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 Spring 2024, we will host three 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. Additionally, starting this Fall 2023 quarter, we are partnering with UC Irvine on a pilot basis and have invited faculty parents from UC Irvine to join us at these sessions. 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!
Spring 2024 Schedule
- Thursday, April 11, 12-1pm - Thinking Strategically at Work as a Parent
Professor Kathryn Russ is Professor and Chair of Economics at UC Davis. One of her recent projects focused on the effects of globalization and markets on trade in the transnational baby food industry, including infant formula. Join us to hear her tips about how to maneuver in the academic system and how/when to advocate for yourself as a faculty parent. Professor Nina Bandelj is Professor of Sociology and Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Development at UC Irvine and will speak about campus resources for faculty parents. This session is geared toward faculty parents of both younger and older school-age children. - Wednesday, May 15, 12-1pm - "Good Enough” Parenting
The ideology of motherhood in the United States is such that mothers consistently feel they are parenting incorrectly and that there exists a “right” way to bring up children. This myth causes anxiety about how we parent which is increasingly intensified by insecurity in a highly competitive globalized world. Early Childhood Specialist and Parenting Coach Jill Rosenthal, MSW, will join us for this session to answer any of your parenting questions and concerns. This session is geared toward faculty parents of younger school-age children. Come with your questions or just come to listen and/or discuss ideas about parenting and likely, some validation for how you parent!
- Friday, May 31, 12-1pm - Stay Cool this Summer! Strategies for Working Alongside Your Children
Summertime can be a challenge due to changes in everyone’s schedules. Children may be at home more and you need to be getting some work done. How can you engage in parallel work-playtime with children at home? Learn new strategies to prepare for the challenges of summer from Sierra Amién Funk, M.Ed, a parenting and family educator who works at the Early Childhood Lab School at the Center for Child and Family Studies at UC Davis, where she provides consultations, workshops, playgroups, and parenting discussion groups. This session is geared toward faculty parents of younger school-age children. Join us to get some new ideas heading into summer!
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.