June 9, 2020 Update from the Vice President and Dean

[Agriculture, Life and Veterinary Sciences, and Cooperative Extension Weekly Bulletin]

Colleagues,

Thank you all for your responses to the survey Jean McLain distributed last week regarding childcare needs. She received 411 responses and I look forward to seeing her report and sharing it with the provost.

You've told me about how child care and other family caretaking responsibilities continue to be an increased burden. Many day care facilities are still closed and only slowly resuming operations. There is a lot of uncertainty about how schools will operate this fall and how to balance this not-yet-measurable added workload with your professional lives. Families may be more reluctant than before to have aging or disabled family members in nursing homes or other institutional settings. This is of greatest anguish for early-career faculty who are more often the parents caring for small children with the greatest needs.

I worry about the inequitable burden these responsibilities carry on women in our society and how this impacts their careers. While I know that in some cases our male faculty may also be experiencing this burden, the data is conclusive that across academia women are unequally negatively affected, just as they are also more likely to be primary caregivers in their families. I know you share my concerns and that we must work together if we are ever to find a way to address them in our workplace, in higher education, and in the larger world.

This week, I will also be trying to take some vacation hours. This is my second time of trying and I was unsuccessful the last time and paid the costs. I encourage all of you also to do what you can to make the time you can to rest, recharge and refresh yourselves for our long journey ahead together.

Regards,
Shane





Shane C. Burgess
Vice President for Agriculture, Life and Veterinary Sciences, and Cooperative Extension
Charles-Sander Dean of the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

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The University of Arizona is located statewide on the ancestral homelands of indigenous peoples.
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