what to ask for in liberal arts assistant professor offer negotiate
Cold Bound Harb Perspect Biol. 2017 October; 9(x): a032789.
A Career at a Small Liberal Arts Higher
Abstruse
A career every bit a tenure-track professor at a liberal arts higher provides the opportunity to combine serious interests in teaching with inquiry. The bones goals of the liberal arts institution are to educate the student broadly while encouraging mastery of a item surface area of interest. Preparing for such a career requires not only a commitment to teaching merely also a productive PhD and postdoctoral experience, regardless of the expectations for agile research within the job. The application and interview processes require one to be informed, flexible, energetic, and clear—in writing and in speaking. Establishing an invigorating pedagogy and inquiry program volition allow you to balance realism and ambition equally you notice a way to bring the best science to the undergraduate setting. The exposure to students whose thinking is oftentimes more unfettered and creative, and to colleagues whose scholarships span many disciplines, makes a position at a liberal arts college ane of the near intellectually stimulating careers bachelor to a scientist.
Many young scientists accept a cracking interest in pursuing a career at institutions that focus on the education of undergraduates. These are referred to formally as baccalaureate institutions (as distinguished from research universities), and the nigh common establishment in this category is the liberal arts college.
Largely an American invention, the liberal arts college offers a broad education to students usually betwixt the ages of 18 and 22. Hundreds of institutions that focus on undergraduates are establish within the Usa; nevertheless, several countries exterior of the United States (Britain, Kingdom of the netherlands, Canada, Nippon, etc.) accept adopted variants of this model and more are likely to do so. Some U.Southward. liberal arts institutions are private (e.yard., Allegheny College, Pomona College, Reed College), some are public (e.chiliad., The College of New Jersey), some accept current connections to religious organizations (Earlham College and the Quakers, St. Olaf's and the Lutheran Church building), some have historical connections (Swarthmore and Bryn Mawr Higher were founded by Quakers), and many are secular (Amherst College). Most are coeducational, just some enroll only women (e.g., Smith, Barnard). Most have fewer than 3000 students, although some are considerably smaller than others (Pitzer Higher has just more grand students; Wellesley has more than 3000).
In their platonic, liberal arts colleges educate the "whole pupil," exposing young adults to a latitude of educational opportunities that develop their intellects and gear up them to go thinking, working, governing citizens. This emphasis on breadth is accompanied by requirements for a depth of mastery and scholarship in a major discipline of selection. Although the general, overall mission of most liberal arts colleges is like, their approaches, philosophies, and emphases vary. This is especially true in the sciences, where the emphasis on and resource for original research differ widely. At 1 end of the spectrum are colleges that are agile undergraduate research institutions, where faculty and students both are expected to continually engage in original scholarly efforts. At the other cease, are liberal arts colleges where active inquiry is not a part of task expectations and may not exist possible with the available resources. Most fall between these extremes and each higher prides itself on an individual philosophy that is reflected in their curricular offerings and hiring preferences.
Regardless of these distinctions, and regardless of the emphasis placed on agile research productivity among faculty, applicants with strong research backgrounds and agile publication records have a existent advantage. A clear delivery to education at the undergraduate level is critically important, of course, although the specific type of pedagogy experience a college will be looking for differs considerably from none to an expectation of formal in-classroom feel. Those who are most successful and happy in a career at whatsoever of the liberal arts institutions are those who derive free energy from students and classroom engagement, equally well as those who find ways to stay active in their fields, in whatever capacity they can.
JOBS
Jobs within a liberal arts college autumn within a typical academic construction and are broadly divided into tenure-track and nontenure-track positions (meet Fig. i). Tenure was originally adult to protect a faculty member'south position and autonomy from the whims of institutional donors and other decision-making members of an bookish community. It is more narrowly perceived every bit a guarantee of employment for life, although it does not protect individuals for all transgressions. Often critiqued, it can inhibit an institution'south ability to reply to professors who are underperforming. Nonetheless, arguments for its office in protecting academic freedom have trumped many attempts to dislodge information technology from academic traditions and tenure is likely here to stay for the considerable future.
Schematic of academic positions.
