Here’s what I did on Monday, March 20, 2006:

 

I arrived at 10:30 a.m. My official office hours are 1:45 to 2:45 p.m., but students came by throughout the day. Two students wanted to talk about summer internships (I supervise internships for the department). Another wanted to talk about the research paper for my class in media history. Others just dropped by just to say hello.

 

First task of the morning: I posted a sign-up sheet for students to come in and discuss their class schedules for the fall semester. I then handled 15 email and two voice mail messages from students and faculty. The director of the Master of Liberal Arts program asked if I would teach a new course. Another email reminded me of the board meeting on Wednesday of the Asheville Area Arts Council (I’m on its executive committee).

 

I spent the rest of the morning preparing a proposal for submission to the Academic Policies Committee. The proposal, which would allow a faculty member to withdraw a disruptive student from class, is the product of a 10-person task force that I chaired.

 

At noon, I lunched in my office while reading a newspaper and preparing a quiz on the drama reviews in the paper. Students in my Opinion Writing course are reviewing a play this week. I looked over my notes on drama reviewing, deciding what to address in class that afternoon. Then I returned to writing the proposal, which I finished and emailed just before class at 2:45 p.m.

 

I walked over to the classroom with one of the students, a member of student government who told me about his meeting with an administrator. At the classroom door, I ran into the director of the MLA and briefly discussed the course she wants me to teach.

 

In class, we talked about the ethics of theatrical reviewing. I asked the class: Is it fair to judge a student production by Broadway standards? A lively discussion ensued. Also, I explained the problems a director faces with a theater in the round. I walked back from class with another student who talked about his experiences at a recent convention of student journalists.

 

By then it was 4:20 p.m. I ran to a restaurant to grab a hamburger and was back in my office at 5 p.m. I then graded columns from the Opinion Writing class until 5:50 p.m. Then I went to my graduate class, where the students are planning their final research projects. I again ran into the director of the MLA and we agreed to meet over the weekend to talk about the new course.

 

The class ran from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., and I collected a set of rough drafts. After class I talked with two students about proposals they are submitting to the Graduate Council. I left campus at 9 p.m., thinking about my media history class for the next day.