Universities to love
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This is a place to post anonymous comments about positive interview experiences.
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| School || Department || Date || Issue
Please add responses using an asterisk to denote a bullet point.
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| School | Department | Date | Issue |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of the Pacific | Biology | 2008 | Nice, considerate, collegial faculty, sharp undergrads, engaged Masters students, plus their new building is slated to open later this year. Everything about the interview was well orchestrated and professional, and reimbursement was quick. What a great department!
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| Bowling Green State | English | Smart, sharp people who do amazing work. Campus visit was very well organized. I was treated very courteously. Excellent questions during job talk. Reimbusement was quick. | |
| Central MO Univ | Biology | Nice people, plenty of space, I would have taken if offered | |
| Denison University | English | I cannot imagine a more friendly, enthusiastic, supportive, and generally wonderful faculty. Reimbursement was practically immediate and every effort taken to make my visit pleasant. As one measure: my meeting with the provost was actually enjoyable! | |
| Eastern Kentucky University | History | They don't have a lot of money and they teach an enormous amount, yet everyone was great. The faculty are friendly, including the people I met from other departments. The administrators are administrators, but by no means the worst I've ever encountered. They did a very thorough job and I was pretty sure that everyone on the faculty had read my stuff with a careful eye. Overall a great place to interview. | |
| Florida State University | Classics | Their search got canceled, but they did an amazing job of spelling out exactly what would be asked in the interview, actually reading and questioning me about my writing sample, and having a phenomenally helpful website. | |
| Idaho State University | Visual Arts | Interviewed there last in Summer. Didn't get the job, but I was treated to a wonderful day. Great company, food, discussions...It was great all around. | |
| Illinois Central College | English/Language Arts | great school. The usual with student body, but wonderful instructors and a supportive associate dean. Less than the usual politics between adm and faculty. Great staff. Many good professors under which to mentor. My only complaint is that this area of Central Illinois is really, really dull. If you get a t/t job, bring your spouse and/or family because there is no support for single folks and very little do do around here. Still, very good professors to work with! And as I typed, administration is generally supportive. | |
| Kansas State U | English | bad town, but great school; MLA interview was actually enjoyable; was well taken care of during campus interview, including 2 dinners, and the reception was actually at professor's house, where I felt completely welcome; when my flight was delayed, rather than have me take a bus to the university town, 2 profs picked me up from the airport and drove me there (they even gave me food in the car!); didn't get the job, but am still in contact with them. *Seconding this post. Did not get the job but had wonderful campus visit, amazing faculty and grad student support at job talk, and genuine interest from search committee about my areas of research and how I would contribute to their program. Young, dynamic faculty and well-organized program. | |
| Michigan State U. | English | 2007-08 | While I was not offered the job, the campus interview experience was wonderful. The faculty were prepared to discuss my work, ask questions, and provide feedback. The principle of academic freedom was readily apparent in all aspects of the interview. The chair kept me up to date on the search all the way through. The department is congenial, professional, and fascinating in its diversity. |
| Mississippi State | English | date withheld (recent) | Very professional throughout. The head of the dept. arranged times for discussions with all senior faculty as well as a separate time for discussion with all junior faculty. Plenty of breaks scheduled during the campus visit, and everyone showed interest in job talk |
| Mount Holyoke | English | Incredibly nice people. Very professional. Intellectually engaged. The most fun I had ever had on a campus visit. Search committee chair called me to inform that they had offered the position to another candidate; this was a nice courtesy as most search committees just send a form rejection letter weeks after the fact. | |
| NC State | History | 2006/07 | actually got back to candidates after AHA when they said they would, which is rare and always appreciated. Jan. 2006
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| Texas A&M University-Texarkana | Very very small, but all the faculty get along. new campus is in progress and the plan is truly beautiful. A great opportunity for people wanting to "build programs." | ||
| Simmons College (Boston) | History | I took a job at a larger research university but the people on this committee cosigned a personal letter of congratulations wishing me the best. That amount of personal attention was over the top and truly appreciated. | |
| Saint Vincent College | Theology | 2007 Fall | they were clear about the search timeline and were very prompt about notifying candidates about changes/progress, including rejection. I'm all for rejections that come sooner rather than later. |
| SUNY Oneonta | English | 2007 Fall | Very friendly department -- cordial during the phone interview, welcoming and professional during the campus interview. Called to let me know where they were in the bureaucratic process; remembered that interviewees can get pretty anxious while they're waiting. And gave me a kind and personal rejection -- called me quickly. I think the "We wish we could have hired two people" spiel was genuine.
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| Towson University | Biology | 2007 Fall | The single most professionally organized interview I've been on - punctual, efficient, thoughtful. I felt refreshed and enthused when I was done! The one on ones were all about the department and science. The faculty are genuinely collegial and proud of it, and both student panels I met with were mature and insightful |
| University of Alabama | 2008 | fantastic, considerate hosts. I enjoyed the campus interview and felt as if I were actually _valued_ for a change.
Interviewed at History Dept., at UA Tuscaloosa (main campus). It was a very good experience.