Tenure Track
The positions along the tenure runway provide the most autonomy, the greatest access to institutional resource, and potential job security. They progress from banana professorships, to associate professorships, to full professorships. The teaching and research performance of all professors is thoroughly reviewed at defined intervals. A reappointment review often occurs in the tertiary year. A review for promotion to acquaintance professor, which is often accompanied by the granting of tenure, occurs in the 5th to the seventh years, and a review for promotion to total professorship oftentimes occurs in the 10th yr (and beyond). A negative review at reappointment or at tenure review volition mean a loss of a chore (after a grace menstruum). A negative view after tenure can take an consequence on bacon and access to resource (e.g., laboratory infinite).
Nontenure Track
Although they are non as secure and do non always come with the same privileges, nontenure-track positions tin besides exist rewarding. They can exist temporary or permanent, part time or full time, and oft vary with the history and needs of a particular department and institution. Visiting professorships are positions that fill breather or motherhood leave openings. They are temporary and can concluding as long as three years or more, or as brusk as a semester, depending on the needs of a department. Lecturer or teacher positions may besides be temporary and typically have no expectation of or opportunity for research activities. Both of these types of positions offering opportunities for a young scientist to attempt on a liberal arts college task "for size."
Some nontenure teaching positions are also long term and about indistinguishable from a tenure-track position. These positions are often the products of historical anomaly rather than intentional hiring practices and are less dependable as task options. Each college uses its own terminology for these positions (eastward.grand., "standing engagement," "regular faculty") and you will have to verify the pregnant of these by doing some research and asking questions.
Administration
Finally, faculty members tin can too assume more authoritative positions, specially in the later on stages of their careers. Department chairs are usually tenured or full professors. Depending on the establishment, these can either be long-term or rotating positions. Department concerns are shared by all faculty, but chairs coordinate the efforts and can take a primal role in shaping the direction and ambitions of a section, and in some institutions play an important function in hiring decisions. Most faculties are also headed by a dean or provost, many of whom started their careers as professors who developed interests (and skills) in administration through their service. These are either selected from the internal faculty ranks or hired from some other establishment. They oversee faculty hiring, evolution, and academic programs. Presidents of colleges may also take held an bookish position at another college or university, and typically accept had previous substantive administrative experience (e.one thousand., as a successful provost). They govern all programming and personnel—faculty, staff, and students—and are usually hired by and written report to the institutional board of managers.
SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS
Possibly the most frequent question asked by graduate students interested in a career at an undergraduate institution is, "Do I need a postdoc for a job in a liberal arts college?" If yous are looking for a tenure-rails professorial job, a PhD is admittedly required and postdoctoral experience is highly desirable. Where an active research plan is an expectation, a postdoc (of two years or more) is a necessity. Fifty-fifty places where research programs are not as intense, and a postdoc not absolutely required, a stiff, active research and publication record will give you a competitive edge every bit a candidate.
There are several ways to infer a college'due south expectations of research activity. The institution's own website and that of the relevant science departments reveals much almost their educational and enquiry philosophy. The curriculum vitae of its current kinesthesia, which are often bachelor on the website, provide you with an splendid sense of enquiry activity. Look at publication and funding records before and after the arrival of a faculty fellow member to gain a sense of expectations.
College rankings serve every bit another indicator of inquiry accent. These rankings are controversial within the academic earth and should be viewed with the kind of scholarly skepticism that you take acquired during your training. U.S. News and World Report, perhaps the most influential rating agency, bases its rankings on multiple variables, including faculty and student resources, graduation rates, as well as the more than intangible and arguably less reliable "reputation." The top ranked liberal arts colleges on these lists tend to emphasize active enquiry in their programs; however, the correlation is not absolute. Other journals rank institutions differently and can offer additional insights. The Washington Monthly ranks institutions on the ground of their "contribution to the public adept" and Forbes ranks institutions on their assessments of the overall value of the education received (including career prospects and debt incurred). Finally, the perspectives of current students, alumni, and colleagues will round out your agreement of institution expectations.
