Category Archives: Faculty

Time use: King’s College vs Whitman

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It’s been several weeks since I promised a blog post on time use. Somehow I overcommitted myself with scholarly projects and travel – in fact, I drafted this post at 8 pm British Summer Time, in an airplane over the Hudson Bay. But that is a story for another time.

Inspired by a conversation at the Liberal Arts CS (LACS) Consortium annual meeting last month, I decided to look at my time use during my first 6 months at King’s College, Cambridge. That led naturally to a comparison with my last 6 months at Whitman before leaving on sabbatical.

I’ll start with Whitman, where my time allocations are probably more familiar to US colleagues. Then I’ll explain what’s different at King’s.

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Join us!

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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

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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.

  1. This class was special.
  2. Keep in touch.
  3. Take care of yourselves and each other.
  4. Remember to say goodbye.

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2020 in review

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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!

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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

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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

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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 →