“Leisure?! What’s that?” Elisabeth Frost, an associate professor of the department of English at Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) said in response to whether she will be doing something relaxing other than furthering her scholarly research for the summer. Oh, sweet summer. Instead of kicking off their shoes for what is often considerd one of the most relaxing times of the year, professors are instead busily oiling their gears to do some serious post-academic research. The Observer talked to six professors in regards to their summer plans.

Elisabeth Frost, associate professor of English: “I was really pleased to get a grant to be in residence at a research center that is located in the San Juan Islands north of Seattle. It is called the Whiteley Center. I will be working on my latest project, which is a manuscript of poetry and prose that is kind of autobiographical.”

Joan Roberts, professor of natural sciences: “I am a ‘Visiting Scientist’ at the National Institutes of Environmental Sciences in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. This position is competitive and is awarded on a yearly basis. There I do research defining phototoxic damage to human ocular tissues induced by nanoparticles and/or drugs and natural products (i.e. St. John’s Wort).”

John Davenport, associate professor of philosophy:  “Completing one book review; writing one essay on Kierkegaard for an edited collection; finishing a book on global governance; preparing an early fall conference presentation; reading new works that I will use in teaching my class on Political Libertarianism & Critics, which I will also write about in fall; probably preparing a grant application; preparing three EP4 proposals from courses I have taught before; perhaps preparing an article submission from material on sustainability from my Environmental Justice course and teaching a July class on Fantasy & Philosophy.”

Sophie Saint-Just, a lecturer in French: “I’m going to conduct post-recitation research in France and I am co-editing a volume of a major Haitian filmmaker. My plans are also to transform some of the presentations I’ve made last month in conferences into publishable works/articles. So part of the summer is going to be in New York and part of the summer is going to be in research in France and possibly in the French Caribbean because my topic is on Caribbean cinema and Haiti.”

Clara Rodriguez, professor of sociology: “I am moving ahead on my research, which is about the consumption of U.S television in other countries. I am interviewing people who have been in this country for six years or less, are over 18 and watched U.S television programs (not including news) but entertainment programs in their home countries: television dramas, sitcoms and serials.”

Fred Campano, lecturer in economics : “Well mainly, my summers are usually spent preparing the kinds of papers that we’re going to be releasing for the following year. Much of the preparation is writing computer programs – the kind of software that we need to do the kind of research analysis that we need. Well, of course there’s some relaxation in the summer. I’m looking forward to the warm weather so I can do a lot more swimming outdoors.”