Professional Development Workshop for Teaching-Track Faculty

2020 SIGCSE Pre‐Symposium Event
Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Computer Science departments have experienced significant course enrollment increases and many Ph.D. granting departments have introduced or increased the number of academic teaching faculty positions that have academic rank. The one-day event will focus on the professional development of teaching track faculty (professor of practice, instructor, clinical faculty, lecturer, etc.) in Ph.D. granting departments. It fills a crucial need as many departments have limited experience on how to mentor, evaluate, and promote this new type of faculty. The sessions will focus on how teaching faculty can strategize their involvement in departmental as well as research activities, different forms of scholarship and leadership activities to pursue, and best practices for success, promotion, and advancement. Academic leaders involved in supervising and evaluating teaching track faculty will provide their perspective and insights.

The number of attendants is limited. There is a limited financial support available for participants from US institutions. The deadline to receive full consideration for financial support is January 6, 2020. Applicants will be notified of a decision by January 15, 2020.

• 8:00 AM – 8:30 AM: Breakfast (provided)
• 8:30 AM – 8:45 AM: Welcome and Introductions
  
• 8:45 AM – 10:00 AM: SESSION 1 – Departmental Best Practices for Engaging Teaching Track Faculty in PhD Granting Institutions (Panel Discussion w/ Q&A)
  [slides]
  After a brief overview of CRA’s best practices report, panelists provide an overview of their department’s best practices and polices used to recruit, develop, and retain teaching track faculty.
  Chair: Christine Alvarado, UC San Diego
  Panelists:  Nancy Amato (Head, UIUC), Tracy Camp (Chair, Colorado School of Mines), Ross Whitaker (Director, U of Utah)
• 10:00 AM – 10:30 AM: Break
• 10:30 AM – 11:50 AM: SESSION 2 – Building a Successful Teaching Track Faculty Career (Panel Discussion w/ Q&A)
  [slides]
  Panelists discuss successes in teaching faculty careers, highlight different opportunities for engagement in the department,  how to best capitalize on arising opportunities, and  challenges they have overcome.
  Chair: Geoffrey Herman, University of Illinois
  Panelists: Phill Conrad (UC Santa Barbara), Nate Derbinsky (Northeastern), Susan Rodger (Duke), Steve Wolfman (UBC)
• 11:50 AM – 12:50 PM: Lunch (provided)
• 12:50 PM – 2:00 PM: SESSION 3 – Performance Evaluation, Promotion, and Advancement (Panel Discussion followed by Leader-led Table Discussion)
  Panelists discuss and contrast common evaluation and promotion policies and practices and how to best prepare for a successful promotion. Panel discussion followed by small table feedback on individual achievements and advice.
  Chair: Susanne Hambrusch, Purdue University
  Panelists: Jennifer Campbell (U of Toronto), Adam Cannon (Columbia), Sara Sood (Northwestern)
• 2:00 PM – 2:30 PM: Break
• 2:30 PM – 3:45 PM: SESSION 4 – Breakout Session on Participant-inspired Topics
  Breakout session topics collected during the day are grouped and ranked. 4-5 breakout sessions with subsequent report outs. Participants will be asked to serve as leaders and scribes.
  Chair: Lori Pollock, University of Delaware
• 3:45 PM – 4:00 PM: Wrap-up and next steps

Organizers

• Christine Alvarado, UC San Diego, cjalvarado@eng.ucsd.edu (Chair)
• Susanne Hambrusch, Purdue University, seh@purdue.edu
• Geoffrey Herman, University of Illinois, glherman@illinois.edu
• Lori Pollock, University of Delaware, pollock@udel.edu

CRA Anti-Harassment Contact

• Christine Alvarado, UC San Diego, cjalvarado@eng.ucsd.edu

FAQ

• • Q: How is this event different than other similar SIGCSE events?
    A: The proposed event complements existing SIGCSE events targeted at teaching faculty and instructors. More specifically,
    • The New Educators Workshop (offered at SIGCSE 20) is targeted at academic-oriented graduate students, postdocs, and pre-tenure faculty interested in general questions about teaching, job searching for teaching positions, and teaching careers.
    • The Professional Development for Teaching Faculty Pre-Symposium (this event) is targeted at teaching-track faculty in Ph.D. granting departments. The focus is on professional development and career advancement for teaching-track faculty in a research department. The event does not cover teaching, classroom management  practices, or job searching.  Graduate students and post-docs will be considered as space allows.
    • The Managing the Early Academic Career for Women Graduate Students Pursuing Faculty Positions in Undergraduate Computing Programs workshop (offered at SIGCSE 19) focuses on mentoring information and advice for women graduate students (in their final year) interested in an academic teaching career.
  • Q: Is there a limit on the number of participants? 
    A: Yes. The maximum number of participants is about 60. Should the number of applications exceed this number, the number of applications accepted from one department will likely be limited.