Transitioning to Faculty Life: Survival Skills for Tenure, Promotion and Administration Kuruvilla John Professorand Associate Dean of Research and Graduate.

Transitioning to Faculty Life: Survival Skills for Tenure, Promotion

and Administration

Kuruvilla John Professor

and Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies

College of Engineering

Securing Academic Positions in 2- and 4-Year Colleges Workshop, March 28, 2015

Introduction

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Topics to be covered today –

• the life of a community college/university faculty member (load, responsibilities)

• the tenure and promotion process

• administrative roles for faculty (department chair/program director, etc.)

• the path to administration (dean, VP, etc.) 

Speaker Bio• Education

– Ph.D. Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Iowa– M.S. Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Iowa– B.S. Chemical Engineering, Anna University, India

• Employment history– Industrial and technical sales for a major paint manufacturer in India– Consulting environmental engineer in Iowa – Visiting research scientist at IBM-Bergen, Norway– Research associate for New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

and State University of New York - Albany– 14 years as a faculty and administrator at Texas A&M University – Kingsville

• Assistant Professor; • Graduate Coordinator;• Associate Professor:• Chairman;• Associate Dean;• Professor; and • Interim Dean of the Frank H. Dotterweich College of Engineering

– 6 years at University of North Texas • Professor and Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies in the College of Engineering

Sobering Facts

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1. How many PhDs land an academic position?

Doctoral degrees:The disposable academic

Get a PhD—but leave academia as soon as you graduate

Ph.D. students rethink the tenure track, scope out non-academic jobs

Discussion topics

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Topics to be covered today –

• the life of a community college/university faculty member (load, responsibilities)

• the tenure and promotion process

• administrative roles for faculty (department chair/program director, etc.)

• the path to administration (dean, VP, etc.) 

Online Resources

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• The Chronicle of Higher Education

• Inside Higher Ed

• Pertinent trade association websites in your own disciplinesAmerican Society of Engineering Education

Online Blogs

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https://tenureshewrote.wordpress.com/2013/10/03/research-to-teaching/

http://theprofessorisin.com/2012/07/17/advice-for-your-first-year-on-the-tenure-track/

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2013/07/21/the-awesomest-7-year-postdoc-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-tenure-track-faculty-life/

http://www.the-aps.org/mm/Careers/Mentor/Advancement-and-Promotion/Postdoctoral-Fellows/Transitioning-to-early-career-professional/Becoming-a-Faculty-Member

Online Blogs

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http://pgbovine.net/faculty-life-preparation.htm

https://advance.rice.edu/NIFP.aspx?id=200

https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2011/07/08/essay_on_the_shift_from_grad_student_to_a_professor

http://www.preparing-faculty.org/PFFWeb.PFF3Manual.htm

Reference Books• Boice, Robert. Advice for New Faculty Members: Nihil Nimus. Allyn & Bacon, 2000. • Caplan, Paula J. Lifting a Ton of Feathers: A Woman’s Guide to Surviving in the

Academic World. University of Toronto Press, 1993. • Cooper, Tuesday. The Sista’ Network: African-American Women Faculty Successfully

Negotiating the Road to Tenure. Anker Publishing, 2006. • Goldsmith, John A., John Komlos and Penny Schine Gold. The Chicago Guide to

Your Academic Career: A Portable Mentor for Scholars from Graduate School through Tenure. University of Chicago Press, 2001. See Part Two: The Academic Profession.

• Lang, James M. Life on the Tenure Track: Lessons from the First Year. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005.

• Lang, James M. On Course: A Week-by-Week Guide to Your First Semester of College Teaching. Harvard University Press, 2008.

• Lucas, Christopher J. and John W. Murry, Jr., New Faculty: A Practical Guide for Academic Beginners, PALGRAVE (St. Martin’s Press), 2002.

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Reference Books

• McKeachie, Wilbert J. and Marilla Svinicki, Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers, 12th edition, Houghton-Mifflin, 2006.

• Menges, Robert J. and Associates, Faculty in New Jobs: A Guide to Settling In, Becoming Established, and Building Institutional Support. Jossey-Bass, 1999.

• Toth, Emily. Ms. Mentor’s Impeccable Advice for Women in Academia. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997.

• Wankat, Phillip C. The Effective, Efficient Professor: Teaching, Scholarship and Service. Allyn & Bacon, 2001.

• Whicker, Marcia Lynn, Jennie Jacobs Kronenfeld & Ruth Ann Strickland. Getting Tenure (Survival Skills for Scholars). SAGE Publications, 1993.

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Faculty Life

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The life of a university faculty member (load, responsibilities)

• Traditionally defined as a three legged stoolTeachingResearchService

Faculty Life

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The life of a university faculty member (load, responsibilities)

• These days it is more like being a professional juggler

• Professional life• Teaching• Research• Service• Recruiting• Counseling• Mentoring• Leadership• Administration

Personal life• Family• Finances• Social life• Volunteering

Faculty Life

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Tenure and promotion processInstitutionTenure is a life-long commitment by the universitySuccessful faculty – innovators, leaders, producersResearch objectives in line with institutional directions

FacultyFaculty position that meets your own research and career

objectivesMember of functional, innovative and forward-looking

department and institutionSecurity offered by tenure

Faculty Life

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Tenure and promotion process

Learn about the process Keep good data Focus on teaching, research, and service Continuously update your CV Annual reviews Develop your dossier/portfolio Highlight research grants, publications and patents Develop a teaching portfolio Highlight service activities – internal and external Seek outstanding external letters

Faculty Life

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Tenure and promotion process

Be enthusiastic, engaged and involved Stay on top of the review process Ask questions if needed Don’t antagonize fellow colleagues Be mentally prepared for all outcomes Have a plan B and even a plan C….

“It is an INTENSE PROCESS.”

Questions

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