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Graduate Student Interviewing Potential Faculty
Wait what, did I get the title of this post backwards? Is it supposed to be “Faculty interviewing potential graduate students?” Nope. I actually got an opportunity to be part of an interview process for a potential faculty member at the University of Tennessee, as a current graduate student. Let me explain…
One of the faculty members in the math department has been leading a job search for a candidate in the mathematics of artificial intelligence, to join the team of faculty at the University of Tennessee. The interviews are rigorous and meticulously scheduled two-day processes for each candidate, involving meetings with other faculty in the math department, campus administrators such as the dean, and graduate students. That’s right, this job search is a first in the department in that graduate students are being invited to actively participate in the job search process. I’ll get back to what I got to do in a little bit, but first I want to explain the supposed rationale for getting graduate students involved in the first place.
Especially at an R1 university such as the University of Tennessee, the primary objective of the to-be-hired candidate is to conduct research. A sizable portion of a faculty candidate’s research portfolio is developed through advising and mentoring [graduate] students, and so it is important that the department…