Panelists answered graduate students’ questions during the first-ever C3-LADO visit to University of Michigan.

The first-ever C3-LADO visit to the University of Michigan generated a lot of interest on campus, with nearly 60 graduate students and postdocs participating in the two-day event on October 10 and 11, 2016.

Mark Kamimura-Jimenez, Assistant Dean of Programs, Policy, and Diversity Initiatives at Michigan, welcomed visiting faculty and Michigan graduate students and postdocs. Day one began with a panel on academic life at liberal arts colleges, moderated by Kathryn Low (Bates College). Panelists Matt Carter (Williams College), VaNatta Ford (Williams College), and Adriana Salerno (Bates College) discussed topics such as student performance, cross-departmental collaboration, funding, and teaching loads.

In her keynote address, Susan Douglas, Catherine Neafie Kellogg Professor and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor at the University of Michigan, discussed her personal experience teaching and conducting research at both a liberal arts college and a R1 university. Dr. Douglas also incorporated discussion of her award-winning work on gender and feminism.

The day ended with discipline-specific workshops, in which liberal arts faculty met separately with Humanities, Social Science, and STEM graduate students and postdocs at the Michigan Union.

The following day, students and postdocs met individually with seven liberal arts faculty members, who provided constructive feedback on their cover letters and CVs.

The visit concluded with a well-attended lunch panel of faculty members from Connecticut and Williams Colleges who openly discussed social and intellectual life at liberal arts colleges. Rhon Manigault-Bryant (Williams), Ronald Flores (Connecticut), and Christopher Goh (Williams) answered questions about student-teacher relationships, community integration, and the maintenance of professional and personal boundaries.

A panel discussed building social and intellectual life at liberal arts colleges.

It may have taken place on two of Berkeley’s hottest days of the year, but last week’s highly successful C3-LADO visit to UC-Berkeley drew a huge audience of nearly 50 graduate student attendees!

On September 26 and 27, 2016, UC-Berkeley hosted faculty and administrative representatives of C3 and LADO for two days of panels and workshops on topics of interest to graduate students soon to be entering the academic job market. Berkeley Dean of Arts and Humanities Anthony Cascardi welcomed faculty and graduate students to the event, which began with a panel on academic life at liberal arts colleges. Miguel Fernandez of Middlebury College moderated the discussion, which included Ngonidzashe Munemo and Christopher Goh of Williams College, Angelica Osorno of Reed College, and Abby Van Slyck of Connecticut College. They answered questions about tenure requirements, teaching evaluations, publishing expectations, and more.

Berkeley Distinguished Professor of Social Sciences Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton delivered a powerful keynote address on minority students’ unique experience with self-doubt and self-esteem, touching on both his research and personal experiences as a faculty member of color.

The first day of the visit concluded with discipline-specific workshops, in which liberal arts faculty met separately with humanities, social science, and STEM graduate students at Berkeley’s Multicultural Community Center. Students were able to ask questions related to interview formats, service work, and lab funding.

Individual and small group meetings gave students a chance to ask questions and get professional feedback.

Interested graduate students from humanities, social sciences, and STEM fields met individually with nine liberal arts faculty members, who provided constructive feedback on the students’ cover letters and CVs.

The visit concluded with a lively lunch panel of visiting faculty members who candidly discussed social and intellectual life at liberal arts colleges. Miguel Fernandez moderated a panel that included Sue Houchins and Kathryn Low of Bates College, and Ondine Chavoya and Brianna Heggeseth of Williams College.

Exciting news for those seeking teaching positions at liberal arts colleges: The Liberal Arts Diversity Officers consortium (LADO) just announced more than 200 position openings at many of their member institutions. Their comprehensive list includes open positions, including many tenure-track positions, as of the beginning of the fall semester. See the list at http://liberalartsdiversity.org/positions/.

Please note that this list is not updated on a regular basis. Those interested in applying for a listed position should check its associated application link and/or the hiring college’s website to confirm the position’s status and for full application instructions.

Rachel Hynson has joined C3 as Research and Program Associate.

Hynson, whose office is based at C3 member institution, Middlebury College, previously served as the Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in the Latin American, Latino, and Caribbean Studies Program at Dartmouth College. She earned her PhD in Latin American History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her bachelor’s degree in Spanish and Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Kansas.

As the C3 Research and Program Associate, Hynson will collaborate with leadership from C3’s eight partner institutions as they develop a national model for creating more diverse and inclusive environments in higher education. For more information, visit the Middlebury College Newsroom.