Blooper or Freudian Slip?

Names omitted to protect the innocent; otherwise copied verbatim: Dear Dr. Jonathan Sterne: Thank you so much for agreeing to participate in reviewing the tenure and promotion documents of —–. As you know, excellence in research activity is one of the most important areas of evaluation for promotion to the rank of Associate Professor and …

Campus Politics

For some time now, a digest called “IN THE NEWS” appears in my mailbox each morning with news items of interest to people working at McGill (plus, naturally, all the “expert citings” since the university keeps track of that sort of thing).   In today’s digest, two apparently unrelated stories appeared. –A <a href=”http://www.latimes.com/features/books/la-et-stuff4-2008jul04,0,983101.story” target=”_blank>profile</a> …

TA Strike — Finally Over

Wednesday afternoon the TA union officially called off their strike and authorized the bargaining committee to sign the contract.  They did not accept the administration’s back to work protocol, but the protocol isn’t necessary for a return to work.  <a href=”http://www.agsem-aeedem.ca/” target=”_blank”>Full details here.</a>  Although I got a long letter from the provost last night, …

Grad Students: Record Your Meetings With Your Profs

I know the headline sound paranoid, but it’s not. Just think about it. You’ve written a chapter of your dissertation, a seminar paper, whatever. You go in and meet with your prof for an hour or more and have a great discussion about it. You take some notes. You’re excited. You get busy. You leave …