Category Archives: Faculty

How I spent my time at SIGCSE 2016

1 Reply

Each year in March, the Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education (SIGCSE) hosts the Annual Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, SIGCSE for short. SIGCSE is a medium-sized conference; the final registration count for SIGCSE 2016 was 1243. It’s usually in a medium sized city big enough to have a convention center, but not too expensive for the high school and community college teachers who often don’t have institutional support to attend. This year it was in Memphis. Don’t ask me about Memphis: As usual, I didn’t see much beyond the convention center.

Continue reading →

On the life of the teacher-scholar-founder

Leave a reply

Today is my last day of class. While that means students are filling out course evaluations and finals are coming up, it’s also a time to for me to look back at what I accomplished this semester and what my plans are for the upcoming break. It’s in the air, too: There’s been some discussion at Whitman the last few days about the teacher-scholar model. What does that mean for me, as the founder of a new program?

Continue reading →

Institutional relationships

Leave a reply

When I was a newly minted assistant professor at Grinnell, at first I didn’t know many people beyond my department and the other new faculty. There were the Dean, the division chairs, and the HR representative I met during my interview. I’m sure I met a librarian and some folks from  Student Affairs during New Faculty Orientation. But there were whole offices I would only gradually become aware of during the nine years that I spent there.

Starting a new program at Whitman means getting to know these folks very quickly. I’ve sought some out, and some have sought me out. This blog post will address my relationships at Whitman thus far.

Continue reading →

Initial hires

Leave a reply

Please note: Whitman College is hiring two tenure-track faculty members in computer science, research area open, beginning in August 2016. Apply online by September 20 for full consideration.

As described in my previous post, immediately after signing my contract with Whitman I engaged with the process of proposing a minor. I also was immediately involved in hiring a visiting faculty member for next year. Soon after, I would also be drawn into searches for a technical staff position and the two tenure-track positions advertised above. Continue reading →