The original draft was finished on September 10, 2024, by the Faculty Experience Committee (FEC), and transcribed here on September 24, 2024. Please note that this is a draft and will change as needed. The current version was created on September 24, 2024.
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Welcome to Knox College!!
As a member of the Visiting contingent of the Knox Faculty, you are a valued and key member of your respective departments and the college as a whole. Many of your colleagues across the college began their academic careers as visiting professors, some quite a while ago and some fairly recently, some at Knox and some at other institutions. Being a visiting faculty member can be a time of exploration and growth and a great opportunity to learn more about academia from the perspective of a faculty member without necessarily all of the responsibilities. You will be surrounded by people at varying points of their careers and you are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity to pick diverse brains and get to learn their stories and experiences.
As you navigate your way through your first year as a visiting faculty member, you will be included in numerous orientation sessions and opportunities. You are encouraged to socialize and share your experiences with one another and with all faculty. To help facilitate that, you will be invited to participate in a mentoring cohort that consists of all first year and second year faculty. This cohort will be mentored by two senior faculty members who will facilitate some social activities and be available to answer questions and to amplify the perspectives of your home department faculty.
Questions are likely to come up as you progress through your first year. Know that there are many office doors standing open to help you (see the organization chart below). New Faculty Orientation is a two day schedule held before the fall term begins consisting of sessions hosted by the Dean’s Office that will help to provide a great deal of initial information. Of course, it is rather fast and furious, so you may find that you need clarifications or to revisit topics from time to time. These doors are open to your questions at any time:
- Questions about Knox culture and local environs: Your chair and the faculty in your department are a great place to start with these kinds of questions. These are also great mentoring cohort conversations to have. Don’t hesitate to bring them up!
- Questions about funding support: Again you should check with your chair, as your department may have funds that are available to assist with professional development or class considerations. The Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs is the next person to seek out with these kinds of questions. You will have conference and research travel money made available to you through the Committee on Faculty Resources (CoFR). CoFR will hold an informational meeting early in the fall term that will likely answer questions about applying for funding and you can contact the chair of the committee at any time. You also can email the chair, Helen Hoyt, with questions.
- Questions about sustaining professional development while teaching full time is likely to be a concern for visiting faculty. Your department chair is probably the first person to ask to meet with you on this topic, as your chair knows your discipline and can likely offer suggestions both from the professional disciplinary perspective, as well as from a departmental perspective. You will need to be attentive to time management so that you ensure you have the time you need to devote to professional development. This is also a great conversation to have with your mentoring cohort, as many of you will have good ideas to share. You may find it beneficial to have other eyes on your writing or perhaps to feel as though you have a professional development “study group.” Some of the faculty have found it very helpful to set up some writing sessions in which a group meets and works together–likely for a set amount of time followed by some welcome socializing. Regularizing how and when you work can help you to prioritize your work. Check with your cohort about organizing writing sessions and keep your eye out for notices about untenured faculty writing sessions to which you will be welcome.
- Questions about attending professional development opportunities are good questions to have. Conferences are an important part of your early career, as they are where you will network professionally, catch up with grad school peers, and lay the groundwork for further professional development. Talk with your chair and department colleagues about your potential conference schedule. Don’t hesitate to discuss if you might need to miss some classes and confer as to the best way to accommodate that.
- Questions about requests for your time will likely come up. Can you say no to requests from students and the college? Resoundingly, YES. It is for you to decide. Though you will not be assigned to formal faculty governance committees or advising, once people begin to learn about you and your expertise, it is possible you might be asked to be on an ad hoc committee or to provide your time and expertise in other ways. Additionally, students will become interested in you and your work and will ask you to supervise independent studies and even Honors Projects, and may want to chat with you informally for advice. Doing all of these is a great experience, but you must carefully assess what is viable for you to commit to. Focusing on your classes, your professional development, and the job market are critical for you — and especially if you are ABD. Talk with your chair and other department colleagues about what makes sense for you. Knox wants you to have a great experience and learn as much about being an academic as you can during this time, but we also want you to privilege your time.
- Questions about staying up on the job market will be crucial for you. Even if you are on a two year finite contract, be sure to keep an eye out as to what is trending. Additionally, you are strongly encouraged to visit our Bastian Center for Career Success. The director likely will hold a career session for new faculty to demonstrate the vast career planning resources available via Handshake and the staff. If you are not familiar with Handshake, you will be intrigued! And if your undergraduate or graduate institution provided you access, you have that access for life. Also, if you are not already a member, you might consider joining Inside Higher Education (it is free), especially as they have a very robust Job Bank and offer a great deal of career advice. https://www.insidehighered.com/
- Questions about your contract and the possibility of renewal are not at all uncommon. The first person to talk to about your position is your chair. Though your contract is finite, it will not escape your attention that there are faculty who have either had a visiting contract renewed or who successfully became candidates for a permanent position. Each visiting contract is specific to the person holding it and the department (and there may be differences between contracts), It is very important to understand that there are a myriad of variables beyond the control or preferences of the department that affect the position you currently hold and which may differ from position to position across the college. All faculty lines belong to the college at large and not the individual departments so that the college may make strategic decisions regarding the education we provide. The timing of your desire to know regarding possible renewal and the timing that the college may be facing with regard to the disposition of the line you are filling are likely to be vastly different–for many, many reasons. While this may be understandably frustrating, the best strategy for you to pursue is to apply for positions so that you have options. It is important to recognize that you need to lay the groundwork for the conclusion of your contract. The two doors you should avail yourself of for questions in this understandably uncertain area are your department chair and the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs (ADFA).
→ The ADFA (Ole Forsberg; ojforsberg@knox.edu) has no voice in hiring decisions (or in review or promotion) and is therefore firewalled from the process, though as a senior professor, is highly experienced in the process and the institution.
The final person with whom to speak about the disposition of your position would be the Dean of the College, though anything the Dean might have to convey about the position could be shared with your chair.
Many of your questions are answered in the Faculty Handbook. You likely do not need to know everything in it, so you can skim and then return to pertinent sections. Additionally, we are in the process of updating the Faculty Success Guide, but even in its current state, you may find it useful.
URLs of Interest
Faculty Affairs:
https://www.knox.edu/offices/faculty-affairs
Faculty Handbook:
https://www.knox.edu/offices/academic-affairs/faculty-handbook
Faculty Regulations:
https://www.knox.edu/offices/academic-affairs/faculty-regulations
Faculty Success Guide:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/172-m_e1zjx1EnvE9zC7d058nsoRGFFe-GFb_bQI1svQ/
Persons of Interest
Provost and Dean of the College:
Michael Schneider (History) mschneid@knox.edu
Office: Old Main First Floor; OM 107
Associate Dean of the College (ADOC)
Mary Crawford (Chemistry) mcrawfor@knox.edu
Office: Old Main First Floor; OM 105
Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs (ADFA)
Ole J. Forsberg (Math-Statistics) ojforsberg@knox.edu
Office: Old Main First Floor; OM 105
Science and Math Center; SMC E-219
Associate Dean for Curriculum and Assessment
Judy Thorn (Biology) jthorn@knox.edu
Office: Old Main First Floor; OM 102
Science and Math Center; SMC B-103
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