"What kind of teaching experience exercise I need to exist competitive for a job in a liberal arts college?" is another frequently asked question. The answer likewise depends on the specific establishment as well equally the collection of your own experiences and your ability to communicate these. A successful application must clearly convey a genuine and thoughtful delivery to teaching and mentoring undergraduates. It should also provide prove for education potential, which tin have many forms, ranging from experience as a teaching assistant in a class as a graduate student, to teaching a class or 2 in whatever undergraduate setting, to really holding a position as a visiting professor at a liberal arts higher. Do not underestimate the importance of your teaching argument, which is typically requested as function of your application. In this, you lot can thoughtfully depict your unique collection of experiences and aspirations as an educator.
Although many successful applicants to liberal arts colleges have never taught a total form or received formal pupil evaluations, few successful applicants take arrived with no experience with undergraduate research. How do you gain this? Opportunities to teach in a pocket-size college setting arise informally, via contacts that you or your supervisor take with higher professors, or formally when colleges advertise (typically in the jump) for exit replacements. These visiting professorships provide rewarding and valuable experiences and can enhance your application considerably. Yet, it is important to recognize that they are designed to be temporary—non as a stepping-stone to a tenure-track position at that institution. If they remove you likewise long from research momentum, they actually can put you at a competitive disadvantage with other job candidates who are actively publishing at the time of the application. Avert extending your visit across one or two years. Your expectations of and attachment to the establishment tin can easily grow across what the position can offer.
Some colleges offer formal teaching fellowships specifically designed for postdocs interested in a career with undergraduates. These fellowships are sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Howard Hughes Medical Establish (HHMI), and other individual organizations (http://www.nationalpostdoc.org/careers/career-planning-resources/186-postdoctoral-teaching-fellowships). The motivation backside their development is impeccable and the experiences tin can as well be rewarding and valuable. Yet, similar caveats employ. Some teaching fellowships interrupt experimental momentum in ways that are hard to restore, putting y'all at a disadvantage with other candidates. The best programs are those that back up a mentored teaching experience without requiring you to stride away from your postdoctoral research training for too long.
"Should I develop a research program in a field that is more hands adapted to an undergraduate setting?" is an insightful question with a relatively simple answer. Although you lot should certainly be realistic about the resources that are required for inquiry at an institution that does not accept the same core facilities as a academy, information technology is also critically important that you avert shaping your scientific aspirations on the basis of predictable limitations. Undergraduates can do more than some doubtable and appetite is rewarded in the classroom, the laboratory, and if articulated well, among funding agencies. Every bit we will describe below, noun funding opportunities are, indeed, available to professors at undergraduate institutions. Institutions committed to faculty and student scholarship will too provide internal funding sources.
GETTING A FOOT IN THE DOOR
The nearly important way to get a "foot in the door" is to apply for the job. Where are jobs at undergraduate institutions advertised? About institutions will advertise in several places. The Science online Scientific discipline Careers site is i of the best places to look (http://scjobs.sciencemag.org/JobSeekerX/SearchJobsForm.asp). Liberal arts college positions are besides listed in the Chronicles of Higher Educational activity (https://chroniclevitae.com/job_search/new) and can be announced in online and paper publications associated with specific scientific societies. Several other online sites that gather opportunities in higher education are as well becoming more and more helpful. These include, but are not express to, Higher Ed Jobs (https://world wide web .higheredjobs.com/), Within Higher Ed (https://careers.insidehighered.com/), and Higher Ed Recruitment Consortium (HERC; https://www .hercjobs.org/). Many institutions want to enhance the variety of their kinesthesia and will list their jobs on sites that are directed specifically to individuals from underrepresented groups (east.g., http://www.minoritypostdoc.org/view/resource.html). Finally, give-and-take of mouth is powerful: Let colleagues and supervisors know about your involvement in this career angle.
What should be included in an application? The requirements are listed in the advertising and typically include a asking for a curriculum vitae, three outside letters of recommendation, as well as both teaching and research statements. Information technology is platonic to get your application in no later than the date specified and to gently but firmly make certain that your outside reviewers also get their letters in on time. Applications that exercise not include all components may not be reviewed.
