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SABBATICAL LEAVES |
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2003-04 My current sabbatical leave is devoted to my research on consumer bankruptcy and women and financial planning for retirement. My research on serial bankruptcy filers is funded by the American Bankruptcy Institute. 1996-97 Most of my time was spent taking Certified Financial Planner classes in the College of Business. During this sabbatic leave I developed the "Financial Planning for Women" monthly educational program as a service to the community and as an opportunity for our Family Finance students to gain experience in presenting educational programs. Utah State Child Support Guidelines Advisory Committee (Sub for Dr. Cathleen Zick, U of U) The highlight of the year was a three week trip to Nepal to trek in the Annapurna area with the Sierra Club. Although I had traveled in developing countries before (1975 trip to Columbia, Ecuador and Peru) and had read extensively in preparation for the trip, the first day in Kathmandu was a stark reminder of how most of the world's people live. To each American who feels "poor" in comparison to wealthier people, I encourage you to read the Sierra Club books Material World and Women in a Material World. Get to know some of the international students on campus and begin to appreciate your personal wealth. If you don't have to treat your drinking water and have the use of a flush toilet, you are wealthy. For anyone contemplating a trek in Nepal I suggest the only way to get in shape is to walk up and down the stairs of the Business building as many times as you can every day until you leave. Forget hiking the Wellsville Mountains once a week; you need a long, strenuous daily vertical workout. It helps to live in Cache Valley with its built-in altitude advantage. While I expected the highlights of the trek to be the fabulous Himalayan scenery, the best part was the people. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to learn some Nepali before I left. A few words go a long way in cross-cultural communication. Unexpectedly, my binoculars and colorful bird books provided an unexpected means of communication with the local people. A bit of pantomime led to amazement as a Nepali looked at the mountains through binoculars for the first time.
Resting my feet in Nepal
View of Nepali Mountains
1989-90 Fall
quarter was spent as a visiting faculty member at the University of New
Hampshire working on remarriage and money research with my friend and
colleague, Liz Dolan, also a Virginia Tech graduate. Biking the back roads
around Durham in the fall with my binoculars was a real treat. In the
Spring I traveled down under to serve as a consultant to the New Zealand
government on child support policy. I enjoyed working with Gabrielle Maxwell
in the Justice Department. Wellington is a delightful place offering the
benefits of a big city but the pleasant tempo and safety of a small town.
From Wellington I traveled to Dunedin and Christchurch on the South Island
for work and exploration. My next stop was the Australian Institute of
Family Studies |
