically inclined individuals about my research, more like a class, than as an opportunity to demonstrate my superior intellect. This approach has really revolutionized my speaking.

After the talk I went to my sister's defense and am happy to report that we now have two Drs in our family. It was really fabulous to see her defend and I finally enjoyed a defense party (since I was hugely pregnant during my own).

I got back this morning, just in time to teach my class. I won't see the kids til tonight, but I miss them.