tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068615175426357203.post7689419557720111259..comments2024-03-19T00:11:46.679-07:00Comments on The Prodigal Academic: Can we return to funding stability?prodigal academichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00433167641213112052noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068615175426357203.post-90665137238730643762017-03-02T16:39:50.529-08:002017-03-02T16:39:50.529-08:00Thanks for the comments.
Pyrope, I don't know...Thanks for the comments.<br /><br />Pyrope, I don't know what sort of fancy private U endows two PhD students, but sign me up!<br /><br />FR, I agree that there has to be another way. Part of the problem is the steady decrease in funding available per researcher, both because there are more mouths at the trough in some fields (not much in mine, though), and because governmental support has eroded significantly while costs continue to rise. Decreasing available resources is a sure-fire recipe for instability and fierce fighting. That said, I think that the unpredictability of having EVERY grant be for a short term project leads to a huge overhead in stress, and would even if proposal success rates went up significantly. prodigal academichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00433167641213112052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068615175426357203.post-46989173729351193382017-03-02T12:46:31.042-08:002017-03-02T12:46:31.042-08:00"and they told me that they have endowed, gua..."and they told me that they have endowed, guaranteed funding for two PhD students for every faculty member" .. this looks like my wet dream i.e. I have funding for a couple of PhD students guaranteed. And I can fight for more money if I want more students. <br /><br />You have described 2 systems in which there is a guarantee and a tooth-and-nail approach. I think some way in the middle is the optimal point. In this way the diversity is not effected and we all remain productive.<br /><br />I am sure there are other people who have thought about this much more than me. Gotta go. Have to teach a classFunny Researcherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02971957974804668620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2068615175426357203.post-56724734992605104722017-02-28T00:11:02.196-08:002017-02-28T00:11:02.196-08:00I agree - writing grants and constantly worrying a...I agree - writing grants and constantly worrying about how to leverage small bits of money to keep students fed is exhausting. Meanwhile, we have less and less TA support available to serve as a fallback in case funding doesn't materialize - and that hurts both research and teaching quality. I wonder if we are just a microcosm of all society though...more and more people trying to do more with fewer resources. <br />I remember interviewing at a fancy private U years ago and they told me that they have endowed, guaranteed funding for two PhD students for every faculty member. I don't know if that was really true, but I still fantasize about that when shit gets too crazy :)pyropenoreply@blogger.com