Are you interviewing at the AHA in New Orleans this weekend? Today's Inside Higher Ed is running an old "The Way of Improvement Leads Home" blog post on interviewing at teaching colleges. Here is a taste:
This piece is about interviewing at colleges and universities that
stress teaching over research. This, I might add, is the overwhelming
majority of colleges and universities. It is important to remember that
the phrase "teaching college" can be applied to a host of different
kinds of institutions. Elite and not-so-elite liberal arts colleges,
private comprehensive colleges, and non-flagship state universities, for
example, would all find a comfortable home in the "teaching college"
tent.
This may be stating the obvious, but it is still worth mentioning that
committees from these colleges are looking for an excellent teacher.
Some may want to hire a "teacher-scholar," or a person who sees their
vocation in terms of blending traditional scholarship and teaching.
Others may want someone who is a teacher first and a researcher/writer
second. Still others may not give a lick about your research or how many
books and articles you hope to churn out over the course of your
career. Whatever the case, all of the colleges in this category want a
person who not only works well with students, but actually has a desire
to do so.
As you might imagine, your "research" is not going to be as important
to the search committee at a teaching college as it might be if you were
interviewing with a research university. This does not mean that the
search committee will not care about your dissertation or book
manuscript. In most cases committee members will ask you about your
research and, in some cases, may find it quite interesting. You may even
find that many of these colleges have incentives in place, such as
summer research stipends or course reductions, to help you achieve your
research and publication goals. But always remember that teaching comes
first.
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