PEW MIDSTATES SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS CONSORTIUM

Pew Consortium
Homepage

Short - Term
Consultations

Host Faculty
Workshop

Speaker
Series

Pew
Activities

Pew
Institutions

Representatives

Student Opportunities

Related
Links

New Faculty Workshop

Building an Academic Career:

Finding and Succeeding in a Liberal Arts College Position

Hope College, Holland, Michigan

July 5-7, 2002

Coordinators: Janet Andersen, Pew Program Director, Hope College, 616-395-7909; Marlene Field, Program Assistant, Hope College, 616-395-7530, fieldm@hope.edu or pewscimath@hope.edu.

Abstract: This workshop is designed to help new faculty make the transition to teaching at a liberal arts institution. Faculty often feel under-prepared and overwhelmed as they began their academic career. Graduate schools and post-doctoral fellowships typically give excellent training in research, but little if any guidance on the other aspects of an academic career. The workshop will focus on the questions of balance including balancing work with one’s personal life, balancing teaching with research, and balancing the needs of the students with the needs of the department. The workshop will also address the issues associated with starting a career such as how to establish a research program and how to prepare to teach a new course. Another important tool that we hope to provide is assistance in establishing strong, long-term relationships with peers and mentors. Expenses (including travel, registration, lodging, and meals) are provided by the Pew Consortium for faculty at Pew Consortium institutions.

General Description and Need for Workshop

The format of the workshop will combine seminars, case studies, break-out sessions on specific issues, meetings with a mentor in the same academic discipline, and informal discussions with peers and more experienced colleagues. After the meeting, participants will be placed on a list-serve to facilitate long-term mentoring and peer support networks. The mentors include senior administrators, chairs of departments, and established faculty who are active researchers and excellent teachers.

New faculty will attend seminars on "The Transition to a Full-Time Job in Academics." Soon-to-be faculty will attend seminars on " Getting a job at a Liberal Arts Institution." Sessions for all faculty include "Teaching a Course for the First Time," "Establishing a Research Program," and "Balance: How to Stay Sane and Productive". There will also be a session, using case studies, on how to address difficult situations often encountered when teaching at the college-level.

Expected Outcomes of the Workshop

We hope to give participants, both new faculty and post-doctoral fellows, the tools to be productive and established in their first tenure-track position. There will be formal and informal opportunities to establish regional and disciplinary peer and mentor contacts. A further benefit of the workshop will be to increase involvement of new faculty and university members in the Pew consortium.

Tentative Workshop Schedule

Friday July 5

3:00-5:00 Registration - Haworth Center

6:00 Dinner

7:30 Keynote Speaker: Kathy Parson, Macalester College

Saturday July 6

8:00 Continental breakfast

9:00-10:00 Seminar for pre-faculty: "Getting a job at a Liberal Arts Institution"

9:00-10:00 Seminar for new faculty: "Transitioning to a Full-Time Job in Academics"

10:00-10:30 Coffee break

10:30-12:00 Seminar on "Teaching a Course for the First Time: Where to Begin?"

12:00 Lunch

1:00- 2:30 Case Studies for Teaching

2:30-3:00 Coffee break

3:00-4:00 Seminar on "Establishing a Research Program That Allows You to Stay Active Throughout Your Career"

4:00-5:00 Meetings with mentors

6:00 Dinner off-campus

Sunday July 7

8:00 Continental breakfast

9:00-11:00 Panel discussion: "Balance: How to Stay Sane and Productive"

11:00-12:00 Ways that PEW can help you survive

12:00 Lunch - Box lunches