NEW YORK CITY – Maurice Shirley wanted the inside scoop on how to get a tenure-track teaching post in higher education, and the Faculty First Look program at New York University is giving him a big dose this week.
Shirley, a doctoral student at New York University (NYU), is among 31 scholars from across the nation selected as part of the program’s second cohort. Housed in the university’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, Faculty First Look debuted last year with the goal of helping underrepresented students prepare to seek their first tenure-track faculty job post-graduation.
The group meets first in the fall for two days and then reconvenes in the spring for the second half. This week’s gathering on Wednesday and Thursday featured presentations by NYU faculty, administrators and staff on an array of topics, including how to craft effective cover letters and curriculum vitae, cultivating a professional presence on social media, faculty recruitment processes, what search committees look for and the importance of the first two years in a position, negotiating a job offer, postdoctoral fellowships, and how to build inclusive classrooms and navigate microaggressions in university spaces.
Renowned Latin musician Ruben Blades, NYU Scholar-in-Residence, was scheduled to lead a discussion with students late Thursday afternoon.
Shirley, who is in his fourth year of doctoral studies, said he was impressed with “a great layout of high-quality information” that helped him understand aspects of the process beyond the stress.
“It was almost like an iceberg,” he said. “I saw the tip and they revealed what was under the surface.”
“I want to know all of the nuances that nobody really tells you until you get into the thick of it. That first interview, you don’t have time to learn. That might be the job you want, and you don’t want to flub it.”