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| U of Arizona | Human Resources/Search Secretary | incredibly helpful and just plain nice
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| U of British Columbia, Okanagan | Humanities | Ridiculously nice people. The entire SC was lovely, and one of them even lent me a snowsuit so that I could go skiing at a hill nearby after my interview. I don't know yet whether I'll get the job, but everyone was so courteous and downright interesting that I'll think well of the school regardless. Also, though this doesn't apply to my own situation, from talking to other people at the school, it seems that they don't look down on candidates for having spent a few years as a sessional/adjunct and that they'll gladly hire the best person for the job whether they're a sessional or not. I hope to stay in touch with several of the people I met while I was there. Oh, and they paid for flight, hotel and car rental up front and reminded me several times to keep my receipts for everything so that I could be reimbursed. -added 2/27: Same person. Didn't get the job in the end, but this was conveyed in a personal email that was pretty much the nicest rejection letter I've ever received. These people are gems. | |
| UC, Davis | English | I liked everyone I met there. Friendly faculty and grad students. Chair (now retired) was very transparent about the whole search process. Everyone was very courteous. I didn't get the job, but I liked the visit so much. I'm still in touch with one of the search committee members, and we hang out whenever we see each other at conferences. | |
| UCLA | English | didn't make the cut after the conference interview, but the interview itself was very collegial and professionally conducted. The SCC contacted me personally to let me know I was no longer in the running, and gave me genuine encouragement and some pertinent info regarding why I didn't make the cut. It wasn't all hot air, either. They did what they could to make the whole job seeking process less miserable than it can sometimes be. | |
| U Houston-Clear Lake | Literature | 2007/8 search | MLA interview went well. Didn't get a campus visit, but chair sent a personal email explaining why. Said she could have hired me (and 4 others) on the spot but I was the only ABD. Went into detail about my strengths during the interview. Pretty cool of her to give me that level of feedback. |
| U IL Springfield | Biology | young faculty, nice people, highly recommend, very professional interview process. | |
| U IL, Urbana-Champaign | 2006/07 search | campus interview run with military precision, making up for the long pre-pre-interview process. Every accommodation was made for me. | |
| University of Memphis | Art History | 2008 | The best campus interview I have ever had - congenial faculty, well-organized, with 30-45 minutes of down time between interviews, no need to ask for reimbursements, wonderful dinners and the greatest hotel I have ever stayed in. A real class act. (Now if they will just hire me!) 4/2008 |
| University of Northern Colorado | English | I couldn't have asked for a better interview experience; it really was the most positive and well-organized out of all my interviews, most of which were also smoothly organized. The folks in the department were exceedingly supportive and inviting; my schedule was delivered to me well in advance and plenty of down-time was included to keep me from being run ragged, the expectations for the teaching demo were spelled out well in advance, I was given comprehensive travel information well in advance, and I was reimbursed very quickly. In short, I couldn't have asked for a more profession or inviting interview experience.
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| University of the South (Sewanee) | History | 2007 | one-year job, great interview (they wined and dined me, paid for my travel, no need to hassle w/reimbursement), good communication (actually made the offer the day after my on-campus visit), great place to work (amazing salary, lots o' resources, great students, and interested and interesting colleagues who treat me like a member of the dept, not just an adjunct); another bonus - one-year faculty have full access to conference and research funding |
| University of Texas at Dallas | Arts and Humanities | 2008 | Perhaps the most collegial faculty I have ever dealt with. The search committee was straight forward and really went out of their way to make the experience as painless as possible.
I absolutely second the previous comment. I loved meeting with this faculty!
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| University of Toronto | DEPARTMENT? | 2005/06 | Interviewed in wheelchair. Perfect interview for disabled candidate. I never experienced this before. Driver who picked me up knew what to do. Hotel was on main street downtown so I could go out. (As opposed to hotels where you are captive in your room as you can only access parking lot) Room was easy to navigate with enough space to get in bathroom, move around bed, desk. Department made my "accessibility" a non-issue by planning. Lectern for job talk was already at perfect height. Lunch and dinner were easy to get to and wheelchair friendly. Department already knew where accessible toilets were. (The worst is when you ask and they say: Oh, gee, I guess we´ll have to find "one of those" for you!) All around class act. And no, I didn't get the job.
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| University of West Georgia | English | 2006-07 search | Really nice, friendly department. Faculty deported themselves very professionally during MLA interview and campus visit. Underfunded university, but otherwise seemed like a great place to work. Great support staff, quick reimbursement. (No, I didn't get the job.) Don't believe everything you see over on the black list |
| Utah State University | History | Outstanding department and very friendly. Excellent mix of research and teaching. Surprisingly liberal for Utah, inclusive department, non-mormons are the majority. | |
| Wheaton College | Theology | 2007 Fall | I didn't even get an interview, but have corresponded several times with the search committee chair over email. He was very nice, helpful, forthcoming about what they were looking for, willing to listen to concerns, and provided some helpful feedback.
- Ditto! I interviewed in Spring, 2008 with another department. They contacted me when they said they would, promptly refunded my travel expenses, and conducted the campus interview with great professionalism and courtesy. An excellent place to interview! |
| Whitworth University | Human Resources | 2007 | Very helpful and friendly. I was stunned (in a good way).
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| Whitman College | English (Visiting) | From the first phone call, my experience was great. When I arrived, the administration (including a newly hired Dean) knew my name, my file, and my research. Both faculty and students were candid (and accurate)in their descriptions of the job and campus life. They payed hotel and air up-front, and then double-checked to make sure I had not incurred any additional expenses. I can't think of a better "first job" experience. | |
| Wofford | While I didn't get the job, the SC was pleasant, prepared, and obviously interested in finding the best candidate for the job. What really impressed me, however, was the fact that they notified the non-campus visit MLA interviews once the campus visits had been confirmed. I find this to be rare (and prefer it to the indefinite, "maybe our first 4 choices won't work out" approach. | ||
| Xavier University of New Orleans | History | The students, faculty and administration here are endearing folks who have obviously triumphed after Hurricane Katrina. The history department was great--very open and honest after what has been a difficult time. Paid for everything up-front (always appreciated) and were very gracious.
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