LISTSERV mailing list manager LISTSERV 16.0

Help for EDUCAT Archives


EDUCAT Archives

EDUCAT Archives


[email protected]


View:

Message:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

By Topic:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

By Author:

[

First

|

Previous

|

Next

|

Last

]

Font:

Proportional Font

LISTSERV Archives

LISTSERV Archives

EDUCAT Home

EDUCAT Home

EDUCAT  December 2009

EDUCAT December 2009

Subject:

Re: PhDs for cataloging instructors, or not?

From:

Steven Miller <[log in to unmask]>

Reply-To:

Discussion List for issues related to cataloging & metadata education & training <[log in to unmask]>

Date:

Mon, 7 Dec 2009 22:34:09 -0600

Content-Type:

text/plain

Parts/Attachments:

Parts/Attachments

text/plain (58 lines)

In the University of Wisconsin System we have Teaching Academic Staff in addition to tenure-track Faculty and Adjunct Instructors.   We Teaching Academic Staff (TAS) are full-time professional educators, not adjuncts.   Although some of us have PhDs, most of us do not.   Except for those hired on a fixed term basis, we TAS go through a 7-year review process parallel to tenure for faculty, although not as demanding.   We are integral members of the university and of our departments and schools.   We have various service responsibilities (professional, university, community) in addition to our primary focus on teaching, but usually not the mandate to do research or to publish, as our faculty colleagues have.   





  

With rare exceptions, Faculty and TAS work together collegially to contribute to the total mission of our schools and departments, and TAS are not treated as second class citizens.     We TAS are proud of our professional, educational, and other contributions.   We respect and support the critical importance of research in the university and in our programs.   And some of us also choose to engage in research and publication in addition to our other duties, often working with our tenure-track faculty colleagues.   My personal experience has been that my advocacy for adding new cataloging and other information organization courses has been respected and unanimously supported by our faculty and administration.   I have not felt that my being a teaching academic staff member of my School has been an impediment whatsoever or that my contributions are devalued because of that. 





  

Our School also hires a limited number of adjunct instructors.   These are usually people who have other full time jobs and teach a course for us on top of that.   Many of them are excellent and knowledgeable teachers.   Students are often inspired to take more cataloging courses and to go into cataloging and related careers by any of our instructors, be they faculty, academic staff, or adjuncts.   





In the realm of library and information science I personally think of the PhD as the terminal research degree and the MLIS (or equivalent) as the terminal practitioner degree.   As schools of nursing often have non-PhD clinical faculty teaching some courses for those who are going to be practitioners rather than researchers, so also it seems to me there may be a similar role in our field.   This takes nothing away from the importance of research.   In fact, it frees up faculty from some of the teaching load so that they can do more research. 





  

Certainly having a faculty composed predominantly of tenure track PhDs doing research is critical to a research academic institution, as well as to the overall environment for educating MLIS students.   And it is of course essential for educating doctoral students earning the research degree.     But there is room for many types of contribution, as I see it, and we each play important and complementary roles.     





  

This is my personal perspective as someone who is neither tenure-track faculty nor an adjunct instructor but who teaches Masters-level courses in information organization, cataloging, metadata, and the like as my full-time career.   For all I know I could well be the only person on this particular discussion list in such a position, so I thought I'd speak up. 





  

Steven Miller 


------------ 
Steven J. Miller, Senior Lecturer 
School of Information Studies 
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee 
PO Box 413, Milwaukee, WI 53201 
Phone: 414-229-6640 
Fax: 414-229-6699 
Email: [log in to unmask] 

Top of Message | Previous Page | Permalink

Advanced Options


Options

Log In

Log In

Get Password

Get Password


Search Archives

Search Archives


Subscribe or Unsubscribe

Subscribe or Unsubscribe


Archives

March 2024
February 2024
December 2023
November 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
July 2022
June 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
September 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
July 2020
June 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
March 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
June 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
December 2007
November 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
April 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
April 2004
March 2004

ATOM RSS1 RSS2



LISTSERV.LOC.GOV

CataList Email List Search Powered by the LISTSERV Email List Manager