service

[Dana Ann Dudle]

I am interested in starting a thread about the third (and poorly defined) 
aspect of an academic's career:  service.  I know that the phrase 
"teaching, research, and service" is very common, especially in tenure 
talks and/or job interview introductions, but I don't have a clear idea of 
what kind of service this phrase refers to.  If it refers mainly to 
committee work within the department and university, as well as on 
national panels (NSF grant review boards, etc.), I want to raise the 
question: "Is this kind of service enough?"

Does anyone else think that academic scientists (particularly in the 
relatively affluent environment of the  US, but elsewhere as well) have a 
responsibility to communicate with the community at large about science 
and technology, or to share with and/or donate resources to universities 
and schools where students don't have access to books and journals?  
Lately I have been thinking that we do.  Of course, adding more 
responsibility to lives that are already taxed to the limit seems a bit 
overwhelming...

I ask this group to describe the service that departments sort of 
"require" to be a productive member of the community, and also to 
describe what some poeple they know do above and beyond these base-level 
service activities.

Thanks-- I hope this sparks some interesting discussion!

Dana Dudle