Author Archives: Janet Davis

Unknown's avatar

About Janet Davis

Founding computer scientist at Whitman College.

Building or gardening?

Over the Thanksgiving break, I bought one non-food item: a real book, printed on dead trees, and purchased from a brick-and-mortar store (albeit one in a brand new development with a “Main Street” that really isn’t a Main Street at all).

The book is Michael Pollan’s A Place of My Own, which I approach with both interest and trepidation as one who is partway through the process of designing and building a new home. I was surprised to find connections with software development and with my enterprise at Whitman. Continue reading

On independent study

Some readers have expressed interest in hearing about differences between Whitman and Grinnell. I recently encountered and responded to one such difference.

On Thursday, I met with a student to discuss possible independent study projects for the spring semester. At the end of our discussion, we talked about next steps. I asked, “How does one register for an independent study at Whitman?” The student didn’t know; he hadn’t done one before. Being resourceful people, we checked the college catalog online and discovered there was an independent study course in Mathematics, but not in Computer Science.

Continue reading

Institutional relationships

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

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