Recharge Your Professional And Personal Activities Through An International Sabbatical

Faculty careers are very demanding. The first six years we focus on activities related to tenure and promotion. Faculty are busy developing course notes, getting research programs growing, supervising graduate students, writing papers and proposals, and many other activities. After tenure, faculty members set their goal on a new prize – full professor. This has its own set of activities that can take up 50 to 60 hours a week or more. Faculty are often so busy putting out short-term professional fires that they lack time or energy for long term activities, strategic planning, advanced goal setting or reflection. Sometimes along the way faculty start to feel burned out and need a change to help them regain their enthusiasm for their chosen career. A sabbatical provides an excellent opportunity for a faculty member to re-evaluate their professional and personal goals around their career. This paper will provide overview of one faculty member’s experience with an international sabbatical. The first part will discuss options related to planning for sabbatical, what do you need to do and when to make it happen. This part will discuss some of the questions you should ask at your university because each university has its own policies and procedures. The second part will discuss how to make arrangements for a sabbatical where you will be away from campus for a prolonged time. Suggestions on housing, transportation, must haves and other useful tips will be discussed. Hints on keeping your home research program going will be described. The last section will discuss making the most of your sabbatical and finding ways to leverage your sabbatical for future professional opportunities.