RE: Villanova Position

["Kurt P. Kearcher" <kkearcher@owens.cc.oh.us>]

Bob:

Is the number increasing? I've been watching job postings for a few years
now, and I am always surprised when one _is_ tenure-track. I don't know,
too, that I would want to be working on a tenure track while also trying to
engage in the very complex business of making a writing center work. It was
weird enough going through writing center job interviews with people who
knew little or nothing about writing centers. I would be very concerned
about these same people judging the value of my scholarship and service. I
think I would find myself re-presenting myself as a comp person, and I
really don't think of myself as such.

I guess I look less at tenure possibilities and more at the institutional
structure when I consider concerns like integrity and long-term potential. I
was hired as professional staff, which means I have neither administrative
nor faculty rank. I am a manager. I don't like the title much, but I do like
what my location in the institution's structure does for me: I report to the
dean of arts and sciences and no one else. On the organization chart, I am
at the same level as the department chairs. My professional location in many
ways is in an interesting harmony with many writing centers: I'm kind of
hanging "out there"--not quite part of the administration, not quite part of
the faculty. I suppose the position is tenuous, but it also brings with it
tremendous opportunity. As long as I keep the center running well
(completing hiring, keeping within budget, etc.), I pretty much get to pick
and choose my projects. This means I _do_ have time to conduct research; I
do have time to write; I do have time to attend and present at conferences.
The professional development is due to the fact that I have in my budget
monies for professional development; in addition, my dean treats me like an
administrator or faculty member and ponies up extra dough when I ask for it.
The key for me is to understand professional development and growth in terms
of my institution's needs, my profession's needs, and my own needs.

I sometimes find myself talking myself out of liking my position because I
want the status of an administrator or the legitimacy of a faculty member;
however, I look at the demands placed on the administrators and _tenured_
faculty members (the dev ed chair supervising sixty faculty members, the
faculty member teaching four writing courses) and count my blessings: a
dozen professional staff members, two student workers, and the rush of
working with really fine people on worthwhile projects. I'm no laissez-faire
capitalist, but I'm developing a strong sense of entrepreneurship that is
working very well within the context of my college's business-oriented
approach to administration. If for some reason I am "let go," I can always
go back to driving a tractor-trailer. My CDL (commercial drivers license) is
still valid, and with an annual turnover rate of over 100% in the industry,
I know I won't have any trouble gettin' a ride in a big truck. Pullin' a
fifty-three foot reefer with a Cat-powered KW--now _that's_ bein' in control
(insert Tim Allen-type rr rr rr's here).

Kurt

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-wcenter@ttacs6.ttu.edu
> [mailto:owner-wcenter@ttacs6.ttu.edu]On Behalf Of Robert W Barnett
> Sent: Thursday, October 08, 1998 1:31 PM
> To: wcenter@ttacs6.ttu.edu
> Subject: Re: Villanova Position
>
>
> Is anyone else concerned about the increasing number of WC director jobs
> being posted as non-tenure track, staff positions? This feels like a trend
> that has the potential to seriously undercut the integrity and long-term
> potentials of our field.
>
> Bob Barnett
> UM-Flint