*Concerns of Young Mathematicians* Volume 1 Issue 23 December 08, 1993 An electronically distributed digest for discussions of the issues of concern to mathematicians at the beginning of their careers. PLEASE FORWARD TO ANY POTENTIALLY INTERESTED INDIVIDUALS Please, direct submissions and questions to Vic Perera (vperera@silver.ucs.indiana.edu), editor for the month of December. Next issue: Wednesday, December 15 Editor for January will be Kalin Godev (kalin@math.psu.edu). To subscribe: Send mail to Charles Yeomans at cyeomans@s.ms.uky.edu Back issues and other information are available via anonymous FTP to ftp.ms.uky.edu, in pub3/mailing.lists/ymn-list. Editor for September was Ed Aboufadel (aboufade@scus1.ctstateu.edu). Editor for October was Curtis Bennett cbennet@andy.bgsu.edu . Editor for November was Steve Kennedy kennedy@math.stolaf.edu . The opinions expressed herein are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of the YMN or the editorial board. Table of Contents Item # Title Author Line # ------ ------ ------ ------ 1 Editorial 44 2 News and Notes 63 3 Notes on Employment Register Michael Kantor 86 4 Excerpts from DOE Report Edward Aboufadel 204 5 Faculty Lists via FTP Tim Howard 294 6 Are Transcripts Necessary? Ken Ross 308 7 Hiring Procedures Charles Yeomans 328 8 Application Process Nathan Zook 355 9 Electronic Acknowledgments Stephen Kennedy 373 10 Personal Advertisements 408 11 Closing credits 437 _____________________________________________________________________ Item #1 Editorial: This week we have received a valuable and timely contribution from Michael Kantor kantormj@rascal.guilford.edu on Employment Register and interviews [See item#3 below] there. He offers a number of useful hints to interviewees (of which I myself will be one) at the Employment Register. Furthermore, we continue our discussion on Hiring and application procedures. One contribution towards this is from Steve Kennedy kennedy@stolaf.edu on the importance of email usage to communicate with applicants quickly and economically. The question of encouraging graduate students to use email was also raised by the YMN administraters. An article on this topic (written by Jeff Adams adams@bright.uoregon.edu ) will appear on a future issue of CoYM. Vic Perera Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis vperera@silver.ucs.indiana.edu _________________________________________________________________________ Item #2 News and Notes 1. I received following from Jim Maxwell JWM@MATH.AMS.ORG regarding The Employment Task Force report : "While I don't yet know exactly, I am promised that an ASCII version (without the appendices) of the report of the Employment Task Force will be up on e-MATH early next week. A more complete postscript version for downloading will come up afterwards, but I can't yet predict when. This is longer than I had wanted, but reflects a backlog of work for those who support e-MATH. I will give you precise dates of availability as soon as I have them." 2. This week we also decided to include personal advertisements (may become a regular feature later on) to help match roommates at Cincinnati meetings. If you are planning to attend and would like to share a room with someone, send us email. Cary Timor cctimar@athena.cas.vanderbilt.edu will maintain the list. If your personal ad is for something like, looking for a preprint, need a ride to go to Cincinnati meeting etc, you may direct it to the editor vperera@silver.ucs.indiana.edu . I will summarize your requests in our next issue. _________________________________________________________________________ Item #3 Notes on the Employment Register I have had fourteen interviews through the Employment Register in the last two years. Between them, these contacts led to three campus interviews and one job offer. Notice the ratio. Contacts with potential employers at the January meetings outside of the employment register led to several phone interviews, one campus interview, and one job offer. As a veteran of the meat market, I have a few thoughts to share with others who are going through the job-search process (which I am happy to be skipping this year, though I expect to be looking again next year). Of course these are my personal opinions and do not represent anyone else's ideas. 1. Find out what schools are participating in the Register. There is a list in your registration materials, if you preregistered. Apply to all of them that you are interested in. Eight of my nine interviews last year were with schools I had already applied to. Many schools use the Register as a chance to make contact with people who have already applied, and put on their request list all the participants from whom they have received applications. If you haven't applied, you have a much lower chance of getting an interview, and probably zero chance of being taken seriously. Your applications should mention that you will be participating in the Register. 2. A great many schools conduct interviews outside the employment register setting. Contact someone at every school you applied to, and ask if representatives of the department will be attending the meeting. Ask to meet with them. 3. Most of the employers participating in the Register are small schools. In a small department the number one subconscious question in the interviewer's mind, especially for tenure-track positions, is "what would it be like to work with this person for the next year or two or twenty?" DON'T BE WEIRD. Be friendly but courteous. Take a shower, dress neatly, comb your hair. Get a haircut. Don't tell jokes, especially puns. Your demeanor should subtly reassure the interviewer that there is no danger of your turning out to be one of those disastrous colleagues who shirks duties, keeps goats in the office, or does something else equally irksome. 