Academic Careers Adapted from presentations and slides by: T. Williams - Texas A & M University C. Ellis - Duke University S. Castaneda, Clarke College The CRA-W Grad Cohort for Women Program

What does a faculty member do?  Research  engage in scientific discovery  involve students (grad, undergrad)  obtain research funding  Teaching  classroom teaching  mentoring DO EVERYTHING WELL!  advising  Service  departmental  university  professional

Types of Institutions (US)  Research universities (Ph.D. program) - research is paramount  Colleges/universities: M.S. program - emphasize teaching but research is a close second  Selective liberal arts colleges: B.S. program – emphasize teaching and service, but scholarship also counts  Teaching-oriented colleges: B.S. program – emphasize teaching & service Within institutions - different priorities can exist

Examples of different expectations  Research Institution  60-80% Research  10-35% Teaching  5-10% Service  Teaching-oriented College  50-80% Teaching  10-30% Professional Development  10-20% Service

Academic Ranks  Professorial Ranks  Assistant Professor (untenured) -- 6 years  Associate Professor (with tenure)  Full Professor  Chaired Professor (in CIS: Amer)  Administrative Ranks  Department Chair  Dean - in charge of a college  Provost - chief academic officer  President  Instructor or Lecturer – teaching & service  Postdoctoral positions - research

Research - Research University  Publications – journals, conferences, workshops  External research funding - NSF, US Army, NIH, NASA, …  Graduate student training (PhD students)  Reputation  Maybe:  Undergraduate research mentoring  Patents, software artifacts,…

Teaching - Research University Teaching load: generally 1+1 to 2+2, but in CS 1+2 common  Audience: undergrads, grads, mix  Course material: intro undergrad through core grad course, to research seminar  Teaching assistants Very good research, bad teaching – may not be promoted Excellent teaching, mediocre research - will not be promoted

Research - Undergrad Institution “Professional Development” Some combination of these:  Research  Teaching skills development  Professional conferences, workshops  Publishing (sometimes teaching related)  Work with professional organizations

Teaching - Undergrad Institution  Teaching is primary responsibility – 2+2 to 4+4  Audience is all undergrads  Teach wider variety of courses  Teach the same course less often due to smaller faculty size  More office hours  Closer student interactions  Research area may be too specialized to teach as a course  Smaller class size  Teaching assistants, if available, are senior undergrads  Often you grade assignments

Service - Research University  Department committees  University committees (usually after tenure)  External Professional Service  Program committees  Funding panels  Conference organization  Professional society involvement  Journal editorship; program chair, conf organization Higher in rank, more service (internal + external)

Service - Undergrad Institution  College - committee work  Department  Committees  Advising – formal and informal  Recruiting  Labs, work study, library acquisitions, clubs, …  Community  Consulting  Speaking

Rewards of a Research University  Love of research and freedom to do research that you want  Working with and training graduate students  Involving undergraduates in research  Making friends across the world  Variety of work  Can create the kind of career that you want – you can be very independent (as long as meet expectations)

Rewards of an Undergrad Institution  Opportunity to teach as a passion!  Close relationship with undergrads You can make a big difference  Colleagues in various departments  Chance for leadership and influence early on