Description
This is Episode #11 of the A-KID-EMIA podcast, the home for parent-scholars looking to balance personal and professional goals. This is the second of an eight-part monthly series generously funded by the American Philosophical Association.
Today, we welcome Suzanne Ouyang and Rachel Schroder. Suzanne is the Associate Director of Special Projects for Professor Tyler VanderWeele, who leads the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University; Rachel is the Executive Assistant to Catherine Pakaluk, Associate Professor of economics at Catholic University of America and Director of the Institute for Human Ecology.
In this episode, Suzanne and Rachel enumerate the academic responsibilities a professor could delegate, and how to find the right person for the job. Looking at all of a professor’s duties, they share how they’ve helped improve the productivity of Professors, Directors, and Deans at several different institutions. From grant applications and syllabi updates, to letters of recommendation and journal submissions, Suzanne and Rachel tell us how academic support on each front generates better work-life balance overall.
Chapters
0:00-3:10 - Introduction
3:11-5:01 - A general list of delegable tasks
5:02-10:37 - Conference hosting and presentation
10:38-15:14 - How long it takes to feel comfortable fully delegating
16:36-19:35 - Scheduling
19:36-21:49 - Conference and meeting attendance/minutes
21:50-22:40 - Meeting action-item follow-up (and other unpleasantries)
22:41-28:13 - Grant application support
28:14-30:34 - Locating new funding sources
30:35-32:55 - Balancing budgets
32:56-40:44 - Job searches/grant and program hiring
40:45-48:22 - Integrating the personal with the professional to improve work-life balance and regularize rest
48:23-53:17- Research assistance
53:18-55:24 - Manuscript submissions
55:25-58:37 - Streamlining teaching logistics
58:38-1:03:02 - Email management & standardizing invitation queries
1:03:03-1:07:02 - Whether assistants should be remote or in-person
1:07:03-1:10:21 - Letters of recommendation
1:10:22-1:11:48 - Committee work assistance
1:11:49-1:13:16 - Things to look for when hiring an assistant