4. Many interviewers will go on for a long time telling you about their school and department. An introduction is useful, but you mustn't let them go on too long, for two reasons. First, this time is wasted, as far as selling yourself is concerned, and selling yourself is your primary goal. Second, if you make it clear that you already know something about the school, you will make a good impression and distinguish yourself from most of the other candidates. To find out about the schools, read the Barron's and Fiske guides to colleges. Look up the school in either the Chronicle of Education or Academe annual salary reports. Bring these resources to the meeting with you, so that when you see that some schools not on the original list are interviewing, you can research them. To break into an interviewer's monologue, respond to something they have just said. If the interviewer mentions that they have thirty majors a year, for instance, you should say that's impressive, and ask how they recruit majors, or what their majors do after graduation. 5. Information about the school falls into three categories. Things you should know BEFORE the interview: the size and location of the school, the size of the town, and the location of the nearest research library. You can also search the on-line AMS-MAA membership list by institution. This will make names more familiar to you when you meet the people, so you will find it easier to remember the names. But you cannot rely on the accuracy of the list concerning who is where. People don't always update their listings when they move. Things you should ask about: the size of the department faculty, the number of majors per year, whether or not computer science is part of the math department, the students---are they mostly from nearby? What do they do after graduation? Etc. The interviewer should tell you what the teaching load is. If he/she doesn't you should ask, but it is better to be told without asking. When you are told, nod and look satisfied. A typical distribution of courses is two (sometimes three) freshman courses and one upper-level course per term. Know this, and make it clear during the interview that you like that distribution. Things you should not bring up: Questions of politics and pay (to my surprise, several interviewers began by telling me about retirement benefits). If the interviewer tells you the salary and asks whether you like it, or if he/she asks what salary range you are looking for, say that you can't really respond without knowing what the cost of living is locally. 6. Find several impressive things about yourself and your experience, and prepare a short (less than one minute) speech on each, which you can work into the conversation. Designing a new course, teaching with computer technology or graphing calculators, and doing innovative things in the classroom, like group work or projects or writing assignments, impress interviewers. So does experience in teaching introductory statistics. 7. You should listen attentively to what the interviewer says, and when possible use his/her statements or questions as jumping-off points for things you want to say about yourself. 8. Bring copies of your resume to give to interviewers. Even if you already applied, they will not have your resume handy. 9. Within three days, send a short note to each interviewer thanking him/her for taking the time to meet with you. Do this no matter how you think the interview went (I had one interview where I was sure that the two people had no interest in me at all, but later they invited me for a campus interview). If there is any topic from the interview that you wanted to say more on, or anything you forgot to bring up, you can mention it in the note. Handwritten (neatly) is better than typed. Make sure you get the interviewer's name during the interview, and look up the spelling in the AMS membership list afterwards to be sure you have it right. Writing a thank-you note is the part of the interview process most often omitted by people who later insist (and apparently believe) that they did everything they were advised to do. 10. Get somebody to give you a practice interview before the Employment Register. The interviews at the Register are excellent practice for each other, but you don't want to blow the first one because you're too nervous. Good Luck! Michael J. Kantor Guilford College kantormj@rascal.guilford.edu ______________________________________________________________________ Item #4 An Excerpt From the DOE Report on Gifted and Talented Students I recently ordered and received the report "National Excellence -- A Case for Developing America's Talent". This report was featured in a New York Times article last month, and includes some misleading ideas about the current state of affairs in science and mathematics. The report is dated October 1993. It "was developed under the leadership of" Pat O'Connell Ross. From the Acknowledgement section, it appears that it was written by members of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (part