Dr. Richard M. Reis

Reis@stanford.edu

UC Davis

October 3, 2003

Preparing Now For Your Future Academic Career

Introduction and BriefOverview

• Why Tomorrow’s Professor?• The academic enterprise• Preparing for an academic career• Finding, and getting, the best possible academic

position• Tomorrow’s Professor Listserve

Why Tomorrow’s Professor?

• Lack of understanding of the academic enterprise.

• Decisions for and against academic careers made for the wrong (as well as the right) reasons.

• More to preparing for an academic career than getting a Ph.D.

• More to succeeding in an academic career than teaching and research.

The Academic Enterprise

• Unlike any other institution

• The Carnegie classification

• A new definition of scholarship

The Academic Enterprise

• Unlike an other institution

– Individual autonomy– Accountability– Rewards and recognition – Tenure

The Academic Enterprise

• The Carnegie Classification

– Baccalaureate ~630– Master’s Granting ~530– Doctorate ~110– Research ~125

Preparing for an Academic Career

• A consequential decision• What to do about supply and demand • The Three-Pronged preparation strategy• Research and teaching experiences as a

graduate student and postdoc

The Three-Way Stretch Preparation

Strategy

– Breadth-on-top-of depth

– Next-stage

– Multiple option

The Three-Way Stretch Preparation

Strategy

• Breadth-on-Top-of-Depth

Places your developing expertise in a broad context,

allows you to see connections between your work and that

of others, to develop related areas of depth, and to make a

more compelling case for your own contribution.

The Three-Way Stretch Preparation

Strategy

• Next -Stage

Enables you to think ahead, look ahead, and act ahead ofthe stage you (and your future competition) currentlyoccupy and thus not only demonstrate your willingness,but also your readiness, to assume the position you areseeking.

The Three-Way Stretch Preparation

Strategy

• Multiple Options

Allows you to prepare concurrently for careers in

academia, government, and industry.

• Strategy applies to:

– Choosing A Graduate School or Postdoc Institution

– Choosing A Research Topic, Dissertation Advisor and Postdoc Supervisor

– Publishing– Attending Conferences and Other Professional

Meetings

The Three-Way Stretch Preparation

Strategy

The Three-Way Stretch Preparation

Strategy

– Presentations

– Supervising Other Researchers

– Managing Research Projects

– Teaching Experiences

Finding and Getting the Best Possible Academic Position

• Identifying the possibilities• Applying for positions• What departments look for in new faculty• Getting the results you want

Finding and Getting the Best Possible Academic Position

• Identifying the possibilities

– Explore Now, Search Later

– Deciding What You Want

– Researching What’s Out There

– Preparing for the Search

Finding and Getting the Best Possible Academic Position

• Applying for positions

– Preparing Your Application Materials

– The Application Process

Finding and Getting the Best Possible Academic Position

• What departments look for in new faculty– Overall promise,– General teaching ability,ability to teach courses in

need of staffing,– Ability to do research, scholarship in specific areas,

a specific research orientation,– Compatibility with department and institution, and– Potential for securing external research funding.

Finding and Getting the Best Possible Academic Position

• Getting the results you want

– Your Negotiating Approach

– Negotiating Principles

– Dual-Career Couples

– What if You Don’t Get the Job You Want?

Tomorrow’s Professor’s Listserve

Tomorrow’s Professor Listserve is sent by-weekly to approximately 18,000subscribers, mostly graduate students, postdocs and beginning faculty at over500 colleges and universities in 106 countries around the world.

Academia* New Faculty Reward Structures* Faculty Learning and Institutional Change

Preparing for Academic Careers* The Academic Job Talk.* General Principles For Responding to Academic Job Offers

Tomorrow’s Professor’s Listserve

Managing Your Academic Career* Tenure Tips* Twelve Suggestions for Optimizing Academic Career Success

Teaching and Learning* Improving Student Learning While Saving Faculty Time* How Students Learn, How Teachers Teach, and What Goes Wrong With the Process

Research* Elements Found in Most Successful Proposals* How Graduate Students and Faculty Miscommunicate

Tomorrow’s Professor’s Listserve

You can SUBSCRIBE to Tomorrows-Professor Listserver by sending the following e-mail message: [subscribe tomorrows-professor], to:

[Majordomo@lists.stanford.edu]