Who reviews the applications? The composition of search committees varies from institution to institution. Some are composed predominantly of department members, some include faculty members who are in allied departments in the sciences, and some include faculty exterior the science divisions. Many committees at liberal arts colleges include undergraduates too. Each member, regardless of background, has a very of import say in the fit of a candidate for a department and a college.
What are they looking for? Once again, this depends on the philosophy of the institution, likewise equally the section; it helps to gain a sense of this before you employ. Regardless, energy, clarity, engagement, and genuine, informed interest are all features of successful candidates. Your teaching and inquiry statements should be thoughtfully prepared and clearly articulated (share them with colleagues before sending them). The best research statements outline several possible projects that volition be the basis for an independent scientific career. They also describe how undergraduates could participate in this development and contribute in original ways. They include recognition of the resources required, also as an interest in developing the funding or support needed to garner those resource and respond the questions that interest y'all. The all-time instruction statements describe a candidate's experiences as well as their teaching philosophy. They include articulate ideas for courses and approaches you are interested in developing (and why).
Applicants oft ask how closely they need to fit the clarification of an advertizing. If, for instance, you are a biochemist, and the ad describes a position in cellular biological science, will your application exist considered? The more than specific an ad is, the more unlikely it is that an applicant exterior the field will be considered. However, if y'all are in an centrolineal field and can clearly depict your connection to the field(s) described—and if your application is potent—you lot should certainly send the application in. Successful candidates practise not e'er fulfill every descriptive requirement and a very strong application will exist noted.
If you are short-listed by the committee, you will be asked for an interview. Some institutions may whittle a shortlist down even farther via telephone interviews. These can be anxiety provoking because you and your interviewers cannot encounter or "read" each other; however, it is improve to view them as liberating. Take advantage of the opportunity to accept the call in any environment that you discover specially relaxing. The committee will ultimately offer on-site interviews to two to five candidates, who volition normally be asked to set a research seminar and a didactics syllabus, or even a class. These candidates volition come across with all members of the search committee and department, as well as students.
Prepare your presentations with an awareness of your audience. Volition yous be speaking to first year students? Majors? A variety? Faculty in the department? Faculty in other departments? Provost? President? If you lot are asked to give a seminar try to develop i that engages students and faculty who are non experts in your field, but also progresses to a level that would be appreciated by an practiced. (This is a tall order, but a rewarding 1. Do!) The question/answer session subsequently the lecture is more revealing than the lecture itself—this is where someone who knows their work and enjoys communicating scientific discipline to students and kinesthesia will smooth, and exist revealed to members of the committee.
If you are asked to give a class, develop a brusk outline, a set of slides, and/or a handout for the students. Practise not pack your lecture with too many details or as well many slides—requite students time to digest a fact and put them into context. Exercise not be afraid to use a chalkboard or a white board—students often prefer this as an alternative to the rapidity of PowerPoint slides. Try to remember that "less is (almost) always more" and perfection is overrated.
What questions should you be prepared for? You are likely to exist asked how yous would design your inquiry plan with undergraduates, how you would contribute to and develop a particular course, and how you might be interested in contributing to other college-wide efforts. You lot may also be asked how you would help struggling students in a classroom, or how your undergraduate experience might inform your arroyo, where you think your field is going over the next decade, and what might be the greatest challenges you might face in the position. Do non be afraid to say you lot "don't know"—praise the question if it inspires you to think of something new and offer a brief, speculative answer. If students are involved, speak to them directly, as colleagues. Show an interest in the questioner and their experiences.
What questions should you enquire? Speculative scientific questions that generate give-and-take are wonderful. Simply specific questions nigh the position that prove that you are informed, thoughtful, and serious about the job are also welcome. How do professors balance pedagogy and research opportunities and expectations? How are professors mentored? Are faculty offered leaves? Course releases? How are they distributed? If the college has a robust inquiry program, do students get credit for research in the laboratories? Exercise faculty get teaching credit for mentoring students in the laboratory? How are students attracted to the laboratories? What internal research resource are there? What external funds have been or tin can be attracted? Almost importantly, questions should be asked out of genuine interest, not anxiety or strategy.
