Managing Research and Other Academic Responsibilities at an R1 University
Start Date
November 2025
End Date
November 2025
Keywords
work-life balance, work productivity, teaching, research, R1 university
Abstract
Earlier this year, our NSU community celebrated a great milestone of earning R1 status via the Carnegie ranking standards. While an exciting achievement, the expectation to manage teaching, research, and service responsibilities may be daunting for some faculty, particularly for novice academics and scholars. Some NSU faculty may find themselves sacrificing tasks in their roles as instructors or researchers and this may manifest in varying ways, such as the quality of their assignments, the quality of their instruction, or putting their research agenda on the back burner. In addition, some instructors may hold service responsibilities that are required for their role and/or promotion opportunities. While challenging, when managed successfully, implementing research can serve as beneficial to instructors and community leaders by bridging the gap between research and practice for their prospective fields, as well as engaging students in vital research. Therefore, this presentation encourages NSU academics to reimagine and reauthor their academic roles by reviewing tips and strategies for effectively managing these varying tasks. Our aim is that attendees feel empowered and confident managing expectations related to their teaching, research, and service roles. During this presentation, attendees will create realistic work goals for effectively managing their time within their designated roles and discuss how human connections and interactions may aid in reaching these goals. Effective management of these required roles can help to decrease the risk of stress and burnout as an academia, increase social engagement and connection to other faculty, and increase workload balance and occupational wellness.
Learning Outcomes
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Attendees will learn about relevant literature related to the inability to balance multiple tasks as academics at R1 universities (e.g., burnout in the field, inability to promote higher, and increased risk for leaving the field).
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Attendees will learn tips and strategies for managing their varying roles and responsibilities at an R1 university (e.g., creating blocks of time for writing/research, finding/developing a research group, and developing assignments that take less time to grade).
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Attendees will identify key considerations that are particularly relevant to either their unique position or department’s expectations (i.e., identifying promotion standards; creating check-ins with leadership; self-evaluating your CV/resume; and consideration for negotiating tasks/roles).
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Attendees will create specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely (SMART) goals related to managing their time effectively. Facilitators will assist with this and have attendees who feel comfortable sharing aloud.
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Attendees will review resources that may aid them with ensuring they meet their goals (e.g., the OSP office, NSU grant writing webinars, LEC teaching webinars, LEC 1-on-1 consults, etc.)
Track
Health and Wellbeing
Session Type
50-Minute Session
Managing Research and Other Academic Responsibilities at an R1 University
Earlier this year, our NSU community celebrated a great milestone of earning R1 status via the Carnegie ranking standards. While an exciting achievement, the expectation to manage teaching, research, and service responsibilities may be daunting for some faculty, particularly for novice academics and scholars. Some NSU faculty may find themselves sacrificing tasks in their roles as instructors or researchers and this may manifest in varying ways, such as the quality of their assignments, the quality of their instruction, or putting their research agenda on the back burner. In addition, some instructors may hold service responsibilities that are required for their role and/or promotion opportunities. While challenging, when managed successfully, implementing research can serve as beneficial to instructors and community leaders by bridging the gap between research and practice for their prospective fields, as well as engaging students in vital research. Therefore, this presentation encourages NSU academics to reimagine and reauthor their academic roles by reviewing tips and strategies for effectively managing these varying tasks. Our aim is that attendees feel empowered and confident managing expectations related to their teaching, research, and service roles. During this presentation, attendees will create realistic work goals for effectively managing their time within their designated roles and discuss how human connections and interactions may aid in reaching these goals. Effective management of these required roles can help to decrease the risk of stress and burnout as an academia, increase social engagement and connection to other faculty, and increase workload balance and occupational wellness.