In the comments section of our newest "how can we help you?" thread, Anon raises an interesting question:
[W]hat if a TT faculty member has multiple interviews and cannot make very important meetings/events on campus one is expected to attend, and must cancel multiple classes for fly outs? I know there has been some discussion about how to handle missing a class here and there, etc., but what if using those strategies will *still* make the person look like the worst colleague ever, given how many times they will have to be used?
I honestly don't know what the answer is. Suppose one gets quite a few fly-outs, and it would require you to miss a fairly sizable number of classes and otherwise mandatory meetings? I was fortunate to never face this issue (despite having a fair number of on-campus visits), as I only had a two-day-per-week teaching schedule and pretty low administrative requirements while I was on the market as a VAP.
What should one do if one finds oneself in other (otherwise enviable!) position this reader describes? I guess I'm inclined to say that if Anon has a good relationship with their department chair, they should let their chair know what the situation is and negotiate a solution that works for the department (either guest lecturers and/or recorded lectures, etc.). On the other hand, if (as may be the case) a candidate doesn't have that kind of trusting relationship with their chair, I'm not entirely sure what they should do.
Do any of you have any helpful tips, particularly those of you who have navigated this issue yourselves?
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