Institutional Fit and the Faculty Application Letter

Morris A. Grubbs, Ph.D.

Director, Graduate Student Professional Development

The Graduate School, University of Kentucky

“As a teacher you will make a good living, but you will not become wealthy in financial terms. Beyond getting and spending, you will amass glittering moments. These will more than compensate for a modest income.”

--Sam PickeringLetters to a Teacher (2005)

Seeking Faculty Positions: Institutional Type, the Application Letter, and the

Teaching Philosophy Statement

Morris A. Grubbs, Ph.D.

Director, Graduate Student Professional Development

The Graduate School

103 Gillis Building

859-257-9725; morris.grubbs@uky.edu

Review of Institutional Types

• Research university

• Regional comprehensive university

• Private liberal arts college/university

• Associate’s college (community college)

• Various kinds of for-profit colleges and universities (such as Strayer University)

Review of course loads for faculty at different types of institutions

(traditional semester system)

• Research universities: average of 4 courses per year

• Regional universities: average of 7 courses per year

• Small liberal arts college: average of 8 courses per year

• Community college: average of 9 courses per year

Consider Institutional Mission Statements

http://web.centre.edu/regist/catalog/purpose.html

http://www.transy.edu/about/mission.htm

http://www.berea.edu/about/mission.asp

http://www.lindsey.edu/about-lwc/mission.aspx http://www.uky.edu/ucapp/plan.htm

http://louisville.edu/about/mission.html

http://www.eku.edu/about/ 

Why is a careful consideration of institutional type important?First, the fit . . .

Insofar as possible and practical, when searching and applying for a faculty position, you should match your interests and values to the institutional type.

http://www.research.uky.edu/gs/GS650/Spring2009/Institutional_Fit_Rubric.pdf

Second reason for carefully considering institutional type . . .

The more you know about the type, the better you can customize your C.V. and application letter (as well as your teaching and research statements).

The Application Letter

• Also called “cover letter”• Best to think of it as a persuasive argument

(i.e., assertions supported with reasons and evidence) or a marketing essay

• Should not exceed two pages• Should be carefully customized to match

the institutional type, the character of the specific institution, and the character of the department.

Tips for Writing Effective Letters of Application

• Tailor your letter very carefully and specifically to the position as described in the job announcement

• Avoid sending out generic letters. Search committees can spot these immediately, putting your application in jeopardy.

• Keep your audience at the center of your writing. Tailor your letter very specifically to the institution and to the department. Use your research skills to research the place and its people, the mission and the culture (insofar as this is possible from afar). The letters that will stand out positively in the pile are usually the letters with a clear and interesting attention to the character of the place.

• Foreground your experience suiting the type of institution. For example, when applying to a teaching institution, foreground (that is, position this information early) your teaching experience, while backgrounding or burying (in later paragraphs) your dissertation and research interests.

• When applying to a research institution, foreground your research experience and research potential.

• The same advice applies to the curriculum vitae, which may also be tailored to the type of institution.

Mention that you have completed U.K.’s Preparing Future Faculty course and briefly describe how it has prepared you for the position you are seeking.

• Include a separate Teaching Philosophy Statement or Research Statement only if it is required by the job announcement.

• Avoid rehashing your C.V. in your letter. Okay to draw attention to highlights, but let C.V. do its job.

• Limit your letter to no more than two pages. Your readers will appreciate directness and concision, as well as language grounded in detail and examples. Avoid jargon and theoretical and abstract language.

• Limit the use of the pronoun “I,” especially at the beginnings of sentences, to avoid giving the impression of self-absorption or egocentricity.

• Dont underestimat they impotance of editing and proofing (including making sure you have spelled the recipient’s name correctly, you have referred to the institution and department appropriately, you have avoided gender-biased language, etc.). Screening committees may be looking for reasons to eliminate your application; don’t give them an easy reason.

Online advice on writing application letters“The Basics of Cover Letter Writing” by Richard Reis. Chronicle of

Higher Education, 3 March 2000. http://chronicle.com/jobs/news/2000/03/2000030302c.htm

“How to Write Appealing Cover Letters” by Mary Morris Heiberger and Julie Miller Vick. Chronicle of Higher Education, 21 April 2000.http://chronicle.com/jobs/news/2000/04/2000042101c.htm

Also:

http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/weinstein.agrawal/urbp213assignment_jobletter_Tips.pdfhttp://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/639/01/http://serc.carleton.edu/files/NAGTWorkshops/careerprep/jobsearch/vita_handout.pdf

The Teaching Philosophy Statement

• Usually ranges from a page to two pages (single spaced or spaced-and-a-half, but not double spaced)

• Should be a mixture of your abstract beliefs about teaching and learning and specific examples of how you enact your beliefs in the classroom. In other words, make general assertions and then back them up with some anecdotal evidence.

Advice from Dr. Peter Fosl, professor of philosophy at Transylvania University (which he shared in my GS 650 course in fall 2007):

TPS should feature . . . .• A sense of voice (dynamism, personality)• A student-centered focus (an interest in the

needs of students, rather than your own needs)• Evidence that you are not just interested in

conveying a body of knowledge or doctrine, but, rather, that you want to cultivate an enduring appreciation for the value of the subject or discipline.

More general tips . . .

• Write in first-person, but don’t overuse “I.” You don’t want to seem egocentric.

• Use paragraphing effectively; that is, use paragraphs as units of thought. The convention of announcing the paragraph’s topic in the first sentence or two will be appreciated (and noticed) by most readers.

• Be mindful of the importance of your opening and your closing. Find a way to pull in your reader and to take the reader back out gracefully.

• Readers will want to know that you value active learning (as opposed to the more passive learning gained through lecturing). Remember, though, that saying that you value and employ active-learning techniques is not enough: you must also provide examples of an instance or two when you have used such strategies effectively.

• Find a way to let your readers know that you are a student of the scholarship of teaching in your discipline (are you?) and that you know the importance of keeping up with new theories and innovations (do you?).

Online resources on writing TPSs

• “How to Write a Statement of Teaching Philosophy” by Gabriela Montell. Chronicle of Higher Education, 27 March 2003. http://chronicle.com/jobs/news/2003/03/2003032702c.htm

• “Writing a Teaching Philosophy Statement,” prepared by Lee Haugen, Center for Teaching Excellence, Iowa State University. http://ctl.stanford.edu/Tomprof/postings/193.html

Other useful resources:

http://ftad.osu.edu/portfolio/philosophy/Philosophy.html

http://ftad.osu.edu/portfolio/philosophy/Phil_guidance.html

http://www.oic.id.ucsb.edu/TA/port-FAQ.html

More On-Campus Resources(beyond your department)

Mr. Bill Burke, Teaching and Academic Support Center (TASC), located on the 6th floor of the Nursing Building. burke@uky.edu

Dr. David Sacks, Teaching and Academic Support Center (TASC), located on the 6th floor of the Nursing Building. dsack2@uky.edu

Dr. Linda Worley, Professor of German and Faculty Director of PFF. lworley@email.uky.edu (on sabbatical this year)