xml-dev - Re: The Easy, Academic life

["Frank Boumphrey" <bckman@ix.netcom.com>]

> When I was a graduate student, I received a couple of token grants
> (<US$300) to help me speak at the most prestigious conferences, and as
> an assistant professor in the English department at a
> bottom-of-the-first-rung-but-still-first-rung Canadian university, I
> had airfare and registration (but not accommodation or meals) paid for
> exactly one conference each year.

I must confess that this is why I moved south of the border!

> Of course, things are probably different in the sciences, and
> well-endowed U.S. universities have more money to throw around
> everywhere, but when I was interviewing for English departments at
> some of the big US schools, things didn't seem that much better.

Well I was on the science side, but I must confess that I had to prevent
myself from doing a jaw dropping 'rube' act when I was apologetically
informed that the university would only pay first-class fare if I gave them
a 3 week advanced notice of travel! (OK this was over 20 years ago!)

Frank
----- Original Message -----
From: David Megginson <david@megginson.com>
To: <xml-dev@xml.org>
Sent: Monday, March 06, 2000 8:37 PM
Subject: The Easy, Academic life


> "Frank Boumphrey" <bckman@ix.netcom.com> writes:
>
> > > If you're relying on self-selected people who can afford their own
> > > plane tickets and hotel rooms, it's no great surprise you get a
> > > lot of marketeers pitching products
> >
> > This is all very true.
> >
> > In academic conferences the people speaking are academics, and one
> > of the perks of being an academic is that the University usually
> > picks up the Tag.
>
> Nice try, guys, but I survived 14 years of academia from undergraduate
> to asst. prof. to Writing Centre Director , and that's not the way I
> remember it, especially not from the mid 1980's to the mid 1990's.
>
> When I was a graduate student, I received a couple of token grants
> (<US$300) to help me speak at the most prestigious conferences, and as
> an assistant professor in the English department at a
> bottom-of-the-first-rung-but-still-first-rung Canadian university, I
> had airfare and registration (but not accommodation or meals) paid for
> exactly one conference each year.
>
> For anything else, I would have had to get my hands on an SSHRC
> (federal) or similar grant and burn off some of the money, or else
> just pay out of pocket, as I ended up doing (at least until I had my
> own budget as a director).  Grad students often worked the book tables
> to have some of their expenses paid, but I couldn't stomach that.
>
> Of course, things are probably different in the sciences, and
> well-endowed U.S. universities have more money to throw around
> everywhere, but when I was interviewing for English departments at
> some of the big US schools, things didn't seem that much better.
>
> At professional tech conferences, by contrast, almost anyone with a
> reasonable-sized employer or customer has their expenses paid even if
> they're not speaking (I was amazed when I went out into the private
> sector), and all speakers have the registration fee waived and
> sometimes get free lunches, at least at GCA conferences -- at academic
> conferences, even speakers have to pay for lunch *and* registration,
> as I was rudely reminded at WWW8 last year.
>
> Worthy attendees who do not have corporate backing often arrange to
> give workshops or tutorials, for which they receive money *in addition
> to* having their expenses paid.
>
>
> All the best,
>
>
> David
>
> --
> David Megginson                 david@megginson.com
>            http://www.megginson.com/
>
>
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