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Reply to Anonymous

This essay is specifically in response to "Anonymous" who wrote as a comment to me for my essay on Thursday entitled, "Inner Self". The comment stated:

"Thank you - You have given me new insight into what is going through faculty member's minds at job interviews. Having interviewed unsuccessfully for a TT job recently, I can now console myself through this reminder that selection is not based entirely on merit."

I am not sure if the above comment was meant as a true "thank you" or with sarcasm. However, a point that selection "not based entirely on merit" is for my situation at least, not accurate.

In the situation I have described, we have several people who are being interviewed for a position that will share some lower-level teaching duties with me. These duties will cover a course (A&P) that has been until this time, the primary class I have taught and I have been the only full-time faculty member teaching this course.

Of the candidates we have interviewed thus far, here is my opinion and my belief about the Department's opinion of the candidate:

Person #1 - My take... a very nice, young fellow who has a significant amount of experience teaching A&P. He has a teaching style that is different, albeit complimentary to my own. He also has a very distinctively different research emphasis than I do... and his research emphasis is not yet found in our Department (he would offer significant diversity). My opinion of the Department's take on this fellow... he may have taught A&P before, but he seems a bit strong-willed and too opinionated. He is also not "glamorous" or a "catch".

Overall, I feel I could work very well with this person and he could have a very unique and distinctive career at my University. I believe my Department will not vote for him because he is not "smooth and flashy".

Person #2 - My take... a wonderful person. He is a bit older and has enormous level of teaching experience in A&P. His teaching style is also different but complementary to my own. His research is different from my own, but (wonderfully) his research is very complimentary to my own and I feel the two of us could develop a significant amount of collaborative research together. My opinion of the Department's take on this fellow... he is older, he is not flashy, his research isn't overly interesting, and they express a generally "ho-hum" feeling about this individual.

Overall, I feel I could very well with this person as well, and would have the added bonus of having someone with technical skills different from my own that could give me a true collaborative partner that would allow both of us to accomplish research that is distinctly different from what either of us pursues as individuals.

Person #3 - (This is the fellow I am worried about) - My take... a very nice, young person. He has had no teaching experience in A&P, but his teaching style is virtually identical to my own for the courses he has taught. Additionally, his research overlaps my own research area completely. In the way our University operates, there would not be enough need for both of us to teach the UPPER DIVISION courses (senior level courses) we both specialize in, and there would be a limited amount of research money and space for both our forms of research. We would end up being expected to share everything. Add to this that he is "cool" and "trendy" and would I come out on the losing end of every interaction we share with students since I am "old" and "frumpy". My opinion of my Department's take on this fellow... they are bowled over by his "coolness" and "trendiness" and some of the women think he is especially pleasant "eye candy". Many dismiss his lack of teaching in the needed subject as a "minor point". The majority opinion is that they do not see a problem with him overlapping with *ME* as long as he does not overlap with *THEM*. In our Department, all faculty have been hired to diversify the offerings in biology in our Deparment... there is no overlap, at least right now.... until they hire this guy to overlap EVERYTHING about me.

Overall, this fellow is nice, but he does not have much teaching experience and the subject matter he *has* taught in is not what we were looking for. His research is nice, but it overlaps my own almost perfectly. It would be unfair to HIM and especially to ME to hire him because we would always be stepping on each other's toes, and competing for very limited resources. I would take it as a slap in the face if my Department selects this fellow... not because he is not a nice person... but because of Departmental need and Department harmony... he is the WRONG choice.

We have two additional candidates that are yet to arrive. But I think no one will "mezmerize" the crowds like this last fellow.

So... Mr. Anonymous... your statement about hiring not based "on merit" is not applicable in this case. The fellow is less qualified for his primary teaching role, and HE OVERLAPS with other fields represented in the Department... THIS IS NOT MERITORIOUS logic that is being used to select him. He is being very very strongly considered because he is "cool" and "trendy" and certain people "feel good" thinking about him being in our Department.

Your own personal situation may, of course, be very different, Mr. Anonymous. I am not trying to say it is not. But truthfully, this situation I write about is obscenely convoluted and *ss-backwards as far as I can discern. I would not have thought my Department would be so enthralled by style over substance. AGAIN, the guy is fine as a person, and he is most definitely a nice person... but for another school and department. He is not a good fit for my Department.

PipeTobacco