Hi Dr. Singh, Thanks so much for another video! I really appreciate how you always take off the rose-colored glasses for us when it comes to Academia, Your videos never deter me from pursuing a career in Academia, but rather they allow me to be better informed. The first time I met a department chair was during undergrad and that was because the chair had to meet with every foreign language major that decided to have a concentration in three languages. Then, I met the next chair when I won a departmental award. During my masters, I got a sneak peek at how chairs run faculty meeting as GA were required to attend a few. Thus, a part of the reasons why I want to be the department chair is due to the positive interactions I've had so far and the high visibility they have with students. However, it is very clear that I do not know everything as far as what they have to do behind the scenes. In terms of being the leader, that does attract me but not in the sense of I want to be in control but rather I want to gain leadership experience at that level. For example, when I was in the Air Force I was in charge of the Scheduling Office and I supervised a team of nearly seven individuals. One of our main responsibilities was creating an operations schedule for a squadron of 46 personnel. I have a diplomatic approach to leadership and I enjoy working with and mentoring others. As you discussed I could still do that as a professor within the department, but I believe being the chair will allow me to be more direct and visible. I especially want to encourage young African American men because I have not seen many Black Professors in the department of World Languages and Literatures, let alone as the chair. I also like the idea of progression i.e. going from GA to assistant/associate/full professor and then possibly the chair(although I have seen associate professors as chair). Sorry for the long comment and hopefully my reasons are valid and what I wrote makes sense.
I was interim Department Chair for two years in a politically divided department, I worked hard to bring everyone together, but in the end I didn't even get a campus interview for the permanent position. I got chewed up and spiit out, the new external chair resigned after they chewed on her a while, and it looks like I could be the interim chair again nearly 5 years later by default if I agree to apply.... The stories I could tell, but essentially you get two months of summer salary for the trouble. 😅
Honestly, depending on the organization structure, a department chair is worth the time due to the ability to solve issues, fight for adjuncts, and have a direct hand in assisting in the student to product process. I was a department chair and I truly loved my job. You are right, being a department chair first may help if you decide to go to the next step from the chair which is the Dean office or associate Dean.
Hi, do you think you can do a video on your full academic path so far from undergrad to where you are now, I'm really interested in your story. I am currently a environmental science undergrad student who is soon apply to graduate school in geology, my goal is to become a geology professor soon. Thanks
Hi Nicolas - thanks for your comment! My academic path is very long in terms of strategic moves (most of which there are a myriad of personal reasons behind, so I’m keen not to put personal matters online), so such a video would be 1-2 hours and not be viewed highly enough to take the time. However, LinkedIn has my CV which will provide my timeline and record of positions, books/articles, etc so feel free to add me!
Hi Dr. Singh -- Thanks for these videos. I am in my final semester of a MA program in English, where I am waiting out the results of the graduate admission process. A short question: are graduate admissions discrete events, or do applicants who get admitted into one program have a greater chance of getting admitted into another program? I have seen applicants accepted into a top program and rejected almost everywhere else, applicants accepted almost everywhere, and applicants not accepted at all (or waitlisted). Thoughts? I'll continue to wait out the application cycle and hope for the best. Hope you're well!!
Good question, Purple Cat! In this case, correlation is not causation. They are discrete events - it's just that better qualified applicants are more likely to get more offers. Application cycles are minefields with manyyyyyy moderating/mediating factors (internal candidates, funding lapses, budget cuts, departmental integrations, etc.) to consider.
Hi Dr. Singh,
Thanks so much for another video! I really appreciate how you always take off the rose-colored glasses for us when it comes to Academia, Your videos never deter me from pursuing a career in Academia, but rather they allow me to be better informed. The first time I met a department chair was during undergrad and that was because the chair had to meet with every foreign language major that decided to have a concentration in three languages. Then, I met the next chair when I won a departmental award. During my masters, I got a sneak peek at how chairs run faculty meeting as GA were required to attend a few. Thus, a part of the reasons why I want to be the department chair is due to the positive interactions I've had so far and the high visibility they have with students. However, it is very clear that I do not know everything as far as what they have to do behind the scenes.
In terms of being the leader, that does attract me but not in the sense of I want to be in control but rather I want to gain leadership experience at that level. For example, when I was in the Air Force I was in charge of the Scheduling Office and I supervised a team of nearly seven individuals. One of our main responsibilities was creating an operations schedule for a squadron of 46 personnel. I have a diplomatic approach to leadership and I enjoy working with and mentoring others. As you discussed I could still do that as a professor within the department, but I believe being the chair will allow me to be more direct and visible. I especially want to encourage young African American men because I have not seen many Black Professors in the department of World Languages and Literatures, let alone as the chair. I also like the idea of progression i.e. going from GA to assistant/associate/full professor and then possibly the chair(although I have seen associate professors as chair).
Sorry for the long comment and hopefully my reasons are valid and what I wrote makes sense.
Absolutely, mate! I love the DEI mission - so important. That’s a big goal of mine, as well, RE: supporting more men of color to get into the field!
@@NavigatingAcademia Thanks Dr. Singh!!
I was interim Department Chair for two years in a politically divided department, I worked hard to bring everyone together, but in the end I didn't even get a campus interview for the permanent position. I got chewed up and spiit out, the new external chair resigned after they chewed on her a while, and it looks like I could be the interim chair again nearly 5 years later by default if I agree to apply.... The stories I could tell, but essentially you get two months of summer salary for the trouble. 😅
Thank you so much for sharing your experience
Honestly, depending on the organization structure, a department chair is worth the time due to the ability to solve issues, fight for adjuncts, and have a direct hand in assisting in the student to product process. I was a department chair and I truly loved my job. You are right, being a department chair first may help if you decide to go to the next step from the chair which is the Dean office or associate Dean.
Great points!
You should do more videos about department chair stories , politics etc 🙏🏻
thanks so much for the feedback !
Hi, do you think you can do a video on your full academic path so far from undergrad to where you are now, I'm really interested in your story. I am currently a environmental science undergrad student who is soon apply to graduate school in geology, my goal is to become a geology professor soon. Thanks
Hi Nicolas - thanks for your comment! My academic path is very long in terms of strategic moves (most of which there are a myriad of personal reasons behind, so I’m keen not to put personal matters online), so such a video would be 1-2 hours and not be viewed highly enough to take the time. However, LinkedIn has my CV which will provide my timeline and record of positions, books/articles, etc so feel free to add me!
@@NavigatingAcademia well stated, I understand. Thank you.
Hi Dr. Singh --
Thanks for these videos. I am in my final semester of a MA program in English, where I am waiting out the results of the graduate admission process.
A short question: are graduate admissions discrete events, or do applicants who get admitted into one program have a greater chance of getting admitted into another program? I have seen applicants accepted into a top program and rejected almost everywhere else, applicants accepted almost everywhere, and applicants not accepted at all (or waitlisted). Thoughts?
I'll continue to wait out the application cycle and hope for the best. Hope you're well!!
Good question, Purple Cat! In this case, correlation is not causation. They are discrete events - it's just that better qualified applicants are more likely to get more offers. Application cycles are minefields with manyyyyyy moderating/mediating factors (internal candidates, funding lapses, budget cuts, departmental integrations, etc.) to consider.