(...this is a long response to Chuck's request!...)
How refreshing (ditto to Gary)!! As most of you know, I've just survived
my first academic year as a new faculty. It's really nice to see,
Chuck, that there are some intiatives out there to help with the
transition. I would LOVE to hear more ideas of reading materials. I am
one of the lucky ones in that I came into an exceptionally supportive
department; we work well together and we're all involved with
departmental decisions. Although I'm not at a Liberal Arts institute
(small University with 9000 students undergrad+grad), I am in a small
department (6 faculty) within the College of Liberal Arts. So I guess
I'm only qualified to really address #3 of Chuck's request. ("How to
manage the transition from graduate student to faculty member.")
One of the toughest issues I had to deal with all year long was the
"workload" management (I'm in a tripartite position: 80-15-5) and
learning how to protect my time. By the middle of my second semester, I
was completely overwhelmed with administrative duties and my time was
controlled for me. I had no way to dig out of the muck I was buried in,
leading to 12-14 hour days, 7 days a week. The advantage I had was that
I LOVE doing everything that I was buried in, I just didn't have the
time to get it all done. I was a TA for 6 years and thought a faculty
position would just be an extension of that. It wasn't an extension; it
was a whole nother ladder!!! We just had our end of the year debriefing
retreat, and I stated that my biggest goal for next year is to protect
my time from the beginning. I thought I was good at saying "no" and I
had a GREAT chairman that helped me say no, but I still got
overwhelmed. I was absorbed with "making an impression" with the
administration and thought I had to be involved in all the little
meetings, seminars, initiatives, searches, etc if I wanted to be
accepted.
The bottom line was that Spring semester forced me to do some soul
searching (I took many of those refreshing walks that Louis mentioned so
often! - even at -40F!). I realized that it was WAY too easy to be
sucked into the system. I needed to step back to the reasons I chose
this position and become proactive to maintain those goals. I've
learned that there is NO way to please everyone with my decisions (that
was a really hard thing for me to accept) and I need to be firm with
what I'm here for.
So the suggestion I can make is that, in addition to reading materials,
that the current faculty provide extended support to aid in the
transition of the new faculty. I moved up here with my husband and came
into a department with 2 other jr. faculty and 3 sr. faculty. We were
SOOOO lucky to be welcomed with open arms, invited to several pot-lucks
early on, included in plans to go for hikes, canoing, kayaking, skating,
snowboarding, skiing, camping, movies, etc (can you tell I live in
Alaska!?), and attended several mentoring sessions with the senior
faculty throughout the year to catch things as they occurred. Other
faculty were always stopping by my office for a smile, joke or advice.
Another thing that made a huge difference is the network of new faculty
on campus. They actually have a "New Faculty Club" that meets every
Friday for Happy Hour. They also have a handbook and a listserv for new
faculty. Several sr. faculty are a part of the Friday events and the
listserv, so there's always discussion of what to do outside school,
where in town to get boots for taking walks when it's -50F, and how to
handle a difficult classroom situation. In a small town, it's nice to
have that comradery (sp?). I could NOT have survived this year without
the network of other new faculty that was available; it ensured that the
frustrations I encountered were typical for first year.
I'm sorry I rambled on for so long, but have spent alot of time thinking
about all this. With all the stories I've heard from colleagues, I'm
very aware of how lucky I am. I hope to get the message out to everyone
to "Please embrace your new faculty!" They really need the support from
colleagues. You have no idea how wonderful it is to be asked to join
someone for lunch, or a walk across campus, or even a smile and "How are
things today?"
Thanks for the opportunity Chuck!
Dani'
---------------------------
Dani' K. Raap, Ph.D.
http://www.uaf.edu/psych/
Department of Psychology
University of Alaska Fairbanks
P.O. Box 756480
Fairbanks, AK 99775-6480
(907)474-6514 - office
lab (907)474-6542
FAX (907)474-5781
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Gary Peterson wrote:
>
> What a refreshing request. Is a liberal arts education still possible?
> What do we mean by it these days? I have been reading:
> "Does anyone really believe anymore in the promise of the liberal
> arts, in the ideal of a well-rounded human being who pursues truth and
> wisdom as much as power and technological knowledge?"
> "The resurgence of interest in teaching in the university is not about
> the content of courses but about the style of the teacher. The search for
> the perfect technique that will both motivate students and make learning
> painless is as magical as the search for the Holy Grail. These teaching
> wizards advocate approaches like collaborative learning, smart classrooms,
> and long distance learning. Equally superstitious is the advocacy of
> critical-thinking courses, as if one could teach critical thinking as a
> technique."
>
> Could the new professor still share---indeed, have inculcated
> educational values that counter the above assessment? We may hope. Sorry
> my reading this week is less useful to the new faculty member, but I like
> the idea of such support for the new faculty and would also be interested in
> readings for them. Gary Peterson
>
> The above quotes are from:
>
> Stivers, R. (1999). __Technology as magic: The triumph of the
> irrational.__ New York: Continuum Publishing.
>
> >We have just negotiated a deal with a new faculty member who will be
> >arriving on our campus in the fall. I am planning on putting
> >together a set of books and readings that will help this person think
> >about:
> >
> >1) What a "liberal arts college" education is about and how it might
> >differ from the universities where most of us were trained.
> >
> >2) What a liberal arts psychology major and teaching might be.
> >
> >3) How to manage the transition from graduate student to faculty member.
> >
> >and other topics you might think important. I would appreciate
> >nominations of books and articles you think we should send include.
> >
> >I am already planning on including:
> >
> >Gibson, G. W. (1992). Good start : a guidebook for new faculty in
> >liberal arts colleges. Bolton, MA : Anker.
> >
> >McGovern, T. V. (ed.) (1993). Handbook for enhancing undergraduate
> >education in psychology. Washington, DC: APA.
> >
> >Schwandt, P, De Krey, G, & Lagerquist, L. D. (eds.) (1999). Called to
> >serve : St. Olaf and the vocation of a church college. Northfield, MN
> >: St. Olaf College.
> >
> >McKeachie, W. J. (1999). Teaching tips: strategies, research, and
> >theory for college and university teachers (10th ed.). New York:
> >Houghton Mifflin.
> >
> >and selections from the special issue:
> >Graubard, S. R. (ed.) (1999). Special Issue on Distinctively
> >American: The residential liberal arts colleges. Daedalus 128(1).
> >
> >Many thanks,
> >-Chuck
> >
> >
> >- Chuck Huff Psychology Department
> >- Associate Professor St.Olaf College
> >- Tutor in the Paracollege 1520 St. Olaf Avenue
> >- 507.646.3169 Fax: 646.3774 Northfield, MN 55057-1098
> >- [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.stolaf.edu/people/huff/
