Posted by Gwen Urey on November 18, 200 at 17:18:21:
In Reply to: a right to say no? posted by Deirdre Lashgari on October 16, 200 at 17:18:05:
You do have a right to say no despite the pressure to say yes. I said yes to a lot of things. This is my "yes" strategy:
Will saying yes commit me to activities that help me develop a wider personal and professional network? That is, will it help me make acquaintances with allies in other departments and perhaps off campus?
Can I envision how I will articulate to a broad audience the meaningfulness of this activity (e.g. in an rtp document)? People may suggest you do things because it will "look good on your rtp." But if you can't envision yourself making a claim about the activity in a document that you use to make a case of your worth to others, then....
If I am saying yes with a great deal of reluctance, can I envision how I will back out of it if my worst fears are confirmed? If not, is there something I should do along with saying yes that will make that path more possible should I want to take it?
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As a freshman department chair, I have already experienced senior and junior faculty saying "no." It's okay to get no for an answer, so it must be okay to give it for an answer.
ghu