We observe that increased interactions between faculty, students, and industrial researchers enrich the student educational experience. These interactions develop a more diverse and inclusive workforce. Our observations indicate more direct, varied, and intentional approaches to academic-industry interactions build stronger partnerships. In this…

A focus on faculty professional learning, given the challenges that California community colleges and students face, must remain a high priority and continue to evolve. The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) has long been an advocate for the development of robust professional development policies as part of senate purview…

Precious moments in life for an educator are taking time to reflect upon his or her teaching practices to evaluate effectiveness and overall impact. Often this reflection is a weekly if not a daily process for educators using a reflective practitioner model (SchÖn, 1983). For professors, many universities have opportunities for tenured faculty to…

The essence of being a faculty member is to be a scholar. And, the work of a scholar is to think. However, the demands of academic life correlated with mid-career concerns can form a distraction away from this essential activity. As such, the goal of this essay is to discuss matters of professional development for tenured business professors at…

The Rostrum is a quarterly publication of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Effective Participation in Governance: Policies and Practices (Julie Bruno); (2) TOP Code Alignment Project and Impacts on Local Coding (Craig Rutan); (3) Focus on Transfer: ADTs, UCTP Degrees, and…

The purpose of this literature review is to examine the differences in the use of sabbatical leave among the arenas of general higher education, industry, and professional-technical/community college. The purposes and policies applied to sabbatical leave, along with the cost of using sabbatical leave in these three environments are compared and…

In this article, the author shares his experience while doing research in Beersheba, Israel. His experience has taught him some unexpected lessons. One lesson he learned, when venturing to another floor within the university while the sirens go off, is to locate the nearest bomb shelter (each floor of the building has its own shelter.) One should…

A community college librarian from Southern California describes her semester-length sabbatical on the Pacific island territory of New Caledonia, and how the professional, cultural, and language experiences changed her outlook about her job back home. Working at a local library on several projects organizing and processing special collections of…

In 2007, the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges adopted the paper "Sabbaticals: Benefiting Faculty, The Institution, and Students." Based in part on survey results, it reiterated the fundamental value of the sabbatical leave concept, but uncovered wide disparities in implementation among California's community colleges.…

Discusses how the first author left his comfortable position at the university to teach high school full-time and how the second author left home to live the writer's life in New Orleans' French Quarter. Describes how they decided to pursue their respective projects, what a typical day was like, and what they learned. Addresses questions that have…

The use of sabbaticals as a means to improve employee motivation and morale is growing rapidly as companies seek ways to retain their star performers and fight the effects of job burnout. In this article, the authors examine the various forms of sabbaticals in diverse industries, the reasons for their use, and the relevant benefits and concerns…

Discusses problems besetting faculty sabbatical programs in an age of general financial cutbacks. Suggests various types of faculty exchange programs as a means of substituting for the cutback in sabbaticals. (Author/DB)

On current projections in could take thirty years for women to be equally represented in the academic workplace. Traditional methods of mentoring by senior staff often seem relics of an earlier era, but here a group of more junior academics reflect on the success of a peer-mentoring exercise which helped transform their first experience of…

National Faculty Exchange, and organization that helps faculty members "get away" by teaching at another college, is described. The organization was established by a small group of colleges and universities that were looking for ways to renew their faculty. (MLW)

Many universities seeking to upgrade their faculties are willing to offer educational assistance scholarships, loans, and grants to current faculty. This permits a university to retain and upgrade desirable faculty while encouraging them to increase their academic credentials. Ways to minimize the tax consequences are explored.(MLW)