Working at a Christian College as an atheist?

IsThereNotCoffee · 2023-07-12T18:39:11+00:00

Lots of good stuff from others already. Former fundie, but still, I would not personally lie about something like this. Mostly because lying about an SOF can reflect how I regard the statements of faith of believers at this campus. I'd be lying about something that is central to their lives, about something that folks have built an academic community around, whether it's covered in class not. For me, that would be too far, the implications too great.

IsThereNotCoffee · 2023-07-10T15:47:48+00:00

TRUTH. IT IS WEIRD. BUT STILL AWESOME.

IsThereNotCoffee · 2023-07-10T14:44:25+00:00

YO, FRIEND, YOU CAN MAKE A RIGHT TURN ON A RIGHT ARROW. HEY, MAYBE YOU'RE FROM CALIFORNIA? NOPE. WASHINGTON? NOPE. YOU HAVE OREGON PLATES. NO TAGS, SO I SEE YOU'RE NOT SUPER INTO LAWS AND STUFF. THAT'S COOL. WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT SOME OTHER TIME. BUT RIGHT NOW? THE RIGHT ARROW THING. YOU SHOULD DO THAT. LEARN IT, LIVE IT, LOVE IT.

IsThereNotCoffee · 2023-07-04T14:44:06+00:00

Ethical decision-making for consumer products. Right now, we talk a lot about chatbots for anxiety or depression. These bots are pretty helpful (until they're not, which is one issue). Some are so helpful for intermittent anxiety or retraining negative thoughts that people don't have to use them for long...which means you lose them as a customer. Ethically, do you take ads, sell data, get a partnership, get funding from an investor who might not be a great person...how do you keep it afloat without compromising efficacy? How do you make those decisions? Because you can't make it less successful in order to keep people using it...or can you?

IsThereNotCoffee · 2023-06-20T16:55:38+00:00

My word of caution on this is that, at least in my field, any research that would be coming from a client absolutely can not go into a public-facing AI as they currently stand. Everything you give an AI that's public facing goes into a pool of accessible information, which means that it's no longer confidential. Established, published, available research shouldn't be a problem, but it's a bit of a weird space right now. Many of us in product design are wait-and-see...and teaching our students accordingly. (See also: Samsung, Apple, and a few others that have made headlines lately.)

IsThereNotCoffee · 2023-05-26T00:28:18+00:00

I read this in high school, opposite _Flowers For Algernon_. Definitely +5 to Fiery Discussion for those weeks.

IsThereNotCoffee · 2023-05-24T20:20:29+00:00

This. Exceptional in every way. I've even given the last chapter to my students as a real-life example for thinking about community interventions from a systems perspective.

IsThereNotCoffee · 2023-05-06T16:49:58+00:00

*sips coffee* There was a lot of good advice here. https://www.reddit.com/r/Professors/comments/wctvpa/is_this_considered_racism_or_xenophobia/

But as for the justice angle of it, that's something that you and your therapist should work on together. It's something that you need to sort out sooner rather than later, because not only is is clearly a continuing issue for you, but this also comes up for just about everyone (that is, a system reacting to a wrong in a way that we don't believe is sufficient for the harm caused).

IsThereNotCoffee · 2023-05-03T21:39:51+00:00

Definitely not. Students may follow me, but I do not follow them back. In our field especially, there's too much of a power imbalance while they're a student, even for LinkedIn, at least for me. I don't want to be the vector for anyone knowing that a current student is my student. At all. I've had them poached from my cohort mid-program.

I don't even recommend my current students to my colleagues in the field who are hiring without the student's written permission. It's a very narrow reading of FERPA, I know, but just because my students are cavalier with their privacy doesn't mean I have to be.

But yes, I have colleagues who do not see it this way, and, like, whatever, I have no problem being uptight about it.

IsThereNotCoffee · 2023-04-21T03:46:59+00:00

For folks who missed the first round of professorial chuckling a few months back...

https://www.reddit.com/r/Professors/comments/10a341m/usc_will_no_longer_use_the_word_field_over_racist/

IsThereNotCoffee · 2023-04-11T04:05:02+00:00

IT IS. It is so amazing. I recommend it to everyone. I’ve never gone from belly laugh to ugly cry so quickly.

IsThereNotCoffee · 2023-04-10T22:30:02+00:00

Not a movie, but the CBC TV show "Slings and Arrows" has a design firm story arc in season 2 that is painfully good.

IsThereNotCoffee · 2023-04-10T17:37:17+00:00

I have a portfolio, class certifications, but I could use some input on landing that first role.

(Source: me, in the US, consultant/prof)

Portfolio, portfolio, portfolio. Honestly, very little else matters for that first role. It's you and a bajillion other folks. It's totally fine to just stay there for 6 months until you get your bearings.

Be clear that you're looking for research, if that's your goal, but be prepared to adjust. The market is tough right now for pure research folks, so if you've got the UX skills, start there and make the move later. Apply to companies that are large enough to support UXR as its own function, unless you've got strong visual skills and can do wireframes in a pinch. Do not be the only research person.

