Wednesday, November 28, 2012

I'm Baffled That I Got Promoted.

Well, just a little. I've done my time, done my work. I'm liked, but not well-liked, if you get me.

But today I got the promotion and heard about the money bump. I have a new title. My clothes are still shitty.

My students, too.

22 comments:

  1. Congrats, Hiram. No, the students don't get any better but you can care less about them.

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  2. Hiram you are awesome. I'm sure your clothes are awesome, too.

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  3. Yay Hiram! Congratulations! And we like you, so screw the rest of them.

    Not literally, of course.

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  4. That's great, Hiram! Is your raise like mine? I got a $18/month raise the last time I was promoted. It really made a difference in my lifestyle.

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  5. Congratulations, Hiram.
    Enjoy the bafflement.

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  6. Congrats, Harlan! You don't need to be well liked to be promoted in academia. It's much more important to be well respected. So go buy some new clothes with your raise, they're a lot cheaper than good students.

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  7. Woooohooo! We shall raise a glass of bourbon in your honor today. Congrats!

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    1. Yep. I've got a new bottle of a Kentucky brand. I'll try to remember Hiram when I open it.

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  8. I hoist a glass to you Hiram, without a trace of bafflement.

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  9. Congratulations, Hiram. I am not baffled--you seem to have your head on straight. Mostly.

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  10. Congratulations, Hiram! I'm sure it's well deserved.

    As far as I'm concerned, being able to wear shitty clothes is one of the privileges of seniority. I once said something along these lines to one of my undergrad professors (a young, well-dressed, untenured, male one), in reference to another professor (a middle-aged, not-so-well-dressed, deservedly famous female full professor) and got a look of complete incomprehension. I'm not sure whether the incomprehension stemmed from (a) his own concern with -- and pleasure in -- appearance, and his assumption that everyone cared about such things, or (b) the idea that women are supposed to care about such things. Since he was pretty gender-egalitarian, I think it was mostly (a). I don't think he "got" the pleasures of male frumpery -- the traditional tweedily threadbare professor -- either. But it was probably doubly confusing to hear a young female actually aspiring to that mode, or at least voicing the thought that it would be relaxing (I also wouldn't mind wearing academic robes, at least not if they were made of a breathable fabric, climate control was in place, and nobody expected me to keep the darn thing unwrinkled, more than minimally clean and mended, etc. There's something to be said for uniforms; one doesn't have to think about them.)

    I also received a new title, which I'm told is a promotion, recently, but, given the fact that no raise or new duties or tenure or anything like that is involved, I'm not at all sure what to make of it. I'm told it communicates "recognition of my work," and I suppose I appreciate that , but what I really want is a salary commensurate with the salaries of colleagues with similar education and experience. I'd settle for one that matches the salary of a TT professor straight out of grad school. The fact that mine is still so far below that level is dispiriting, and, honestly, to the extent I care about comparisons (which I usually don't), a bit humiliating.

    Sorry; didn't mean to hijack the thread and wander off in a rather dark direction. I'm keenly aware that we non-TT types benefit when people who genuinely care about both teaching and upholding standards gain greater status in the academy, and, for that reason, I genuinely celebrate your promotion, Hiram. Again, congratulations!

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  11. <>

    "You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life." Winston Churchill

    Such as the high standards that prevent one from becoming a popular professor.

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    1. At the tech school where I used to teach, I was told during my initial in-service sessions that standards are "elitist". Later, when I was suffering through a team-building course, I brought up the issue of standards and was told by the instructor that I was to cater to the "needs and expectations" of my "customers".

      With that sort of thinking being prevalent, it's a wonder I kept my marbles during the years I was there.

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  12. That was supposed to begin with your quotation: "I'm liked, but not well-liked, if you get me."

    Congratulations, Hiram!

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  13. Now that you are earning more money, you can afford to buy better beer. I recommend Great Lakes Brewery.

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