The University of Minnesota, Morris is hiring! We need someone to teach an undergraduate course in classical transmission genetics for the spring semester — I know, it’s short notice, and this is only a temporary position, but it would be ideal for someone who wants to pick up some teaching experience at a highly regarded liberal arts university while applying for permanent positions.
This is the course I teach in alternate years (2008 is not my year!), and I will be available to help whoever takes the job — at least, I’ll share my syllabi and exams and lab notes. It’s also an opportunity to work with a group of smart and motivated students; one of those intangible benefits here is the quality of the students who will be taking the course.
The University of Minnesota, Morris seeks to fill a part-time, one-semester position in genetics beginning January 22, 2008. Duties include: teaching undergraduate genetics course with labs. Minimum qualifications: Master’s degree in genetics or a related field and one year of teaching experience (graduate TA experience acceptable) required. Send letter of application, resume, transcripts, teaching statement, and names of three references to: Genetics Search Committee Chair, Division of Science and Math, University of Minnesota, Morris, MN 56267-2128. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Screening begins August 1, 2007. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.
A more thorough description of the position is below the fold.
Part-Time, One-Semester Position in Genetics
University of Minnesota, MorrisThe University of Minnesota, Morris seeks an individual committed to excellence in undergraduate education, to fill a 40%-time, one-semester position in genetics beginning January 22, 2008. The person hired will teach an undergraduate genetics course with labs.
Candidates must have a Master’s degree in genetics or a related field and a minimum of one year of teaching experience. (Graduate TA experience is acceptable.) Preference will be given to applicants who have completed a Ph.D. in genetics or a related field and to those who have two or more years of undergraduate teaching experience.
The University of Minnesota, Morris (UMM) is a nationally-recognized, small, selective, residential, undergraduate liberal arts campus of the University of Minnesota. It has an enrollment of about 1750 students with 120 faculty members. The campus is located in west-central Minnesota, 160 miles from Minneapolis, in a rural community of 5000 people. The college is organized into four academic divisions, of which Science and Mathematics is one. Disciplines represented in the division are Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Geology, Mathematics, Physics, and Statistics. The college attracts excellent students many of whom go on to graduate or professional studies. Visit www.morris.umn.edu/positions/ to learn about other open positions at UMM.
Appointment will be at the title of Lecturer for those having the Ph.D. in hand and at the title of Teaching Specialist for others.
Applications must include a letter of application, resume, graduate and undergraduate transcripts, a teaching statement (in which teaching goals and methods are discussed), and the names of three letters references. Send applications to:
Genetics Search Committee Chair
Division of Science and Mathematics
University of Minnesota, Morris
600 East 4th Street
Morris, MN 56267-2128Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Screening begins August 1, 2007. Inquiries can be made to Ann Kolden, Executive Office and Administrative Specialist, at (320) 589-6301 or koldenal@morris.umn.edu.
The University of Minnesota is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, or sexual orientation.
Can I nominate Grrrl Scientist (Hedwig the Owl)?
Wow, I’m actually fully qualified for this position (assuming I could get permission to work in the USA; I’m a Canadian), and I’d love to do it.
BUT, I’m less than one year in to my PhD (also in genetics, tangentially at least), and I don’t see myself being able to justify a semester of leave in the spring to my committee.
2010 maybe? I’ll be done my PhD by then…
Transmission genetics? I thought that since the evolution of the hydrostatic/automatic transmission it was pretty much down to 2 designs left standing… And I hate to break it to you but most of the transmissions I’ve seen look intelligently designed… Except for the one on my 1975 Belarus tractor. That appears to have been thrown together by a whirlwind in a tractor parts lot…
Here’s a couple of statements, both kind of sad.
1) I don’t have the academic credentials to meet the job description.
2) As a mere high school science teacher, I can’t afford to take the pay cut that this job would require.
What a weird society whose mantra in education these days invariably invokes competition and high standards, but which doesn’t pay college academics significantly more than high school instructors. Though, to be fair, I’ve seen a lot of college instructors who were dreadful lecturers, poor exam-writers, unavailable to students, etc. Maybe the problem is just that educators in general are devalued.
I second the Grrl Scientist nomination. Is she still looking for job?
GrrlScientist could do it, but…this job would involve moving (with her birds) to the midwest for four months, for a position that ends in May. It’s the kind of job that requires a fair amount of flexibility, and it’s the kind of thing for a recent graduate who is looking for temporary work before the next academic year starts, or for someone local with the qualifications who doesn’t have to invest much in the move.
But otherwise, yeah, she’d be capable of handling this position.
And like Scott says, for most people with an established position of almost any kind, this job would represent a pay cut and a loss of security. That’s academic reality, sad to say.
I believe Ted Haggard is currently available.
Is the transmission the sexually mature form? If not, what is? And how do they mate?
Bob
This will sound mean, but I sincerely hope you don’t find anyone to do it. Ditto every other non-tenure position advertised at every school on the continent.
Increasing reliance on sessional teachers is a horrible trend. It’s allowing universities to teach more students in more specializations on the cheap. If the university needs a course taught, it should hire more permanent faculty. Period. (What? That would reduce the average course load on the existing professors? Horror! They might do research, or write blogs!)
Why is it bad? Because young academics are being cheated out of their rightful shot at tenure, research, and a place in the university community. At best, the teacher is getting their first tenure-track job delayed by a year. At worst, they are making themselves LESS employable, by taking what is considered by some a dead-end job done only by those clinging to survival in academia, and therefore not suitable for tenure-track jobs.
I’m disgusted with the fact that I’ve had to post-doc for 8 years before I’m finally getting shortlisted for academic jobs. I’m even more disgusted with the idea that I would have had to do sessional work, which is even MORE risky and tenuous than post-docing.
Hiring sessionals is no better than hiring scabs for union jobs.
—Nathaniel
I, on the other hand, hope you do find someone good to teach the class. Will you let us know if you are deluged with applications? Good-bye, Chronicles of Higher Education. Hello, bloggers with well-read blogs posting the occasional job-available post!
Good luck. I wish I could pop over and teach the class myself!