At an institution with 37 departments, there is no single path to teaching. Nor is there a single path to obtaining tenure.
Biology instructor Tom Jack, studio art professor Brenda Garand and government instructor David Kang -- three recently tenured professors -- described the often divergent roads that led to their freshly secure tenure positions. Across their different personal histories, what the three professors do share is a similar passion for their respective disciplines.
Kang: "I hate snow"
Government professor Kang summed up his reasons for pursuing an academic career: "If you find something you love to do, do it. You'll find a way to live."
And the study and teaching of political science is clearly what he loves to do. He said of his academic life at Dartmouth, "If you were to imagine the ideal professor's job ... I would say I've gotten closer to it [here] than I had thought possible."
At Dartmouth, Kang both continues to focus on his own research interests, such as Asian business practices and corruption, and enjoys interacting with his students.
Before being hired for a six-year tenure-track position at Dartmouth, Kang received his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1995. Although progressing from a Ph.D. program to a tenure-track professorship is "typical," according to Kang his arrival at Dartmouth was not a "typical" decision for him.
"I hate snow," the Californian remarked with a chuckle, going on to explain that the academic environment at Dartmouth attracted him more than any other college to which he applied to teach. Here, scholarship is of primary importance among faculty, since "if you want to continue to attract good students, you need to maintain high intellectual standards."
As a corollary to this, the students whom he first encountered at Dartmouth were integral to his ultimate decision to teach here, he said. "I had no desire to be on the East Coast at all [until] I met four students, who were supposed to take me to breakfast. They were so smart and polite."
By the time his visit was complete, he stated, "I knew I wanted to come here."
Jack: "I always wanted to teach"
Professor Jack of the biology department received tenure after arriving at Dartmouth in the fall of 1993. Prior to teaching, Jack received his Ph.D. at Yale University and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the California Institute of Technology. Following his work at CIT, Jack had a diverse set of occupations to choose from, ranging from work at a biotechnology lab to work at a research university.
Jack chose the latter, explaining that "there is a lot more freedom to study the sorts of things that most interest you in academia than in industry."
Jack's research interests include arabidopsis, a weed from the mustard family. He is currently examining the effects that a particular family of genes have on development in arabidopsis, a field of study he began in his post-doctoral program.
Although Jack's current research is similar to that which he completed during his years at CIT, his teaching position has resulted in new responsibilities. He now teaches classes, spends time applying for grants to run experiments and manages a laboratory, in addition to pursuing his own research.
The work of these other tasks, however, is worth it, according to Jack. "Exposure to students is a positive thing," he said, noting that he involves his students in projects.
Jack said Dartmouth's academic environment also enhances his appreciation of his tenured position. Here, he said, there "are colleagues to interact with" about the research topics that most concern him.
The start of his path towards a tenured position at Dartmouth began when "the overall question [of developmental biology] drew [him] in." In addition to engaging in the study of such questions, Jack added, "I always wanted to teach."
Although his progress from Ph.D. to post-doctoral work to teaching was, according to Jack, standard for rising biology professors, his particular route to Dartmouth differs markedly from that of Studio Art Professor Garand.
Garand: "My work is my life; it's what I do"
Speaking about her own road to tenure, Garand remarked, "I think that everybody is a unique individual. I didn't go to graduate school to become a professor; I went to graduate school for sculpture." Afterwards, however, the "path towards [tenure] evolved naturally."
Garand, who began teaching at Dartmouth in 1995 and received tenure last May. She completed her Masters of Fine Arts degree at Queens College, City University of New York. After graduation, she continued to teach classes there, taking on several other jobs as well, including work at an interior painting company. After living for 14 years in New York City, though, she chose to apply for "any job opening in the country."
She said her tenured position at Dartmouth is preferable to the previous positions she has held, not only in terms of job security, but also in terms of opportunities to become more involved in the college community than she had been at Queens College.
"When you teach as a visitor... you go in, teach a course, and leave," she said of her previous teaching position. She continued, "Here, I'm involved with other departments, like creative writing, and I'm more involved with student life."
The most important component of Garand's life, however, will always be her sculpture. Although the steady income from her teaching "allows me to do my work in my studio, so that I'm not scrambling as much to make a living," Garand said that making her work would happen whether or not she had a tenured position. In short, she said that her work is her life: "it's what I do."
