Teller has been an academic dean for several years now, and is three-and-a-half years into this position on his current campus. Among other descriptors, the job is large, unwieldy, and unpredictable. He is spending the weekend enjoying some down time before embarking on yet another challenging 17-week marathon, this one called “Spring Semester.” It starts all over again on Monday. Getting a new term off the ground is always an arduous task and he admits to feeling drained before the real work even commences.

One of the reasons for the fatigue factor being especially prominent right now is the stress associated with last week’s events. During the middle of the week, Teller had cancelled a low-enrolled class in one of the physical-science disciplines. He had made the cancellation decision in consultation with the instructor and department chair; after ensuring that the affected students were informed of an alternative, he assumed the matter was settled. Then, on Friday, entirely out-of-the-blue, he endured an attack from the head of the counseling department, who accused him, because of his action, of not only being insensitive to students’ needs but also in violation of the collective-bargaining agreement. A certain amount of pandemonium ensued while he attempted to explain the situation to his new supervisor (an interim Vice President on the job for a mere two weeks). Teller ultimately succumbed to the demands being made on him and reinstated the class, which will now run with even fewer students. He sees this as a squandering of scarce resources, but realizes that the politics of the situation, not common sense, drove the so-called “solution.”

So, here he is, during the weekend, when his batteries are supposed to be re-charging, attending to a multitude of personal issues and tasks. He’s not feeling even one little bit like he’s getting any positive energy back, for one of the items on his agenda is the also-stressful process of completing an employment application.

Now, Teller isn’t really engaged in what could be termed an active job search. Still, he believes he needs to be keeping his eyes open for potential new opportunities. The top-level leadership of his institution has just changed hands (the interim VP was hired by the entirely-new campus chief executive), and, really, there’s no telling what could happen. It isn’t at all unusual for a new president to come in, scope out the place, and decide there’s a need for some significant shuffling. So, what with a campus culture characterized by rampant conflict and lack-of-trust, multitudinous unhappy students and faculty, and the recent changing-of-the-guard at the top, Teller’s life continues to be an unstable one.

Perhaps the faculty position he just applied for up in Portlandia is exactly what he needs in order to restore some balance back into his life.