Presentation of Self

The last week and a half has been devoted primarily to putting together an application for my contract renewal. I'm employed at UAlbany through next year and then I have to get renewed for the next three-year period. The renewal process takes place during your second year at the University so that you have time to look for a new job if you need one. I'm not too worried about losing my job, but I have had to put a lot of work into my renewal application. In our School we use this opportunity to start building our tenure profiles. It's a little strange to do this in only my fourth semester here since I feel like I'm just getting into the swing of things, but it has also been an interesting opportunity to step back and think about the bigger picture of what I'm trying to accomplish. The tenure packet consists of a C.V., statements of teaching, research, and service, and a teaching portfolio. Unlike annual performance reviews at most jobs, this is more than just restating what you've done for the past year or two. Instead you have to link your past work to your future plans and describe not only how you will qualify for tenure, but how you will become a national expert in your area of study over the next four years. It's a somewhat daunting task.

I've just about finished writing all of my statements and I'll have a colleague review them before they get submitted to the faculty, where there will have a meeting to discuss whether or not my contract will be renewed. Although this process was a little stressful, I'm satisfied with the end result and I think I've presented my work well. As part of this process, I have also changed my professional web site and even added a blog. I was going to do this anyhow since I wanted to find an easier software/server package to handle the site and it just made sense to do it at the same time as the other stuff.