Servin' 'em up

West High JV Tennis Team practices in the City Park. Hard to believe all of this was underwater two (almost three) years ago. Beaner is in the far, upper left, court so you really can't see her. Anyway, she's climbed the ladder a bit this year and will be looked to for a certain amount of Leadership on the team and the courts. She'll rise to the challenge, I'm sure.

A few weeks ago, my boss formally announced his retirement. Since then I've fielded many questions about my professional fate and aspirations. It would be nice if I could provide a clear-cut answer, but truth be told, it's not that easy.

Simply put, the University of Iowa is a State organization, and therefore I technically work for the tax payers. With that said, typically when there is a job opening like the Director of Executive MBA Programs, the University forms a search committee, and then opens the job up to the entire State. They must consider ALL remotely qualified furlowed State Employees, then will consider other candidates (at large or otherwise).

I imagine there will be interest from a few folks at Iowa State, Northern Iowa, Coe College, Mt. Mercy University, and Kirkwood Community College to name a few; not to mention some of my colleagues here on campus. At the end of the day, this could become a six-eight month process. I suspect there are other streamlined ways this job could be filled, but am not optimistic about those options, because I'm unsure whether I've earned the endorsement of appropriate leadership. So I'll stay focused on those things I can control and wait to see how things unfold.

It'd be a good job, but the hours are long (regular six day weeks - no less than 50 -55 hours), and the pay is substantially less than the private sector. Conversely, working on campus is a luxury to be sure, and our benefits are great. The Dean of the College is also retiring, so there is a leadership void at the top, which also has it's implications... So we'll see. It'll be an interesting to see how things unfold....

On all other fronts, it's the same old Kiddie Chaos. We're thankful that when Beaner is not playing tennis, she can help taxi her siblings to and fro. No speeding tickets yet! And so it goes...