Supporting Visiting Faculty: A Checklist

1. Goals of the Visitor’s Time at Amherst: What to Convey and Discuss

  • Convey that Amherst wants visitors to thrive and to use their time here to plan their next career steps.
  • Note that the department should assign a mentor to visitors with multi-year contracts, if this is of interest to the visitor. 

2. Departmental Expectations about Teaching: What to Convey and Discuss

  • Discuss substance and goals of visitor’s courses and how they fit into the department’s curriculum
  • Describe workload and grading expectations for courses in the department
  • Provide deadlines for submitting course materials 

3. Resources Available at Amherst: What to Convey and Discuss

  • Note that most opportunities available to tenure-line faculty are available to visitors too
  • Offer as examples: faculty orientation events, teaching and professional development workshops, teaching consultations through the Center for Teaching and Learning, funding for speakers
  • Check in with Pawan Dhingra to confirm that an opportunity is available to visitors
  • Describe the ADC’s role and responsibilities and services the department provides for faculty
  • Plan for helping the visitor make connections with faculty and staff outside the department

4. Mentoring around Teaching: What to Convey and Discuss

  • Ask visitors whether they would like to have their classes observed  
  • Ask visitors whether would like to attend a class taught by the chair or another colleague
  • Note that there is an expectation that teaching evaluations will be solicited from all of each visitor’s students in all classes (similar to procedures for pre-tenure faculty)
  • Note that “annual conversations” take place with visitors who have multi-year contracts, if this is of interest to the visitor. 

5. Help with Tackling the Job Market: What to Convey and Discuss

  • Ask if the visitor would like to do a mock job talk
  • Ask if the visitor would like the chair or another senior colleague to review the visitor’s job application materials (e.g., CV, cover letter, teaching statement, research statement)
  • Ask if the visitor would like the chair to provide a letter of recommendation around teaching
  • Discuss what makes someone an attractive candidate for a tenure-track job

6. Department Meetings: What to Convey and Discuss

  • Convey expectation that visitors are invited to attend department meetings unless the meeting concerns searches or personnel matters.
  • Discuss department meetings’ norms and procedures

7. Faculty Meetings

  • Note expectation that visitors will attend the first faculty meeting when they are introduced.
  • Convey that it is understood that visitors have many competing obligations and that attending faculty meetings may not be the best use of their time
  • Discuss norms and procedures of faculty meetings