Above all, if you tin, enjoy the process. Follow upwardly with thank-you and then relax. If you do non become the offering, do not take it personally. Those who are offered an interview are non just evaluated for their own prowess but for their academic "fit" in the department—a feature that you cannot always control. Your particular scientific bent or other research emphases may overlap besides much with a potential colleague, for case. Another candidate could unexpectedly synergize or make full gaps in highly-seasoned and unanticipated means. Information technology is impossible to anticipate all. Feel free to call the head of the search committee for feedback, and recognize that being curt-listed is a genuine accomplishment.
If yous are offered the job, congratulations! You may want to make a return visit with a significant other to determine if you lot desire to accept the offer. And you volition also accept an important opportunity to negotiate for start-upwards funds and other resources prior to accepting the job—one of the only intervals in an academic career when you truly have the "upper hand." Although you should be gracious and respectful of an institution's limitations, do not be agape to inquire for what y'all actually need. Develop lists of equipment that will really help y'all develop the best program for you, your colleagues, and your students. If research productivity is an important part of the job, funds to support a research technician for a year and a reduced teaching schedule in your first or 2nd semester tin help you lot hit the ground running.
Most institutions will give you two weeks or and so to make a decision; effort to respect this time limit.
Yet, if y'all are genuinely serious about the job and take real reasons to delay, ask for an extension. Do compare offers, simply do not simply use an offering that you are non serious well-nigh to enhance another packet. Small-scale colleges are part of a small globe.
CAREER PROGRESSION
The application process is the first of many evaluations that volition span your career every bit a liberal arts college professor. Typically, y'all are given a iii-year contract every bit an banana professor; two to three years later on, you are reviewed for reappointment, a process that determines if your contract is extended for futurity consideration for tenure. The reappointment process is oftentimes used as an opportunity for both you and the institution to raise or right your trajectory. If reappointed, you will be assessed for promotion to associate professor (which often is accompanied by tenure) former between your fifth and seventh year. At least three and frequently more than years afterwards this promotion, you will be assessed for promotion to full professor.
Typically, three types of efforts are assessed during each of these evaluations: enquiry progress, productivity, and quality; teaching quality and innovation; and service. Teaching and inquiry are arguably the most important elements of all evaluations, but service (or "citizenship"—contributions on committees, on outreach efforts, etc.) should not be dismissed.
Teaching
No thing how gifted a instructor one may be or have the potential to exist, the learning bend in the classroom is very steep; the first two years will be the most exhausting (and exhilarating) as you develop the material you want to teach as well as your classroom delivery. Students are forgiving of occasional lapses in clarity if y'all are enthusiastic and responsive to their concerns, and bring a sense of cocky and sense of humor to the classroom. Getting students involved in the learning procedure is of import—and much more easily said than washed. "Clicker" technology is attractive to some, but technology is less important than on-the-spot engagement. Interrupting a lecture with a question that y'all allow students to discuss briefly, asking them to scribble a model or write down an answer to a problem can as well involve and invigorate students, even in a large classroom.
Make time for your students. You will be given much advice about setting boundaries. Indeed, protecting your time and striking balances are important. Even so, the quality of your teaching and your students' education—and arguably your enjoyment of the job—is enhanced by a willingness to engage questions and concerns, sometimes even outside of standard office hours.
Have your students' input seriously—they tin can often see things more clearly than you lot and tin be more straight in their concerns. Try to avoid feeling defensive and try not to internalize negative comments—dismiss them chop-chop if they are outliers, but respond to them in the next setting if they resonate with your and others' honest assessments. Bask the positive ones, always.
Research
Information technology should exist clear past at present that inquiry expectations equally a liberal arts professor vary widely. Some desire you lot to exist funded and actively publishing, although at a lower rate than at research universities. Some do not require active bench research at all. If active research is a requirement, how can you sustain a plan without the resources offered past a university? Sheer will is an important offset requirement, only other resource facilitate the effort.
Funding
Multiple agencies provide funding specific for faculty from minor colleges. National Science Foundation (NSF) offers a Research at Undergraduate Institution (RUI) grant, which is evaluated for quality in the same pool as all other grants, simply takes into business relationship differences in resources, publication pace, also as the educational bonus. The NIH R21 award is another granting opportunity specific for small college laboratories. Both NSF and NIH offer opportunities to fund equipment purchases and welcome proposals from groups of professors. Some scientific societies and individual organizations can supplement your students' research goals with smaller awards. Finally, internal funds at some institutions can be a big help, especially early in your career. If your commencement grant does not succeed, speak to your plan director, share your piece of work with colleagues, and try again. Critique ofttimes enhances quality.
