Academic Job Search for Teaching Institutions

On-Line Discussion
October 21-25, 2002

Following is a transcript of an on-line discussion that occured during the fall of 2002.

Welcome to our week-long electronic discussion on Academic Job Search for Teaching Institutions. I wanted to make an initial post to introduce our two guest speakers, as well as to lay out a few ground rules for the discussion.

This discussion is focused around issues related to job searching and faculty careers at institutions that place significant emphasis on teaching. While discussion within that topic could and should take any number of meaningful paths, I would encourage you to stay generally within that topic. There are other ways to address academic job search issues that fall outside this topic. In general I ask all of us to be respectful of others' viewpoints and to use good electronic etiquette

While we do have two guest "speakers" who will be joining us, I encourage you to participate fully in the discussion. Certainly feel free to ask questions of our guests. But at the same time, feel free to offer your perspective to other students. Job search questions do not often lend themselves to easy answers, and there is benefit in the sharing of ideas.

Our two guest moderators are:

o Dr. Jeffrey A. Bartz, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Kalamazoo College Professor Bartz earned his Ph.D. in physical chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1992. Following two fellowships, Dr. Bartz joined the faculty at the University of Redlands prior to his arrival at Kalamazoo College in 1997.

o Dr. Susan Sy, Faculty in Psychology, Mount St. Mary's College Professor Sy earned her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Michigan in 2002. She teaches Introduction to Psychology, Child/Adolescent Development and Learning Across Cultures, Psychology, and Child/Human Development.

On with the discussion…

2. Introduction by Prof. Bartz

I am Jeff Bartz an Associate Professor of Chemistry at Kalamazoo College. As a graduate student at Wisconsin I taught 9 semesters and 2 summers, all but one was General Chemistry I and II. I had a post-doctoral appointment through the now defunct Pew Teacher-Scholar program, wherein I did one year of research at Washington University and a year of teaching and research at Hope College. This year is my ninth year of full-time college teaching. I received tenure in 2002. While balancing the demands of parenthood (2 kids ages 4 and 6, 1 wife with a BA in Art History and a current career as a hair stylist) with the demands of teaching and research, I have had the opportunity to serve on five tenure-track search committees. Thus I have some idea of what a school like Kalamazoo College looks for in a job applicant.

3. Student Question

Greetings!

I am a post-doc in Physics at UM. I have always studied in large Research I type universities, but the prospect of working in a smaller sized institution appeals to me. I would like the experience of smaller classes and knowing my students personally, and getting a direct feedback of their learning.

In scanning the job postings, I find that many undergraduate-teaching focussed schools ask for research accessible to undergraduates. What do they mean?

Work in my area will require several months of reading to be even conversant with the literature before a student can start making a meaningful contribution to publishable work. I can think of many undergraduate "projects", but a good piece of research (publishable, and one that leads to conference presentations) may take atleast a couple of years' time commitment on the part of the student. Will students commit to that much time in a 4-year college? If several projects do not result in publications, will that be held against me when going up for tenure?

--C

4. Student Question

Dear Dr. Bartz-
I am applying to selective liberal arts colleges (not unlike Kalamazoo College) for a position in psychology. As a graduate student I was a teaching assistant for 11 semesters. My experiences were quite varied, from just grading papers, to running laboratory sections and even to serving as a section instructor for 3 sections of intro psych.

After obtaining my PhD, I came to the University of Michigan and served 3 years as a postdoc and now 3.5 years on the research faculty. During my time here at UM I have not done any teaching. My position at UM is 100% research.

Will a hiring committee at a teaching college consider this gap in my teaching experience to be a detriment? I'm sure that my teaching skills are a bit rusty, but based on my graduate teaching experience, I know I can do it and that I enjoy teaching undergraduates. In addition, I think that my time as a postdoc and a researcher at a premier research institution should be valuable to undergraduate students thinking about careers in science.

What questions should I expect from teaching college faculty who are evaluating my application?

Are there specific things I can say to assuage their concerns? Thanks for your time. I look forward to your response.

