Traveling to conferences can contribute to the quality of academic writing by sparking new ideas, identifying who else is writing about the topic, and refining ideas about what is your niche.

The expectation to travel internationally is an unspoken part of the job description for faculty at research universities. During my career as an academic, I traveled to conferences in just about every major city in America. I also traveled to conferences in the UK, Austria, Australia, Germany, Israel, New Zealand, and Japan, among other places. 

Critical to Promotion

            International travel was integral to the expectations for promotion at the university where I worked. Presenting at conferences in international venues is one way to build and maintain an international network. Those whose research is specialized operate in a world where there may only be a dozen or so people in the world pursuing insight about the same topic. Scholarly writers generally cite people they know personally. Connecting to these experts is essential to promotion in a research university. 

Written and Unwritten Policies

  There are both written, formal policies about travel at universities and expectations that are an unwritten, often unspoken part of being away from campus, particularly when it interferes with teaching responsibilities. When I was working at Virginia Tech, policy allowed two days a month during teaching terms. Paperwork was required. Approval meant that the insurance policy the university carried was in place. It also meant support from the university was in place in cases, like during 911, if you should find yourself stranded abroad. There was no issue when presentation at a conference meant exceeding the 2-day guidelines. Longer trips were not questioned for people on grants.

Traveler Beware

            There were, of course, the high-flyers that traveled constantly, downloading teaching responsibilities to teaching assistants or canceling class. This is when unspoken rules kicked in. When it was perennial, a lot of resentment among other faculty could be generated. This is because the high-flyer generally shirked the ever-present demands of committee work and service work. Doctoral students could be left stranded, wandering the corridors looking for someone to provide guidance. As always, the values being juggled were personal gain versus being a contributing member of the community.