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Dear Faculty Relations –ÌýI am a junior faculty member on the tenure track. I will be coming up forÌýtenureÌýin three years. My department is attentive to spreading service assignments equitably among all faculty members; however, this year's service assignments are especially time-intensive. I have also agreed to serve on college-level committees and on committees for professional associations, which also require significant investments of my time. While I am committed to the goals of these service assignments and want to continue to do well as a teacher, I am concerned that this heavy service load, in conjunction with my teaching, will take time away from my research activities as I move closer to tenure. What should I do? – Service Scholar

Dear Service Scholar –ÌýFirst, thank you for your service. As you know, service is an important component of the responsibilities of tenure-track professors and essential to the university mission; however, too much service work can take time away from research activities that are critical to advancing to the next stage in your career. It would be advisable to schedule a meeting with your department chair to discuss your concerns about the impact of your service assignments on your research productivity and determine a path forward. In this meeting, you can also share your service responsibilities outside of the department and ask whether that work might be considered when assigning service roles in the future. It would also be good to ask for clear guidance on the service work to understand the goal you are working toward and adjust your efforts accordingly. In the future, before accepting additional service assignments, it would be beneficial to reach out to trusted mentors and colleagues who can help you decide which service assignments are worth your time at this critical stage in your career. To find a senior mentor outside your department to advise you on these issues, you could also sign up for the ACUMen mentoring program. Hopefully, going forward, these efforts will pay off by making your service work and research activities as productive as possible.

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Written by Francisca Antman, PhD, Faculty Director for Early-Career Faculty, Office of Faculty Affairs; Associate Professor of Economics, ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ, November 2021