S

5. Introduction by Prof. Rogala

I'm Sue Sy, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Mount St. Mary's College in Los Angeles. I just recently received my Ph.D. in developmental psychology from University of Michigan, where I taught 4 semesters as both a GSI and at EMU as a part-time lecturer. After moving from Michigan to California in August, I dove head first into very shallow water - I am currently teaching 4 classes per term and advising 30+ students. And I love my job.

As a recent graduate, I'm happy to share my experiences on the job market for a teaching position. I learned a great deal about what to do and what NOT to do throughout the whole process.

6. Response by Prof. Rogala

C--

I'm not sure I've been a faculty member long enough to adequately address your question, but I do have an initial thought regarding research accessible to students. Could you conceive of a senior physics major doing a honors research project or an independent research project in an area related to your work? The student would probably spend the first semester reading the literature and coming up with a study design, and then the second semester actually carrying out the research. It might not be immediately publishable, but could a project like this in your area have potential for publication or presentation down the road? This is how I actually conducted my own undergraduate honors research at a small school, and eventually both presented and published it. It seems that this is one way smaller teaching-focused schools like to see research incorporated.

7. Student Question

Dr. Bartz,

Can you give me a description of what your job entails and how it differs from a faculty position in a university like UM? What are the disadvantages and advantages of working at a university like Kalamazoo College?

Thanks,



--L

8. Student Question

Dr. Bartz/ Dr. Sy,

Hello - I'm a 4th year ph.d. student in chemical engineering here at U of M. I expect to be finished with my degree in the next year and a half.

I am considering a teaching college as a potential career but I am very interested in my field of research and want to keep up with it and continue to study it. I am wondering if a teaching college would have an area for me to have a lab and would provide start up funds like a research university would. Also, I wonder how a prof can do any research with a full teaching and advising load. I would envision maybe 80% of time on teaching and 20% on research. (Here I think it's about 50/50) Would there be any time/resources to do research at a teaching college?

Thanks, J

9. Response by Prof. Rogala

J,

I think it depends on the "level" of the teaching school. Even within small liberal arts schools, there is variation in how much emphasis is placed on research and how much support they are willing to offer. It sounds like you'd be a better fit for teaching schools with loads like 2 or 3 classes each term (some examples: Smith, Middlebury, Pomona, Swarthmore, etc.). These are typically schools that emphasize teaching and research equally, with a slightly higher emphasis on teaching. From my experience in the psych department at UM, I would give a very different percentage split: more like 95% research, 5% teaching, based so I have a bit of a different perspective.

I actually applied to an opening at Smith College and they probably laughed my CV right out the door. I had no publications and didn't yet have my Ph.D. in hand. Because the schools that typically have a greater emphasis on research are more highly valued (for some reason that I still can't figure out), AND they tend to bridge both teaching and research, they get lots more applications for a given position that the more strongly teaching-focused schools.

Finally, although I didn't ask for research funds when I accepted the offer, I'm about 99% sure that I wouldn't have received them had I asked. The way that faculty get research done here is to apply for external grants. The only way we get funds from the school to do research is if it involves students in some significant way. But like I said, that varies widely from one liberal arts school to another.

The way that I plan on keeping up with research, if I decide that's what I want to do, is work on it in the summer when I don't have to teach.

10. Response by Prof. Bartz

C –

I am a physical chemist who uses lasers to study chemical dynamics. There aren’t many chemistry majors who can do computer programming, electronics, lasers, synthesis, and also understand the theory. I still get funding and received tenure in 2001. In my job application I indicated that my work could be sub-divided into smaller projects. When asked on interviews, I had some ideas of what those projects would be.

Interpreting "research accessible to undergraduates" is an interesting question. I would interpret it to mean that undergraduates should contribute in a meaningful way to your scholarship. In the natural sciences it is often assumed that students can contribute to the overall effort. Some of the student effort comes in small student chunks, say a few hours per week for the academic year or a summer of full-time work. On rare occasions, or in the few schools with a research model more like the U of M, students work in the same group for an extended period.

