Well La-Dee-Da...

You might remember last year around this time that I wrote about being awarded the departmental teaching award, and how that was really a great thing for someone who hasn't been in the business that long.

I recently found out that this year the former chair put me up for the college-wide teaching award, and I apparently have been awarded that in my first year being nominated.

In the intervening year I have learned a lot more about academics, and specifically, what is valued at my university. I can say with a high degree of certainty that it is not teaching, especially under the direction of the new chair. So while I am grateful to those who nominated me this year, I am considerably less excited about this than I feel I should be.

I came across this while doing some reading on the subject of tenure:

At present the universities are as uncongenial to teaching as the Mojave Desert to a clutch of Druid priests. If you want to restore a Druid priesthood you cannot do it by offering prizes for Druid-of-the-year. If you want Druids, you must grow forests. - William Arrowsmith

Yeah.