Which button do I push to have someone else do my work for me while I'm on vacation? I have been back a week now. Despite reading and responding to email while I was away, I just finished addressing all of the emails. I spent the weekend catching up. I wasn't able to catch up last week, and it appears there won't be time to catch up on anything this week. In the meantime, Mark Bell seems committed to reminding me how much fun it was to see dogs enjoying the beaches in Australia.

Bella enjoys the beach in northern CA

Today's a relatively normal day, full of hour-long meetings. Tomorrow starts the same, but I meet with the Academic Assembly Council for a block of time midday. Traditionally the approach to that meeting is to discuss concerns voiced by assembly members; tomorrow looks to be the same. On Wednesday the Peer Review Committee and the AAC-Personnel Committee meet. I have an hour or so to talk with them about the upcoming process despite the current year outcomes remaining incomplete for a few cases.

Over the weekend I blocked out some time in March to review dossiers. I can't believe I am already thinking about where I will find 200 hours for my part in the 2020 merit and promotion process. We need something that is far less time consuming and with better outcomes for all. The other, related activity I did over the weekend was to review and assess a promotion package for another institution. I still have one left to do next weekend before wrapping these up for the year. I suspect more requests may appear over the next couple of weeks. It is up to me to say 'no' if I don't feel I have the time or don't want to take the time away from personal time. I do these reviews during non-UCANR time and with seven total this summer, I think I've done my share. I am glad I reviewed the one that I did this weekend; it was perhaps the best-assembled document I have read in a long time. It was 34 pages and focused on the program impact highlights with supporting evidence. Included were only vital activities that supported impact statements and provided proof of recognized scholarship. I have no doubt it took considerable time and effort to assemble the document. Time spent was reflective of the need to convey program trajectory and reflect on program accomplishments, rather than compile tables and address formatting. For privacy reasons, I can't share the document with the meeting participants on Wednesday. I can discuss the approach; it mirrors an example document I assembled quickly for Wednesday's discussion.

I look forward to the conversation and the possibility of de-stressing the document assembly and review process.