Is being an event planner also part of being an academician? How do you cope?
I don't see this situation as &quot;normal&quot; in any sense. However...
It is probably a very good idea that your university is doing these sorts of outreach and community events. I would support that. But not on the backs of new faculty. But it also depends quite a lot on the local reward structure. If a new faculty member can reach tenured/permanent status from such things rather than a publication record and good teaching, then it is fairly benign. It is just part of the inherent value system of that place.
On the other hand, it doesn't prepare you well to move to another academic position at another university, who probably have a more traditional view of the proper activities of new faculty.
In lots of places, such &quot;event planning&quot; is taken on by senior faculty, actually, who have withdrawn a bit from research after a long career, or who have the publication pipeline operating at capacity anyway. Most of the people I interacted with on conference committees, for example, weren't junior faculty. Nor do &quot;most&quot; faculty engage in such activities.
But if your own career trajectory as you see it depends on publications, then you are probably at the wrong place and should be seeking an exit. While it is, I think, a valuable service in general, it isn't helping your career. There are, actually, places that put high priority on supporting the career needs of junior faculty. In most places, while &quot;service&quot; is a value, it is considered secondary to research, especially, and teaching.