of the U.S. Department of Education), and guided by a steering group that included William Thurston, a mathematician at Berkeley. There are three parts to the report. Although I am sympathetic to the idea of improving the education of our gifted and talented student, there is a part of this report that is quite misleading. The first part is called "A Quiet Crisis in Educating Talented Students", and below is an excerpt from the section entitled "Indicators of the Crisis", in particular, pages 11 and 12. The last two paragraphs, in particular, are quite enraging. Headline: Performance of Top Students in Graduate School and in Mathematics and Science Careers The poor performance of America's top elementary and high school students, especially in mathematics and science, continues on into college and the professional world. (*) Only one-half of America's high-ability high school seniors from the class of 1980 (the top 25 percent as indicated by achievement tests) were estimated to have a bachelor's degree by 1987. Only one in eight had entered graduate school or postbaccalaureate professional school by that date. (*) Among black students who score at the highest levels on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (those with a combined verbal and math SAT score of 1,400 or above), more than 18 percent leave school because of academic problems. Up to 70 percent of black students who enroll in 4-year colleges drop out at some point. (*) Graduate school enrollments of American students in mathematics and science have declined substantially in the past 20 years, while the number of foreign-born students enrolled has risen. In 1990, 57 percent of doctorates granted in the United States in mathematics went to students from other nations. (*) Minorities are not entering many important fields in mathematics and science. For example, blacks make up 12 percent of the population, yet earn only 5 percent of the baccalaureate degrees awarded each year in science and mathematics, receive only 1 percent of the Ph.D.s, and make up only 2 percent of all employed scientists and engineers in the country. Hispanics make up 9 percent of the population, but represent only 3 percent of the baccalaureate degrees in science and mathematics, 2 percent of the Ph.D.s, and 2 percent of all employed scientists and engineers in the country. Therefore, the fastest growing sectors of our society are seriously underrepresented in leadership positions in science and mathematics. Foreign-born students are not taking away jobs from Americans; they are filling jobs that are going empty. The U.S. shortage of graduate students in mathematics and science forces many large companies -- such as Texas Instruments, Bell Laboratories, and IBM -- to fill jobs, particularly in research, with people educated outside of the United States. In Bell Lab's research area, for example, about 40 percent of the professional employees received their precollegiate education in other countries. These foreign-educated people alone, however, cannot continue to supply the nation with all the scientists, mathematicians, and engineers it needs. Yet American students are being shut out of the professions due to poor preparation and lack of interest. Already spot shortages exist in some science fields in the United States, and unless dramatic changes are made in the way we educate all of our students, including our most talented, the shortages will increase. ======================================================================== My comments: Jobs are going empty? Where? Spot shortages? Do they know something that we don't? Spreading this nonsense has got to stop. Edward Aboufadel Southern Connecticut State University (Posted to both YMN and YSN) aboufade@scus1.ctstateu.edu _______________________________________________________________________ Item #5 Faculty & Research areas via FTP In the Nov. 17 issue [Vol.1 #20, Ed] of "Concerns of Young Mathematicians", Seth Oppenheimer includes instructions for accessing through ftp a listing of Mississippi State faculty with their research areas. This is great idea. I have read that other universities make similar lists available, but I have no information regarding WHICH universities do so. I would find this a worth-while issue to address in a future edition of CoYM. Tim Howard Georgia Institute of Technology thoward@math.gatech.edu _______________________________________________________________________ Item #6 Are transcripts necessary? Attention Department Chairs and other Hiring Folks: There's evidence that transcripts are often requested when not needed, causing unnecessary expense and wasted time for applicants. Transcripts should not be requested until they are needed!! Most schools probably do not need them unless a job is to actually be offered. I think the request for transcripts is an anochronism going back over thirty years when five people applied for a job. In those days there wasn't any real harm is asking all applicants to supply transcripts. Then they'd be on file if needed. Find out at what stage in the hiring process your school really needs transcripts, and then modify your requests appropriately. This won't solve all job related problems, but is a fairly easy way to improve one annoying aspect of job hunting. Ken Ross University of Oregon ross@bright.uoregon.edu _____________________________________________________________________________ Item #7 Hiring Procedures The chair of the math department of a public research university has this to say about hiring: Some general comments: Recently we have hired at Big State U. in certain areas, and it generally won't help to apply unless you work in the designated area. I'm certain many other institutions with strong research components often work the same way. That isn't to say that this is guaranteed to be followed rigidly; our advertisements usually leave the door open for exceptional cases. My sense from attending a meeting for chairs of mathematical sciences departments recently indicates that teaching abilities and experiences are taken seriously by research institutions. The last time we hired we arranged for the candidate to talk informally with graduate students. The next time we hire, I hope to involve undergraduate students as well in some fashion. In terms of research: A good research summary, supported by three or four letters from individuals who can speak knowledgably about the research, is important. The individuals need not be members of the department, and often aren't if the research has already attracted some attention. In my opinion, one should offer to send reprints upon request. Charles Yeomans University of Kentucky cyeomans@ms.uky.edu __________________________________________________________________________ Item #8 Application Process I spoke with a friend of mine about the 3-level system suggested earlier in these pages [Vol.1 # 19 ?, Ed]. The response of this battle-worn warrior of the hire & promote caste? That the failure to notify has less to do with the sudden changes in the market than the "Alice in Wonderland" quality of the decision making process in committees comprised of humans. I just got done speaking with my assoc head about this idea. They tried to implement it last year, but the committee head was adamantly against it. Why? The perseption of lost information. He suggested that if it came from the AMS, there would be a good chance of doing something like this. If not, it's a losing proposition. Nathan Zook, UT Austin, Dept of Mathematics nzook@fireant.ma.utexas.edu ____________________________________________________________________ Item #9 Electronic Acknowledgements I sent out my first batch of job applications two weeks ago. A handful of the schools to which I applied acknowledged receipt of my application via e-mail. This is a new phenomenon--the last time I was on the job market (`90-`91) I got e-mail from only one school. Everyone else sent paper. It seems to me that this is a trend that we should encourage, if possible. Electronic communication would certainly streamline what is now a very inefficient process-- and eliminate a lot of wasted paper. Communication would not only be faster; it could also be more informative. It would be quite easy for employers to send electronic messages at several points during the search to keep applicants up to date, e.g.: i) We have received your application. ii) Your application is complete. iii) We have selected our short list and you are/are not on it. iv) We need more information from you in order to make our decision (preprints, would you consider a temporary job?). v) The position has been filled. I notice that U Texas even encourages electronic submission of dossiers. This is the wave of the future. If you are applying for jobs this year, you should make sure that your e-mail address is on your application (mine is in my cover letter and on my c.v.). Also, if anybody sends you e-mail, archive it. That way you have a name and address to send questions to later on, should you need to. Steve Kennedy St. Olaf College kennedy@stolaf.edu ____________________________________________________________________ Item #10 Personal Advertisements ROOMMATE NEEDED : 1. I need someone to share a hotel room with at the January meeting in Cincinnati. I reserved a room, so if you didn't, I've got one. Or I can cancel my reservation. Non-smoker preferred, but smokers are not unthinkable. I am doing the short course, so a roommate for the whole week would be ideal, but Wednesday-through-Sunday is acceptable. Please contact me at the e-mail address below. If I get three or more responses I will play matchmaker. Michael J. Kantor Guilford College 5800 W. Friendly Ave. Greensboro NC 27410 kantormj@rascal.guilford.edu 2. I am looking for a non-smoker to share a hotel room at the Joint Meetings in January. It seems that a roommate finding service would be useful, so I've decided to be one. If you are also looking to share a room, even if not with me, send me a message with the relevant info. I'll make a list, and send it around to everybody who responds, so that others can find roommates too. Cary Timar Vanderbilt University cctimar@athena.cas.vanderbilt.edu ____________________________________________________________________ Item #11 Closing Credits: The Young Mathematicians' Network is administered by: Charles Yeomans cyeomans@s.ms.uky.edu Mark Winstead winstead@ml.kva.se Vic Perera vperera@silver.ucs.indiana.edu Franklin Mendivil mendivil@math.gatech.edu Stephen Kennedy kennedy@stolaf.edu Kalin Godev kalin@math.psu.edu Neil Calkin calkin@math.gatech.edu Curtis Bennett cbennet@andy.bgsu.edu Jeff Adams adams@bright.uoregon.edu Edward Aboufadel aboufade@scus1.ctstateu.edu ____________________________________________________________________ End of Journal -- Next week: The Discussion Continues