Since my laboratory research can be sub-divided into smaller projects, such as building electronics or synthesizing compounds, I can use these students in small chunks. I have also supervised senior theses, none of which resulted in a publication in the research literature. The paper that I published in 2001 occurred because enough students had contributed little bits to the overall effort that *I* was able to do the experiments needed to finish the project. I had five student co-authors on the paper. Each of these students had a valuable experience, contributed a bit, but it was my responsibility to keep everything going.

In my tenure application, my department chair had me look up the research productivity of physical chemists at similar colleges for the time that I have been at Kalamazoo College. Having one paper in that time period compared favorably with comparable schools with similar resources.

The best advice that I got was "try what you think is going to work, first," which I did. I’m glad I did because the time FLEW.

11. Response by Prof. Bartz

S,

What you describe is the typical path for a physical scientist. Most start teaching, get research appointments, then research post-docs, then look for employment. There is a gap between the most recent teaching experience and now. Perhaps Dr. Sy has a different perspective from psychology. I think that this gap can be turned into a positive.

Undergraduate schools tend to read cover letters. In some technical fields, it is the only thing that a non-expert may be able to read at all! It provides a nice introduction to your application packet and can let people know about things like gaps in teaching experience. Perhaps, if this is true, you can indicate in your cover letter that one important thing missing in your research professor experience is teaching. Now you want to find a job that balances teaching and research. Your connections to the U of M and the research community are important, too.

During my job application process I got some good advice that has been true in my search committee experience. People who know their strengths and weaknesses as teacher and those that have some opinions about effective teaching come across the best. Having as much experience as you do in the classroom should give you some ideas of techniques and approaches that fit you best. Include these ideas in your teaching statement.

12. Student Question

I have a broad question for both of you. Given your experiences, as job searchers and having been on search committees, how will the interview process be different at institutions that emphasize teaching? What kinds of things should students expect that might be different than at a place like Michigan?

13. Response by Prof. Rogala

The most notable difference in my experience was being asked to do 'teaching demonstrations' instead of (and some schools do this in addition to..) the research 'job talk' that typically occurs at Michigan. For my interviews at three different schools, the teaching demonstrations varied in structure and topic. I found myself spending the week to week & a half between interviews primarily prepping for the teaching demonstrations - and I could never do the same one more than once.

The first school told me I could choose any topic I wanted, but I wouldn't be teaching a regularly meeting class - it would be a conglomeration of faculty and random students. So it was set up more like a job talk, but occurred in a classroom and felt more like teaching a lesson. They only wanted me to do this for 20-25 minutes.

The second school asked me to teach about 25 minutes of a regularly meeting Intro Psy class, and told me the topic was schizophrenia (about which I knew little to nothing). That one actually turned out to be the most interesting and fun!

The third school (Mount St. Mary's) asked me to teach the entire 1-hour lesson for a regularly meeting class, gave me the general chapter topic, and told me I could teach any content from that chapter in whatever way I chose.

To my knowledge, no such thing exists at Michigan.

15. Response by Prof. Bartz

L,

I think that the major differences between my job and somebody with a similar position at Michigan would be:

1. I teach more. 10-15 contact hours/week. And I am the teaching specialist, prepping some labs and organizing lecture demonstrations.
2. I research less. About 10 hours per week with me in the lab.
3. I work fewer hours.
4. I do not have to raise piles of money to keep Ph.D. students and post-docs going.
   
   

16. Response by Prof. Bartz

J,

From surveys that I have seen for undergraduate institutions the natural sciences, the start-up package can range from $0 - $100K+. I remember the median being around $20K. Most would also give you some space.

I am less familiar with undergraduate engineering programs, however.

17. Response by Prof. Bartz

Re: Interview process

Dr. Sy has it right. Sample teaching can be a big part of any undergraduate college interview. I also had to give a research talk. In comparison to the interview talks that I saw at Wisconsin and Washington University, the audience will be less critical.

