2008 Woodie Awards
A balancing act
Instructors juggle their home and professional lives on top of classroom duties
Margaret Watters
Issue date: 10/30/07 Section: Features
It's an understatement to say Miami University finance professor Todd Bailey keeps himself busy. Still a lawyer in a large Cincinnati firm, Bailey estimates for 2007 he handled $1.5 billion in litigation. He brings more than 30 years of experience practicing law to his three courses at Miami.
Bailey, like many visiting professors with careers outside academia, understands the art of juggling.
When contacting Bailey he will probably direct your query to all three of his inboxes-his Miami e-mail, home and the firm e-mail.
Across Miami's campus, there are many professors just like Bailey who lead double, sometimes even triple, lives outside their classrooms.
"The skill set started early in my career because my wife's also a lawyer with Proctor and Gamble," Bailey said. "Balancing of family and professional life is something you must establish early … together, we made the conscious decision to not let the job own our lives. And that's been a wonderful decision."
Bailey, a Miami alumni, is a Markley Visiting Professor in the Farmer School of Business, an honor given to professors still actively working in the profession they teach.
According to Raymond Gorman, senior associate dean of the business school, Markley professors have been around for at least 20 years. Professors tend to serve for three years on an annual renewable contract, which requires some form of university service. This typically involves serving on a committee.
Gorman looks for individuals with senior level experience in the business world when he considers new professors. "We're looking for a blend of theory and practice," he said.
The new lessons learned from daily practice are not just important for the students; the new professors benefit as well.
"The daily experience informs the instruction but in addition, the context for the material becomes very alive for the professor and the students because the visiting professor is living this," Bailey said.
Bailey, like many visiting professors with careers outside academia, understands the art of juggling.
When contacting Bailey he will probably direct your query to all three of his inboxes-his Miami e-mail, home and the firm e-mail.
Across Miami's campus, there are many professors just like Bailey who lead double, sometimes even triple, lives outside their classrooms.
"The skill set started early in my career because my wife's also a lawyer with Proctor and Gamble," Bailey said. "Balancing of family and professional life is something you must establish early … together, we made the conscious decision to not let the job own our lives. And that's been a wonderful decision."
Bailey, a Miami alumni, is a Markley Visiting Professor in the Farmer School of Business, an honor given to professors still actively working in the profession they teach.
According to Raymond Gorman, senior associate dean of the business school, Markley professors have been around for at least 20 years. Professors tend to serve for three years on an annual renewable contract, which requires some form of university service. This typically involves serving on a committee.
Gorman looks for individuals with senior level experience in the business world when he considers new professors. "We're looking for a blend of theory and practice," he said.
The new lessons learned from daily practice are not just important for the students; the new professors benefit as well.
"The daily experience informs the instruction but in addition, the context for the material becomes very alive for the professor and the students because the visiting professor is living this," Bailey said.
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