Survival in the Academy:A Guide for Beginning Academics

Zheren Hu

Nov 29th, 2006

Outline

The Nature of the UniversityIssues Facing All Beginning AcademicsIssues Facing Nontraditional Members of

AcademeSecuring a PositionStarting Out

The Nature of the Universities

Issues Facing the University

There are money problemsThere are political battles being foughtInstitutions are diversifyingCollege no longer has the perceived value

it once had

Contemporary Trends

Changing from being the privilege of an economic aristocracy to the right of the average citizen

Combing education for economic viability with education for cultural literacy

Differences in the way colleges and universities are organized

Product of those institutions is in constant flux

Brief History of American Universities

Private universities Educated Ministers (Harvard, William and Mary,

Yale) Educated Native Americans (Dartmouth)

The Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862 The start of great state universities

GI Bill Make higher education available to virtually

everyone

Types of Universities

MultiversitiesComprehensive universitiesSmaller public colleges and universitiesGraduate studies institutionUrban-centered universitiesJunior colleges and university branches

Issues Facing All Beginning Academics

You must…

Understand the power structureMake allies, take sidesDevelop a research and publication planCultivate teaching skillsSee to the ambiance of your own lifestyleMake moral decision about your

relationship with students and administrators

You must…

Be prepared to deal with the moral and political issues with which you are confronted

Issues Facing Nontraditional Members of Academe

Nontraditional Members

WomenPeople of colorGays and lesbiansNon-Euro-AmericansDisabled peopleMembers of minority religious

Manifestations of Inequity

Benefit PackagesDisability leave: Pregnancy and ChildbirthFamily leaveEvaluating ProductivityEvaluating ScholarshipEvaluating TeachingEvaluating ServiceTenure and Promotion Schedules

Securing a Position

Step One

Self analysis by ranking career talents, desires and goals

Career-bound Unification Chart by John b. Academic.

Gathering Your Materials

List all of your accomplishments related to your academic work

Applicants’ education, teaching experience, publications, and scholarship

Samples of your work

Beginning The Interview Preparation

Start early by gathering topics, exploring visual aids, and asking others to listen to you explain portions of your research

Preparing Application Support Materials

Cover letter: should be focused on specific job openings

References Ask for references early and give reference

writers sufficient time to write about you Ask for references from whom you have worked

most closely

Schedule a meeting with your advisor

Examining The Job Market

Job listings can be found in your professional organizations’ newsletters, in the Chronicle of Higher Education, and in direct mail announcements go graduate departments

Is the position a guaranteed opening or and anticipated opening?

The rank and salaryAsk your advisor

The Dual-Career Search

Job searches are often made more complicated because of dual-career families.

Placement Services

Job openings in professional organization’s placement services Association of Information Systems ICIS Interviews

Preparing For The Job Interview

Practice makes perfectResearching the departmentObtain clear instruction about what is

expected of you during the interview: Itinerary.

Academic Interviewing

Field questions gracefullyExpect meetings with the department

chair/headTake the opportunity to talk to students,

especially graduate students

After The Interview

Endless waiting…Negotiate salary and benefits

Accepting The Job

Check carefully before you sign the contract

Many considerations come into play after you sign the contract

Starting Out

Nature of Tenure

Today, tenure is a legally recognized system of due process protection for faculty

Tenure means Academic FreedomTenured faculty feel accepted, more at

ease, and thus more able to concentrate on their career goals

Beginning Tenure: The Frantic Cycle

Dealing with new teaching dutiesSelf-explorationThe newness of working as an identifiable

entity to the administrationDealing with your colleagues

Dealing with The Frantic Cycle

Know the rules for tenureKnow the people who will vote on your

tenureKnow exactly what to do to get tenure

Dealing with The Frantic Cycle contd.

Knowing ones’ professional strengths means as much as simply knowing the rules

Two types of rules for getting tenure Explicit rules are in your contract and faculty book Implicit rules: ask successful tenure applicants, the

department head, or the dean

Time management is essential in any profession

Managing Relationships

Individuals are among the most unpredictable entities in the universe

Making alliesDo not make needless enemiesAssert yourself in an accepted channel

and an appropriate wayDealing with Administration: find out what

type of influence certain administrators have on your tenure case

Successful Tenure Performance

Start by being briefed on the rulesKnow how to put together a tenure file

long before it is due in the dean’s officeFind out from others how to put it togetherKnow the decision processKnow the expectations of those making

the decisions

The Decision

Getting tenure is similar to having a baby:

We suffer, grunt, groan, and sweat when we are in the midst of it, but we forget much of that once birthing is over.

