Obtaining and Sustaining a Career at a Four Year College: A balancing act

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Obtaining and Sustaining a Career at a Four Year
College A balancing act

• Amy Cheng Vollmer
• Professor of Biology
• Swarthmore College
• avollme1_at_swarthmore.edu

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Overview

• Its not easier, its different
• Diversity of institutions
• Youre the only one
• Teaching What, how, to whom?
• Research How, what, when, when, why?
• Promotion and tenure
• Life lines Mentoring and Networking
• Resources and support
• Jobs and Job Hunting
• Balance

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Faculty Position at a 4-year College

• Compared with a university professorship
• its not easier or harder, its different
• You still have to be excellent
• to be hired
• to be promoted

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A 4-Year College Career Its not easier, its
different Advantage Disadvantage family
friendly its harder to keep up students move
on students move on projects can be high
risk progress is slow no huge grant
needed grants still needed salary not from
grant no summer if no grant University
faculty want your students, but dont always
respect your work in grant panels
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Diversity of institutions Learn about the
history, traditions, role in the community and in
higher education

• Public vs private
• Religious denomination vs non-sectarian
• Liberal arts vs technical/vocational
• Suburban vs rural vs urban
• Residential vs commuter
• Co-ed vs single sex
• Teaching load 4-6 courses per year
• Involvement with the community/town
• Outreach

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Youre the only one be a generalist
Biology department at Swarthmore microbiologist
cell biologist geneticist animal developmental
biologist neurobiologist animal
behaviorist vertebrate physiologist invertebrate
biomechanist plant ecologist plant
evolutionary biologist plant developmental
biologist

General microbiology Medical microbiology Microbia
l ecology Biotechnology Industrial
microbiology Immune response Virology Introductory
microbiology Bioethics Astrobiology Why We Get
Sick
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Teaching What, how, to whom?

• What - CURRICULAR NEEDS (ASM curriculum
  guidelines)
• microbiology, molecular biology, microbial
  genetics,
• metabolism, microbial ecology, evolution
• How - RESPOND TO DIFFERENT LEARNING STYLES
• not just lecture interactive, cooperative
  learning, open-ended, problem-based,
  investigative
• To whom - KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE!!!!!
• large/small classes
• majors/non-majors
• introductory/advanced
• basic/applied

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Decisions, decisions.

• Syllabus, textbooks
• Assignments, expectations
• Lab manual, experiments
• Lab preparation media, reagents, strains
• Assessment/Rubrics
• Exams
• Papers
• Lab reports
• Oral presentations

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How to gain teaching experience

• guest lecturing
• mentoring a research student
• teaching a course or lab
• planning a meeting/symposium
• designing a lab exercise
• filling in a one-year position
• community college position
• sit in on good lectures - note what is good
• practice, practice, practice!!

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Research How, what, when, where, why?

• How - short projects, build in continuity
• you must be in the lab
• What - choice of system is key
• whats the burning question?
• When - during the semester (part of a lab class)
• during the summer
• Where - on or off campus
• Why - to keep your teaching relevant
• to answer the burning question
• to train students
• to have fun

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A suitable system for research

• what is the burning question?
• which model organism/system?
• safety for students
• economical
• repeat rate
• learning curve
• maintenance
• for what methods are you expert?
• are there local collaborators?

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• Features of bacterial systems
• ease of culture
• short generation times
• genetic manipulation
• unique niches diversity
• 3.4 billion years of survival
• impact of human history
• impact on geological history
• basic research
• applied research
• medical importance
• environmental importance

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Other Aspects of Research to Consider
Recruiting students Introduce your
system/questions in class Posters showing
student work Training students How and
why Controls Record keeping Lab
dynamics Getting results Focus the
project Realistic expectations Communicating
results Weekly group meetings Public
meetings Funding NIH AREA grants, NSF-RUIs,
ASM-URFs, Merck-AAAS (HHMI institutional)
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Promotion and tenure

• Spelled out in faculty handbook rules of
  conduct, review criteria
• Teaching - how is it measured?
• how do you improve?
• Research - does it count? What counts?
• do expectations match support, facilities?
• is there a culture of research in the dept?
• is it a requirement for students?
• Service - committees, advising
• specifics radiation safety, animal care
• professional activities
• professional society
• editorial service
• peer review panels

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Is it necessary to do a post-doc?

• Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• momentum for research start up
• networking
• more experience as investigator
• more techniques
• more time to write - grants, papers
• For an institution like Swarthmore,
• but not necessarily for another institution

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Literature - for teaching
Just as you do in research consult literature
for methods attend meetings and
conferences Learn about pedagogy Different
styles of learning Different ways to assess
learning How to mentor students
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The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)

• Journal of Microbiology Biology Education
• Cell Biology Education
• Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education
• Journal of Chemical Education
• Other journals published by
• National Association of Biology Teachers
• National Association of Science Teaching
• Association of Biology Laboratory Educators

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Professional Life lines

• Mentoring
• Its like parenting
• Its like herding
• Its like housekeeping
• You need to be a mentor
• You need to seek mentors
• Networking
• Stay in the loop, since youre the only on
• Local colleagues
• Seminars at other campuses
• Guest lectures
• Conferences and meetings
• LISTSERVES

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• Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
• For the beginning
• faculty member
• Start up
• Setting up lab
• Hiring/firing
• Grant writing
• A methods manual
• Many faculty have this
• on their shelves

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http//www.hhmi.org/grants/pdf/labmgmt/book.pdf
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Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press (2005)

• about the challenges of doing science and
  dealing with the individuals involved, including
  oneself. The authors, a scientist and a
  psychotherapist, draw on principles of group and
  behavioral psychology but speak to scientists in
  their own language about their experiences. They
  offer in depth, practical advice, real-life
  examples and exercises tailored to scientific and
  technical workplaces on topics as diverse as
  conflict resolution, negotiation, dealing with
  supervision, working with competing peers

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http//www.hhmi.org/grants/pdf/labmgmt/entering_me
ntoring.pdf
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Examples of other trajectories

• Tech writer
• Publishing
• Journalism
• Venture capital
• Business analyst
• Entrepreneur
• Patent agent law
• Public policy
• Regulatory affairs

Academic Press
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Job Hunting

• A career should match your temperament, skills
• Educate yourself about careers
• Educate yourself about a particular workplace
• What is the daily life for that professional?
• Make a good match between your interests and
  abilities and a career

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Job Hunting

• Read the ad carefully and show that you are a
  great match
• Cover letter should answer any questions
• Teaching and research statements
• CV should show teaching and research
• Copies of papers, only if requested
• No extras - less is more!
• Request appropriate reference letters
• Proofread
• Observe deadlines

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Negotiating the offer

• Dont be a jerk/prima donna
• Negotiate in good faith
• Find out what is typical for new faculty
• Be willing to share, wait
• Dont spend all of the start-up immediately
• Get everything in writing
• Be grateful and a good departmental citizen

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Balance

• You cant do it all limit and focus
• Prioritize
• Dont procrastinate
• Check in with your mentors - seek advice
• Just say no - dont over-extend
• Network
• Reduce stress

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Follow your passion!

• Choose a subject you love
• Pursue knowledge, skill aggressively
• Encourage and inspire others
• Be broad and inclusive
• Share your knowledge and ideas
• mentor and be mentored