“One solution is to directly confront the zero sum trade-off generated by service obligations,” I wrote. “Professors have a fixed amount of time. . . . Instead of ignoring this reality, we should clearly articulate these trade-offs by specifying the exact amount of time a faculty member is expected to devote to service each year.” As I then explained, in this plan, professors would not be allowed to exceed whatever time budget they had agreed on with their department chair for the semester.
