I am very rarely intimidated my another human being but the first time I met Dr. Alan Friedman I was tripping on my words as if I were on a first date with Natalie Portman. He’s not intimidating in the same way that one would be intimidated by Hulk Hogan or the Thing but when he speaks, it is with a certain gravity that commands attention. His speech is thoughtful and controlled and gives him an air of affluence and intelligence. It is no wonder though, for his accomplishments would most likely be longer than your weekly grocery list. He’s been teaching, researching, writing, and been involved with several boards for his long career at UT. He has reached the highest level of being a professor which is professorship (which I will go into more later) and published five books among several other publication.
Earlier today I was honored to conduct my first interview for my blog with him. He helped detangle a little of the intricate web of the world of academics.
First was the issue of what exactly his position at the University was.
“An English professor,” he stated simply.
Of course there are several different levels of professorship that one can gain but I didn’t really know what they were or the differences so I had him explain.
At the ground level as far as tenure track professors go, is the Instructor. They call these professors ABD-All But Dissertation-since they are tenure track but have yet to get their Ph.D. These professors are currently undertaking research to finish their dissertation and thus getting their Ph.D.
Next is the Associate Professor. The most obvious difference between the Instructor and the Associate Professor is that the Associate Professor has his Ph.D. The most important difference though is that the Associate Professor is advancing the work s/he did before through research and turning it into multiple articles and ideally a book. Most of what the professor is trying to do at this point is join in the academic conversation and publish work that contributes to the conversation. With these contributions, the professor ideally will make a name for themselves on a national and possibly international stage. If a professor is successful at making a name for themselves and publishes an adequate amount of work (this varies between departments and even universities), at the max of six years time, they will be up for tenure (for those who don’t know what tenure is, it is the backbone of academia. Tenure secures their jobs so that they have the academic freedom to pursue their intellectual interest and contribute in the larger conversation in a way that their voice is heard [there are a few cases though in which tenure professor can be let go but I’ll save that for another post]). This is a very stressful time in professor’s careers because if they aren’t promoted to tenure they have to move to another university. A board decides if the candidate is qualified for promotion based on several factors, mostly their publications and contributions to the department. There are no strict guidelines for this process but there is a certain amount of gradient that goes into the decision making process. Such as if you publish a book it has more pull than editing a book (there is gradients in this process as well) or publishing articles. If a professor doesn’t attain tenure then they have what is called a terminal year to find work at another university.
If a professor does get tenure then they become an Associate Professor with Tenure. This is where most professors stay. They publish work and still do research but just on a less rigors scale than people who attain the next level of promotion that comes about 6 to 8 years later.
That is, a Full Professor. A full professor is still doing the same thing but has just done more prestigious things and is probably more involved with the department and boards (Alan told me it varies but he said usually there is about one book publication between each promotion).
The last promotion is to Professorship. Professorship is when you are endowed by an outside source to further your research. It’s like you get an expense account. I have money in an account that I can spend on things that pertain to my research (conferences, printing paper, computer etc.) but I have to account for all the expenses so they are justified.
Also at universities there are lecturers. Lecturers are in a different category because they are not on tenure track and they are on a as need basis for the most part. Their contracts are anywhere from a semester to three years and they can be not rehired at any point. Some universities give them a year-similar to the terminal year-in which they can find a new job but it is not the universities responsibility to do so.
I know, I know, a lot of information on one question. If you are interested in more information on these issues you can go to MLA’s website (yes, the same people that in your freshman composition class you had to buy the book for) or if you’ve gotten into graduate school for English you no doubt have heard of the ADE (Association of Department of English). The ADE’s website looks like it is very informative but unfortunately you have to be a member to look at any of their publications and you can’t be a member unless you are a graduate student or professor (unlucky me!). When I have more time I’m going to look into both of these websites and hopefully will be able to give you some more numbers and statistics pertaining to being a professional academic.
How important is networking for getting into graduate school or getting placed at a good university?
As far as graduate school goes from my experience (he proceeds cautiously since he’s only been involved on the other side for quite some time), I thinks that it’s not very important. Since graduate schools are able to pick out candidates from a large pool and competition is so rigorous it allows universities to choose based on quality. It’s not an institute that takes much stock in your connections since it is the students work and drive that is going to make them successful in graduate school.
It’s pretty much the same in trying to get a job at the university but possibly a little more important. Assuming you’ve done well in graduate school and if you’ve had the chance to work under certain people it is something that gets weighed in as you apply for a job as a professor (he explained further that if you’ve worked under a predominate figure in your field and they write you a convincing recommendation that your application gets taken as a serious applicant, although he says that all applicants are taken seriously). In all, networking doesn’t necessarily give candidates an edge.
Are there any popular misconceptions about being a professor?
That we don’t work very hard. They think that since we will spend about six to twelve hours in a classroom a week that that is all we do. And that can be frustrating. It’s like saying that a surgeon is only working when he is doing surgery or a lawyer is only working when he is arguing a case in court. It omits 90% of what we do from putting together classes to doing research to contributing to the department.
Any advice for anyone that is interested in pursuing the same career as you?
Think twice, Alan said and a big smile came over his face. Of course I’m only joking but really, it’s something that you have to make sure you really want to do. You have to have a real passion for whatever subject you’re researching. It something that you have to feel is very important and you would regret it if you didn’t.
To “think twice” is a common thread as far as speaking to my professors about going to graduate school and trying to aspire to become a professor. As one of my favorite professors Jonathan Lamb put it, “only do it if you couldn’t see yourself being happy doing anything else.” It seems so daunting but I appreciate their honesty. I much rather hear how they truly feel rather than have it sugarcoated-this is after all, not your childhood breakfast cereal. Although I am unsure as their career path is one that I will follow, I appreciate their craft and devotion to not only education but to their students. They get to impact young lives in a transitory period and I know that I have been changed by men like them. I admire and respect their profession and I will be so lucky if I one day achieve similar success.
Photo taken from the University of Texas's website, http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/english/faculty/profiles/friedman-alan-w.html
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