Doing It All When Your Children Are Small: A Support Group for Faculty Parents
Attention, faculty parents! The demands of parenthood can be overwhelming and the pandemic has only intensified these challenges. Faculty parents are not only teaching courses, trying to write and conduct research, but also caring for and schooling their children. Do you sometimes feel as though you’ll never sleep again, let alone have a clear intellectual thought? Does publishing seem like a pipe dream? You are not alone.
In Winter 2025, we will host two drop-in Zoom support group meetings at various days to accommodate faculty parent schedules. Meet and connect with other faculty as we share ideas and strategies for engaging in research and writing while parenting. Please feel free to join these web meetings at any time between 12-1pm and for as little or as long as you like. The meetings are open to UC Davis and UC Irvine faculty parents.
All parents are welcome, as are their children!
Winter 2025 Schedule
Thursday, January 23, 2025, 12-1pm
"NEED MORE SLEEP? HOW TO GET MORE BY HELPING YOUR CHILD SLEEP THROUGH THE NIGHT"
Is your child resisting sleep? Is s/he waking up at certain hours of the night? Does s/he insist on climbing into your bed in the middle of the night, disrupting your sleep? Are you exhausted from lack of sleep? If your response is 'yes' to any of these questions, please join us to hear Rachel Biale, MSW talk about practical ways to help your child sleep through the night in their own bed. We will open up for your questions after Rachel offers practical solutions to these problems.
Rachel Biale, MSW Counseling parents of young children for over 35 years and a sleep specialist for young children https://www.rachelbiale.com/parenting-counseling
Monday, February 24, 2025, 12-1pm
NAVIGATING UNCERTAINTY: FACULTY PARENTING in TURBULENT TIMES
Balancing the demands of academia and parenting is already a challenge—but in today’s political climate, faculty parents are grappling with added stressors: changes in research funding, student concerns over immigration policies, curriculum restrictions, and broader fears about the future of education and society. This session offers a space to discuss how these political shifts impact our work and families, how to support our students and children, and how to carve out time for stability and self-care in uncertain times. We will be joined by two UCDavis professors in STEM fields who are Work-Life Advisors.
Rebecca M. Calisi Rodríguez is an Associate Professor specializing in neuroendocrinology and animal behavior. Her research and advocacy fuse science and parenting. Professor Michael Hill is a Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Professor Diane Wolf will convene the meeting.
The convener of the Faculty Parent Support Group, Professor Emerita Diane Wolf, is also available for one-on-one confidential consultations to fit your schedule, including faculty parent of all school-age children. Please contact her directly via email at dlwolf@ucdavis.edu.
For additional information and all other inquiries, please contact Diane Wolf, dlwolf@ucdavis.edu, or Brad Horton, Program Coordinator for Faculty Relations and Development, bhorton@ucdavis.edu.