I was also asked some about innovation in teaching or courses I would like to teach.

18. Student Question

Re: how much teaching experience is necessary?

I am a 4th year grad. student in biomedical engineering. My department has no teaching requirement, and almost no in-house opportunities to teach--as there was no undergrad BME degree at Michigan until just last year.

I taught 2 semesters for chemical engineering in my first year as a graduate student--but I have not taught since. Is this too little teaching experience?? I have thought about seeking out EMU or Washtenaw teaching jobs while still working on my dissertation, so that I would have more experience for the job market. Would you recommend doing this, or just finishing my PhD first and foremost?? How much experience does the "typical candidate" have??

--B

19. Response by Prof. Rogala

B,

Re: how much teaching experience is necessary?

I suspect Dr. Bartz could offer greater insight based on all the applications he's seen, but my initial response is that it might be difficult for a search committee to effectively evaluate your teaching background with only 2 semesters of teaching. It seems that committees not only look for overall indications of good teaching (e.g., evaluations, letters, etc.), but the extent to which you have made efforts toward improving your teaching. That probably isn't as easy to ascertain after 2 semesters.

Regardless of how much teaching experience you've had as a GSI, I'd still recommend the EMU or WCC option. Not only does this add to your teaching experience, but it gives you the opportunity to be fully "in charge" of your own course.

20. Student Question

I am one year away from finishing my PhD in Comparative Literature, and very interested in getting a job at a teaching institution. I feel that much of the advice I get from others in my department about preparing for the job search assumes that I will be applying for a job in a research I university. What would you say are the most important things to emphasize in an application to a teaching school? As with most humanities disciplines, most funding for graduate students in my program comes from teaching--so far I have taught for 5 semesters at UM, 4 courses in 4 different departments, as well has having been a lecturer at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, and having taught middle and high school before coming to grad school. In a potential pool of applicants who have all taught a lot, how can I distinguish myself?

--M

21. Response from Tom Lehker

There have been a couple recent articles in the Chronicle of Higher Education that relate to the topic of this discussion. One focuses on what can happen within departments when there are disagreements over whether deparmental priorities and resources should be focused more on research and publishing, or more on teaching and advising. The second is an article on what it's like doing science at a smaller institution.

22. Response by Prof. Rogala

Re: applications to teaching colleges

Five semesters as a GSI and one semester abroad of college teaching is actually quite a varied experience, but that response is coming from my psychology background, where funding is much less tied to teaching than in the humanities. In my applications, I didn't only highlight my classroom experience, but I also included a section on different teaching workshops I attended and my experience as a graduate teaching consultant to illustrate my commitment to improving my teaching.

One of the best ways to highlight your teaching is in your cover letter. I'm sure CP&P and CRLT have samples of cover letters from people who applied to teaching colleges. You might want to see what those look like in comparison to what people in your department may suggest.

23. Response by Prof Bartz

M-

I spoke with someone in our English Department. She says that one of the things that our Humanities Division looks for is somebody who has taught their own courses, rather than being a TA. Another interest of theirs is finding somebody with a lot of flexibility in what s/he can teach. Both of these can be stressed in the cover letter and teaching statement.

Other considerations include publications, the quality of the letters of reference, and relevant experience at a small college, which are true for applicants in all areas.

24. Response by Dr. Bartz

B-

I think that the issue here is being competitive in the most searches possible. You may be able to get hired with two semesters of teaching experience. One term of teaching your own course would boost your competitiveness at a place like Kalamazoo College. Just teaching one class on your own can make the difference.

25. Wrap-up by Tom Lehker

We are near 5:00 here in the eastern time zone, so it's time we bring this discussion to a close. I would like to thank all of you who participated. And I would especially like to thank our two guests, Dr. Bartz and Dr. Sy, for their insights during this week. I know that you have brought great perspective on a topic that students do not always hear a lot about. Thanks to both of you for helping make the discussion worthwhile. Good luck to all of you on your job searches!

Tom Lehker
The Career Center