We are trying again to fill our fifth tenure track position. Please share the position ad with anyone who might be interested! Continue reading
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Category Archives: Faculty
Join us!
Exciting news: This spring we’ll be hiring two tenure-track faculty to join CS at Whitman, area and rank open. See the ad for more information and instructions to apply.
It’s been a long time since my last post. It’s been a busy semester. This winter break, look for reflections on the fall semester and my semiannual report on pre-registration.
Farewell to CS 301, ST: Computer Networks
Whitman’s last day of classes is this coming Monday. Since my Computer Networks class meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays, today was our last day of class. This blog post is based on the notes for my farewell speech.
Outline due to Dr. Freda Rebelsky via Dr. Samuel Rebelsky.
- This class was special.
- Keep in touch.
- Take care of yourselves and each other.
- Remember to say goodbye.
2020 in review
At Whitman, like at many other institutions of higher education, faculty submit an annual activity report. Why? As with annual reviews in any profession, it’s a prod to reflection and self-evaluation. We don’t work closely with our nominal boss, the Dean of the College, so it serves to inform her of our workload and accomplishments. She uses this information to determine raises for the following academic year. (Not that I expect there will be raises this year—except, I hope, promotion raises for those who are so entitled.)
I’ve never been moved to blog about my annual activity report before. It’s a routine chore. But this activity report, post-sabbatical and mid-pandemic, left me thinking, “Wow, I got a lot done last year!” That’s despite spending 2 1/2 months at home with my toddler, and despite spending much of the fall semester feeling completely feckless. I think my 2020 activity report tells a story about the nature of faculty work and the mood of 2020. Continue reading
We are hiring!
Whitman is hiring a one-year visitor in computer science:
The Computer Science Department at Whitman College is seeking candidates for a one-year position in Computer Science, at the rank of visiting instructor or visiting assistant professor, beginning August 2021. M.S. or higher education teaching experience in Computer Science or a related discipline is required.
The successful candidate will offer multiple sections of either Introductory Computer Science in Python or Data Structures in C++ or Java, plus at least one further Computer Science course at an intermediate or advanced level. The teaching load is five course sections per year; our largest sections include about 30 students.
To learn more and apply, see https://whitman.bamboohr.com/hiring/jobs/47
Please share with anyone who might be interested. I am happy to answer any questions.
Habits for Spring 2021
I’ve realized part of what made the fall semester so difficult is that I was so overwhelmed, I lost track of many of the routines that sustain me. It’s not like this hasn’t happened before, but I can’t remember it ever happening so badly for so long.
So as part of my preparations for the spring 2021 semester, I thought about habits I want to continue from the winter break, resume from earlier in my professional life, or begin anew. Continue reading
Reflections on Fall 2020
Fall 2020 was my most difficult semester of teaching ever: more difficult than my first terms teaching at UW, Grinnell, or Whitman; more difficult than the fall I was pregnant; and more difficult than my return to teaching after maternity leave.
Why so difficult? Given the state of the world, surely that must be a rhetorical question – but there are reasons. Continue reading
Please welcome our visitor, Cary Gray
As previously announced, we are thrilled that Cary Gray will be joining CS at Whitman as a visitor for the 2020-21 academic year. Continue reading
An experiment in the socially-distanced classroom
I belong to a group of faculty and staff who’ve historically met over lunch to discuss teaching and technology. Last week, after three months of meeting on Zoom, we decided to meet in person in a classroom on campus to see what it’s like. Continue reading
Pre-registration for Fall 2020
What a wild ride this spring has been! As of 9 am this morning, for my colleagues who had grades to submit, the spring semester is finally officially over. We had a lovely Commencement, plus an end-of-year department social and a departmental Commencement reception for students and their families – all online, of course. Congratulations to the class of 2020!
Although it’s been a few weeks since pre-registration for fall, this is the first chance I’ve had to blog about it. Walla Walla was just approved for Phase 2 reopening, our new babysitter started today, and my summer research students will start on Monday.
This spring’s pre-registration was unusually unsettling. While we didn’t change our offerings or course descriptions in response to fall contingencies, course staffing has been an ever-shifting landscape. Our search for a visiting professor was cancelled, along with several other open searches across the College, just as we were about to start our screening interviews. Weeks later, with a strong local candidate, we negotiated to have the search reinstated.
I’m pleased to announce that Cary Gray will be joining us for the 2020-21 academic year after a long career at Wheaton College. (Incidentally, I read his Ph.D. work in my graduate class on Distributed Systems.) With Cary, new tenure-track colleague William Bares, and longtime colleague John Stratton, we will be able to offer a full slate of classes. However, some changes are still forthcoming; enrolled students will be the first to hear. Continue reading