11/9/2010
With the onset of the 2010 fall semester at colleges and universities across the nation, professors are faced with packed schedules, the need to “publish or perish,” student inquiries, and so much more.
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With the onset of the 2010 fall semester at colleges and universities across the nation, professors are faced with packed schedules, the need to “publish or perish,” student inquiries, and so much more.
In her new book, The Joyful Professor: How to Shift From Surviving to Thriving in the Faculty Life, Barbara Minsker, professor of civil and environmental engineering (CEE) and Associate Provost Fellow, provides simple-to-follow guidelines for setting fellow academics up for success, rather than stress.
“All around me, I see colleagues struggling to balance their work, their research, their projects, and their family life, and still attempting to find some time to relax and take care of themselves,” says Minsker. “I was thinking of them when I wrote this book. I’m already working on my next one for academic leaders.”
Minsker also recently founded a non-profit organization, Joyful U Inc., whose mission is to help people define and achieve their life vision and legacy. Joyful U is offering a bi-annual series of Joyful Professor retreats, beginning in June 2011 in Boulder, Colo. The retreats are 3-day, hands-on sessions that combine visioning and planning with time for reflection and relaxation. The retreats and more intensive single day workshops were developed in collaboration with the Center for Training and Professional Development at the University of Illinois.
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Contact: Barbara S. Minsker, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 217/265-5293.
Writer: Celeste Arbogast Bragorgos, director of communications, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 217/333-6955.
If you have any questions about the College of Engineering, or other story ideas, contact Rick Kubetz, Engineering Communications Office, 217/244-7716, editor.