Preparing for Faculty Job Applications Series

This Fall series of participatory workshops focuses on the academic job market and addresses topics such as writing teaching, research, and diversity statements; creating ePortfolios; managing your online presence; and preparing for interviews.

Schedule and Descriptions

  • All times are in Mountain Standard (Arizona Time)
  • All sessions are FREE to register for and attend. Registration is required for each session of the series.

Overview of Academic Career Pathways

  • September 10, 2024, 12:30 PM to 1:45 PM
  • Facilitator: Dr. Vignesh Subbian, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Systems & Industrial Engineering
  • Navigating the job market can be a daunting task, especially for PhDs. This introductory workshop focuses on what career paths you can consider as someone with advanced doctoral or postdoctoral training. Attendees will gain insight into the career pathways within academia and higher education and how to begin navigating each path.
  • Register

Developing your Teaching and Research Statements

  • September 17, 2024, 12:30 PM to 1:45 PM Arizona Time
  • Facilitators: 
    • Dr Erin Galyen, Professor of Practice, University Center for Assessment, Teaching, & Technology
    • Dr. Kirstin Winet, Associate Professor of Practice, University Center for Assessment, Teaching, & Technology
  • Teaching and research statements represent core elements of the faculty job application, as they communicate not only what you can do, but also who you are. In this workshop, participants will engage in individual exercises and group discussions to begin to develop or refine their Teaching and Research Statements, including working with sample statements. Participants will also discuss what evidence is appropriate to include and ways to communicate or represent evidence in these statements, such as results from research, Teacher Course Evaluations, and other types of research and teaching data.
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Writing About Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

  • September 24, 2024, 12:30 PM to 1:45 PM Arizona Time
  • Facilitator: Dr. Mascha Gemein, Assistant Professor of Practice, University Center for Assessment, Teaching & Technology
  • With growing dedication to inclusivity and accessibility, educational institutions frequently ask for explicit comments about our diversity-responsive skills and practices. There is little research to date about how hiring committees are evaluating these comments or statements, but some common expectations are becoming clear. This webinar will briefly inform you about existing scholarship and key positions in the heated discourse, and then focus on how you may approach writing about diversity, equity, and inclusion. We’ll help you identify and articulate your investment in diversity-responsive teaching, research, and service.
  • Register

Creating ePortfolios and an Online Presence

  • October 1, 2024, 12:30 PM to 1:45 PM Arizona Time
  • Facilitator: Dr. Emily Jo Schwaller, Assistant Professor of Practice, University Center for Assessment, Teaching & Technology
  • Building and maintaining a professional online presence is becoming a necessity for an academic career. Part of an academic identity is a cohesive and comprehensive professional ePortfolio, which often includes a teaching philosophy statement, representative sample of instructional materials, research materials, and evidence of teaching effectiveness. In this workshop, we will discuss the purpose and characteristics of an effective professional ePortfolio, strategies for an engaging ePortfolio design, and share examples of online portfolios.
  • Register

Preparing for the Academic Job Interview

  • October 15, 2024, 12:30 PM to 1:45 PM Arizona Time
  • Facilitator: Dr. Jenny Hoit, Director of Postdoctoral Affairs, Professor of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences
  • For any college faculty position, job interviews not only involve fielding questions about teaching experience from various stakeholders, but also commonly include teaching demonstrations that range from a short audition to guest teaching in actual courses. For faculty positions that also involve research, questions about research and a research talk are expected. This workshop will cover the nature of the academic interview process and how to prepare for the interview. Participants will be given the opportunity to practice answering actual interview questions.
  • Register