Institutional Support
Institutional commitment to resources that back up research is as well invaluable; it is hard to work in an environment where your ambitions are the exception, even if you take funding. Ideally, institutions serious about research demand to offering kickoff-upwardly funds; some existing facilities and the ways to keep them upwards; matching costs for equipment requested in grants; personnel to help with grant training, submission, and instrument maintenance; funds for work-study and summertime students; and a genuine expectation that all faculty maintain an active research program. In reality, some institutions are in a position to offer more than others. Nonetheless, even less-well-off institutions tin support and inspire excellent research. Your own efforts are an important part of maintaining research quality, culture, and resources.
Connectedness to Your Profession
At a small college you are often more isolated from your firsthand scientific colleagues, and it is important to maintain contact with your profession. Attend meetings at to the lowest degree once a twelvemonth, serve on review panels, and give seminars at other institutions. Develop collaborations with colleagues at other universities. And bring your students to your meetings—ask them to present their work. This provides all of you with a unique exposure—and contributes to your balancing act by combining professional and educational ambitions.
Service
Throughout your career, y'all volition be asked to assume section-wide and higher-wide responsibilities in addition to your education and research efforts. Immature professors are typically protected from as well much service, which is often performed in committees. However, some committee work is worthwhile, exposing yous to colleagues, experiences, and resources that enhance your development as a teacher and scholar. Some besides inspire interests and opportunities that shape or alter your career goals. Exist a good citizen when y'all demand to exist, be selective when yous can be, and practice not exist afraid to cover opportunities that excite you.
Who will evaluate your performance in these three categories? At each interval, an elected or selected commission of respected colleagues and administrative representatives (e.grand., the dean or provost) will review an assembled portfolio of your accomplishments, likewise every bit internal and external assessments of these accomplishments and make a recommendation to the president, who has the terminal give-and-take. Students, departmental colleagues, other faculty, and exterior scholars will all be asked for perspectives. The weight given to each input varies with the establishment and with the promotion nether consideration. Tenure reviews are the nearly demanding, but in some institutions, reappointment and full professor promotions are every bit intensive. Familiarize yourself with the requirements and procedures associated with promotion at your institution, merely exercise not overly strategize or politicize the procedure. High internal standards are often an splendid guide to success.
Balancing Work and Family
Careers at small colleges are considered by many to be "family friendly." It is truthful that a small institution can provide a community that is both receptive to and nurturing of the "whole faculty member" and their families, and information technology is likewise true that the autonomy of the chore can provide you the freedom to be flexible with schedules. Nonetheless, it is important to understand that being a faculty member at a small college is a 24/7 task that you cannot easily go out "at piece of work." Your grading, your course development, your mentoring, your research, and your guilt for not reading enough literature will oft invade your family unit life—and vice versa. However, with energy and wisdom, attention to boundaries and flexibility, it can exist done and you are likely to find real rewards in the occasional synergy inspired by raising children and mentoring students. Remember that at that place is never one "right" time to grow a family; the choice is an important one and a personal one.
WAY OUT
Those who bring together the faculty of a pocket-size liberal arts higher and receive tenure often stay in the position for a long time. However, some exercise pursue other opportunities. Virtually oft, senior faculty who have adult administrative skills are attracted to provost or dean positions. Science kinesthesia besides presume leadership positions in government and private funding agencies. Some scientists who have maintained a productive professional profile are wooed by other bookish institutions—other small colleges, research universities, or pharmaceutical companies. Regardless, the options one has depend on the record y'all accept developed. They narrow considerably if your productivity and/or profile wane, particularly later on tenure.
Footnotes
Editors: Kaaren Janssen and Richard Sever
Additional Perspectives on Career Options for Biomedical Scientists available at www.cshperspectives.org
Articles from Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology are provided here courtesy of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5629999/
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