Professionalism

8 Obligations of Professionalism

To be culturally literate To be sophisticated in one’s specialty To do research and disseminate the results To teach well To serve the academic community To make sensible decision about one’s career To maintain collegiality and mutual respect To play a realistic role in the world at large

The Obligation of Cultural Literacy

There is no academic discipline that can exist outside the context of common wisdom

Communication is the only means by which knowledge can be unified into a common wisdom

To write and speak well, to listen attentively, and to read critically

The Obligation of Content Sophistication

The professional academic is expected to be an expert on something of suitable worth

Information must be cogent, current, useful and communicable

The Obligation of “Publish or Perish”

Academic professional must know how to do research and write up the results with sufficient quality as to qualify them for publication

Academic professional mush be able to integrate research into the teaching process

The Obligation to The Teaching Mission

Whatever institution most of you serve, in some way, your main mission will be teaching.

The Obligation to Serve the Academic Community

Service supports and underpins the Academy. Without it, the Academy cannot survive in its present form. Every professional has a duty to service, although service alone is not enough.

The Obligation to Be True to Yourself

To be a mature academic professional, you must make the right choice of a position that will enable you to use your talents and fulfill your goals for personal accomplishment.

The Obligation to Collegiality

Colleagues can be helpful or harmful.Most of the important decisions about your

career will be done by peer review

The Obligation to the Community at Large

No academic can exist apart from life in the broader universe

Virtually all academics will have some opportunity to apply their discipline practically in the so-called “real world”

By the same token, local communities and political parties will look to academics for participation and advice

Survival in the AcademyA Guide for Beginning Academics

Phillips, Gouran, Kuehn & Wood

Presented By: Roopali Wakhare

7. Teaching in the College and University- Gerald M. Phillips

Teaching is an active process. Teaching is the guidance of learning activity. Teaching is the direction of performance behavior. Teaching is the uncomplicated presentation of

information. Teaching is provocation of ideas and creative

expression. Teaching involves setting a worthy model to imitate. Teaching includes special relationships between faculty

and students. (When in doubt, don’t) Good teaching demands an understanding of the

teacher’s responsibilities.

7. Teaching in the College and University- Gerald M. Phillips

Teaching Modalities:• Lecturing – inefficient, remember Johnson & Johnson’s

“Cooperative Learning” Primer, Dale’s Cone of Experience, presentations by Dr. James LaSalle and by Kyla Macario

• Discussion• Others – lab experience, projects etc.

Testing is a necessary evil. Evaluation of teaching is an uncertain enterprise.

8. Research and Publication- Dennis S. Gouran

Research is NOT equivalent to publication, although, for many reasons, it is extremely desirable that one leads to the other.

8. Research and Publication- Dennis S. Gouran

Considerations in doing research:• Motivations – the carrot or the stick?• Attitudes • Resources – materials, facilities, personnel,

TIME• Qualifications• Focus• Execution – sloppiness vs. perfectionism

8. Research and Publication- Dennis S. Gouran

Considerations involved in publication:• Deciding to publish• Sources of publication – conferences, journals, books• Readying the manuscript – there’s no substitute for hard

work and practice.• Working through the process – peer or editor reviews• Tips – don’t put it off; solicit advice, and be specific

when asking someone to review your draft.

Remember: No one is obligated to publish your work!

9. Criticism and the Academic Profession- Gerald M. Phillips

Criticism is an inherent attribute of the academic profession.

Using criticism to modify behavior:• A “qualified” critic• A set of standards• A recipient of criticism• Practical, “doable” suggestions or proposals or

remedies from the critic

9. Criticism and the Academic Profession- Gerald M. Phillips

Resistance to criticism:• Denial – “it was a fluke”, denial of responsibility

for the behavior and the result.• Suspicion – motives of critic are perceived to be

untrustworthy.• Rationalization – puts the burden on the critic to

“fix” the problem.• Transference – build dependence on the critic.• Refusal to participate.

9. Criticism and the Academic Profession- Gerald M. Phillips

Resistance to criticism:• Self-fulfilling prophecy – prior expectation of

failure makes the criticism seem unnecessary.• Programmatic activity – refusal to break un-

productive habits.• Antipathy to criticism – the best defense is a

good offense; preempt criticism by criticizing self.

• Narcissism • Begging for mercy

10. The Future- Dennis S. Gouran

Corporatization – more nonacademic personnel: management, administrative and support staff

Professionalization – students, and their parents, as well as industry funders, are increasingly seen as “customers”

Politicization – state or federal funding => outside pressure; internal politics

Is it all bleak?