ARG 2001 Winning That Academic Job Special Session

ARG© 2001 Winning That Academic Job Special Session IV: Wednesday, June 30, 6: 00 pm-7: 30 pm Andrew Alleyne Ralph and Catherine Fisher Professor of Engineering University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign alleyne@uiuc. edu

Outline <What is the life as an assistant professor? 4 Some ‘big picture’ perspectives. <The interview 4 A few key points

Life as an Assistant Professor <You’ll be asked to take on many different roles. 4 Most of which you haven’t done before. <Prioritizing your time will be extremely important. 4 Choosing and mentoring graduate students was my highest priority. 4 Coursework and teaching was second 4 Then committee work • Internal and then external.

Life as an Assistant Professor <What does my institution want from me? <Institutional “currency” is a qualitative thing called prestige. 4 Separates Princeton from Pepperdine. <Prestige is primarily generated by external research visibility. 4 Case in point: was Albert Einstein a good teacher? A diligent committee member? A good mentor?

Life as an Assistant Professor <Your institution wishes you to generate prestige that will reflect well on them. 4 This usually leads to a common path. 4…but not always. <Proposals Funding Research Papers Conference and Journal dissemination Recognition Prestige. <$$ are a means to an end, not an end.

Life as an Assistant Professor <You’re running a marathon, not a series of sprints. Marion Jones Joe Le. May

Life as an Assistant Professor <Pick a pace that you can sustain for a long time. 4 Try to keep your life in balance while doing so. <Tenure becomes a “ 6 mile-marker” that you pass along the way. <You’re in this for the 25 -30+ mile journey and beyond. <Want to avoid a post-tenure ‘crash. ’

The Interview <One of the most thoughtful and pragmatic documents written on this can be found at: 4 http: //quattro. me. uiuc. edu/~jon/ACAJOB/index. html 4 Authored by Jon Dantzig at UIUC. <It can also be found with a web search “Landing an Academic Job. ” <A must read for those interviewing! 4 Note: last updated late 1990’s so a bit outdated on some things but still very valuable.

The Schedule/Itinerary <Your schedule will be very full. 4 30 minute slots back to back. <Prepare by knowing the individuals’ technical backgrounds 4 “Soooo, tell me what you do” is not very productive use of time. <Identify those whose technical areas don’t overlap. 4 Ask them programmatic or institutional questions 4 Can also use them for bathroom breaks, etc. <Remember…you’re always being evaluated. 4 Even after hours.

Interactions with Faculty <Have prepared questions that you ask to several different people. 4 Particularly those out of your technical area. 4 Direction of unit; recent hires; historical challenges; tenure rates; satisfaction level of faculty. <Look for consistency in responses. 4 Particularly for administrators (dean & dept heads) 4 Inconsistency should raise a flag <You’re selling yourself but you’re also shopping for an institution too!

Interactions with Faculty <Technical peers 4 Demonstrate technical depth and skills. <Faculty outside your technical area. 4 Demonstrate ‘go getter’ personality and collegiality. 4 Vision or plan for what your research and teaching will entail. <Administrative 4 Demonstrate how your area fits in to the national research picture. 4 What impact will your area have

Seminar <Most important single thing you’ll do. 4 Try to make sure everyone in attendance comes away with something. <Key issues you must get across: <What problem have I worked on? <Why would anyone work on this problem? <What is significant about what I have done? <How has my work made progress on the problem?

Seminar SUGGESTED STRUCTURE FOR THE INTERVIEW SEMINAR Content Time (min) Target Audience Detail Level / Purpose Background 15 Everyone present Your parents would understand it Your approach 10 People in related fields Show you know the field Your results 10 People who work in your field Show that you are the world expert on something Summary 10 Everyone in the room Relate your results to the big picture Show good time management skills; more may actually be less here.