150 likes | 255 Views
The Future Professoriate FE 607 Introduction. Jeff McDonnell Dept. Forest Engineering, Resources and Mgmt. Oregon State University. Acknowledgements. Don Siegel, Syracuse University Guru and brightest/funniest guy I know…. Check out his cookbook. Why this class.
E N D
The Future ProfessoriateFE 607Introduction Jeff McDonnell Dept. Forest Engineering, Resources and Mgmt. Oregon State University
Acknowledgements • Don Siegel, Syracuse University • Guru and brightest/funniest guy I know…. • Check out his cookbook
Why this class • Know this reality now and start on a path that will ensure success • To demystify academia and show what motivates people in different positions in the university • Like making sausage…..
It works like this Everyone involved has their own evil master plan…..knowing this a priori helps enormously
Why this class? • The university is a highly political place • Old joke • Why is competition so severe: because the stakes are so low! • The brightest people often aren’t the ones who get farthest ahead • It’s a game and there are some rules • There’s also networking, schmoozing and other sordid details (that we’ll discuss) • This class will explore the written (and largely unwritten) rules of the game
This course • Four meetings • How to get an academic job • How to get tenure • How to publish • How to get grants • Readings • Chronicle of Higher Education reprints • Books on the subject • Discussions • Informal, Open and candid, Honest (brutally), Personal • Think of it as group therapy!
Why these topics? • When I give talks at universities—these are always the topic of discussion over beer! • My experiences and the experiences of my PhD students and post docs have shown these to be NB • When I do editing work for journals—seems that same issues appear over and over • My recent Committee of Visitor review of NSF—seems that some inside knowledge could help • My P & T committee work has shown that there are some simple things people should know (that no one in administration will ever tell you)
How to get an academic jobOctober 16 • PhD as a launching pad • Things that can be done while still a student to separate you from the 100 other applicants • Why Post Docs are so helpful • A time to crank and become a idea generator • An apprenticeship in academia (without distractions) • The letter, CV (and teaching statement) • How search committees operate • The academic interview • A personality contest • The seminar: not an AGU talk! • What are the people who interview you looking for? • Negotiating the job • Salary, start-up, teaching, lab space, student support, summer salary • Who has the money and power to make decisions?
How to get tenureOctober 30 • The plight of an untenured Assistant Professor • You are now running a small business • What your Dean and VP for Research want • What your Dept. Head wants • What’s best for YOU • You as an hydrological Olympic athlete • How much time to spend working out, er writing grants? • Managing the madness • How to say no gracefully • Approaches to MS vs PhD students vs Post Docs • Committees: Something that can suck the life (and time) out of you • What extracurricular work should you do (and not do) • Tenure is essentially about your national reputation after 6 years • The P&T dossier and making a case that is undeniable
How to publishNovember 13 • Writing a paper • The top-down approach • Story boards, idea brand identity and structural formula focused on status quo, what’s wrong with status quo and how you go beyond it • What journals? • Reviewing • Why it is SO useful, how many should you review, …? • As a pathway to becoming an Associate editor • How journals work • What motivates editors, what aggravates reviewers • It’s a numbers game • ISI, H-Index, and all the other indices
How to win grantsNovember 20 • An inside look at NSF • Hallmarks of a winning NSF proposal (completely different writing to a journal article) • How the review process works • The Panel • Interacting with the Program Director • Why visiting NSF in person early on is SO important • Other Federal agencies • USDA, NASA, USGS, DOE • State and local agencies • The good, the bad and the ugly • What is good money and what is bad money • For your time, your reputation, your program • Grants as stock portfolios: diversity key • How to leverage your grant success at the university • Know how this pays bills
Also Read • Kennedy, D. (1997). Academic Duty. Harvard University Press, 310p. • To teach • To mentor • To serve • To discover • To publish • To tell the truth • To reach beyond the walls • To change • Other good books: • Moo, Jane Smiley • An untenured professor, John Kenneth Galbraith • Countless others……..
What you’ll begin to appreciate • Time management is everything • Demonstrated enthusiasm helps overcome other shortcomings • People skills help enormously • Being comfortable speaking extemporaneously • Being a professor is being: • An idea generator and writer • A small business owner and company manager • Success is easier if you go narrow
Introductions • You • Your field of study (department) • Your career stage (new/old PhD student, post doc, Assistant Prof….) • What you would like me to cover beyond that already discussed?