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New Faculty Workshop

Building an Academic Career:

Finding and Succeeding in a Liberal Arts College Position

Hope College, Holland, Michigan

June 24-26, 2005

Coordinators: Janet Andersen, Pew Program Director, Hope College, 616-566-7342; Marlene Field, Program Assistant, Hope College, 616-395-7530, pewscimath@hope.edu or fieldm@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 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.

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.

Workshop Schedule

FRIDAY, June 24

4:30 pm Registration at Cook Residence Hall

6:00 pm Punch and Hors D'Oeuvres at the Haworth Center in the Donnelly Dining room

6:30 pm Dinner and Welcome at the Haworth Center in the Donnelly Dining room

7:30 pm Looking Back: Reflection From the First Two Years, Airat Bekmetjev, Hope College Mathematics and Jason Gillmore, Hope College Chemistry

SATURDAY, June 25

MORNING

8:30 am Breakfast at the Haworth Center in the Trans-Matic/Gentex room

9:00 am Group discussion on Transitioning to a Full-Time Job in Academics
                                                     OR
              Getting a Job at a Liberal Arts Institution

10:00 am Break

10:15 am Part I: Remaining Active as a Researcher: Establishing a Research Program that is Sustainable Throughout one's Career
Part II: Research with Undergraduates

11:45 am Tour of the Science Building

12:15 pm - LUNCH - Phelps Hall

AFTERNOON

1:15 pm Teaching a Course for the First Time: Where to Begin

2:15 pm Break

2:45 pm Case studies - small group discussion

4:45 pm Meeting with Mentors

6:00 pm Meet in front of Cook Hall for transportation to the picnic

6:30 pm Picnic at Tunnel Park on Lake Michigan

SUNDAY, June 26

8:00 am Breakfast at Phelps Hall

9:00 am Balance: How to Stay Sane and Productive

10:30 am Best Resources: Web sites, Books and Organizations

11:00 am Ways that Pew can help You Survive

11:30 am Survey and box lunches