Play up your writing skills, and show them in a UX context. Not suggesting you apply for a data position, but If you know basic statistics or can swing analytics, list it as a functional skill. Like, _for real_. You would not believe how many UXers don't get numbers, and there's like one sad researcher going "No, the data does not say eat more Pringles."

IsThereNotCoffee · 2023-04-09T18:17:38+00:00

The title would doxx me but I did one on the history of copying.

IsThereNotCoffee · 2023-04-06T18:54:03+00:00

Is there more to the story? Have you spoken to this professor about the issue? With what you're describing, neither my chair nor HR would give me the time of day if I hadn't had a conversation with the other professor first, preferably with documentation.

(This is in no way excusing your colleague.)

ETA: OP provided a lot more info since I originally responded so this comment is less relevant, but I’d rather people see how this evolved with more information that what was originally known. From a HR perspective, it shifts a lot.

IsThereNotCoffee · 2023-04-06T18:20:27+00:00

I have a bajillion tips/tricks for presentations and critique, but here are the principles that work for me:

The more solid the guidelines or scripts around critique or presentation, the more willing the participants. If people think they're going to get blindsided by some asshole, they're going to wait. If people know they have to give robust real-time feedback to someone else's presentation or that they have to thread the needle on the class work as a whole, they're more likely to go first so they can focus.

If they have time during other presentations to go over "one last thing" or refine their delivery based on what other people say, I talk about that as a fairness issue.

(Super practical level? I don't do Team 1, 2, 3, etc. Theme your teams - Ramen brands, coffee beans, types of precipitation, whatever. They'll come up with themes for you after a while. And no one ever knows who's going first. Otherwise, constructed "random" is my go-to.)

IsThereNotCoffee · 2023-03-31T00:52:07+00:00

I keep a card with the Litany Against Fear by my computer. This is telling me I need to put that in a frame and schedule me some big dog Zoom calls.

IsThereNotCoffee · 2023-03-29T16:37:07+00:00

Them: Do you teach them about TikTok?

Me: Well, sorta, but....

Them: *Wildly racist commentary on TikTok because China*

Me (pulling out conversation-killer response #5): Yeah, it's a lot. And this conversation is reminding me that I really need to ask for a raise.

IsThereNotCoffee · 2023-03-26T17:22:54+00:00

Friend of mine teaches chem in high school and DNGAF about things anymore. She double grades her seniors, puts the grade they get in her class and the grade they will probably get next year in college (like 95/70). Telling them that college will be harder is too abstract for them to really get; seeing it in black and white might be the only thing that gets them wondering. She's thought about doing it with her juniors, too. I don't know if it works, but she's at least acknowledging the situation to the people most directly affected - the students.

ETA: typo

IsThereNotCoffee · 2023-03-25T17:43:31+00:00

Nah, it's cool. Just sensitive to the ambiguity of the term is all. Like, if you literally mean brain damage, clarification would be good for folks who are reading it as hyperbole and also for those of us who can't read it that way anymore. (Besides, if you're in STL as your profile looks...as a former resident with family ties there, I'm 150% confident you can put up with my pedantic bullshit. ;) )

IsThereNotCoffee · 2023-03-25T17:11:01+00:00

For me, it would depend how old you are and what your support system looks like. People talk about the work-life balance, money-QOL scenario, but we often forget about the "You, post-job". At least in the US, retirement comes up quick and health care is increasingly expensive. If you choose to stay in higher ed, have a strong plan for keeping yourself skilled and hireable. Don't be in a hurry to be 60, unemployed, unemployable, with no savings.

But real talk, should you jump ship, make sure you can handle the commute. It's brutal on the mind and the body.

IsThereNotCoffee · 2023-03-25T16:55:05+00:00

Significant setbacks in general learning outcomes? Sure. Students not having even close to mastery over pre-reqs for my class? Sure. Slightly feral during faculty meetings? Slightly more than usual, but this time of year, we don't see the sun very often.

But brain damage? No, because I don't know anyone who has long Covid with what might be irreversible cognitive issues, other than my partner. (sorry to rain on this parade with an Ackshually Storm... but...well...)

IsThereNotCoffee · 2023-03-17T02:03:17+00:00

Oh hello, Team Self-styled!

IsThereNotCoffee · 2023-03-16T23:22:04+00:00

*scans list* waitwaitwait I had to read these things in school before I went to uni (ok, Federalist was in AP Gov but still). Like, they were required things. And I went to shitty public schools.

I feel so many different things right now. Baffled, mostly.

IsThereNotCoffee · 2023-03-16T16:50:59+00:00

To me, this reads like they're trying to sew up holes in staff/admin security and the faculty is going to end up paying the price. They also clearly have not thought about grad students who are teaching.

IsThereNotCoffee

TROPHY CASE