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With the end of this fall semester of classes, I am going on sabbatical from Arizona State for the spring of 2021. Which leads to two basic questions readers might have, what is a sabbatical, and what am I going to be doing for the sabbatical?
As to the first question, I found this relevant definition. A sabbatical
… is “a break from work” during which employees can pursue their interests, like traveling, writing, research, volunteering or other activities (or even rest). During that time, the employee is still employed at their organization, but they don’t need to perform their normal job duties or report to work.
Policies vary (widely!) from school to school, but at some point in their career, many full time college professors take a sabbatical leave for either a semester or a full year. I was, after an application process, awarded a sabbatical leave for the spring of 2021. As in the quote above, I am still employed by ASU, but Gabriel Kovach of the Phoenix Symphony will largely cover my spring semester teaching, with the assistance of the two horn TAs. (Although I’ll still be managing horn recruitment, etc.).
Sabbaticals in academia are awarded to faculty to allow them to work on a special project, and I have a very specific project area in mind.
When I was thinking about options, one was the giant book, but I rejected that idea. I really wanted to do something hands on, and my mind went back to an area where I have some skills (and tools!), but have not done much with in the last ten plus years. The project involves among other things rebuilding single F horns into vintage designs such as the 1920s era Schmidt single seen here from their catalog photo — part of an overall project to build my skills and explore horn design. More on that when the series returns.
