Thursday, May 22, 2014

Scholarly affiliation?

Someone mentioned to me recently that I should consider obtaining formal affiliation with one university or another in my upcoming locale as an aid to my academic job hunt for 2014-2015.  The idea hadn't even crossed my mind, to be honest, so now I'm pondering whether or not to bother.  As I hear it, being affiliated simply means that you can put "University of Hoo-hah" on your name tag for conferences and print your correspondence on university letterhead, and sometimes allows you use of the library as well.  For sure, continued access to JSTOR and whatnot would be a nice convenience, but is it actually meaningful to be affiliated with a university if you're not, er, employed by them?  Would this be the equivalent of a lawyer styling hirself "Doctor X," on the principle that the juris doctor degree says "doctor" — technically true, but essentially bullshit?

For those who have opinions one way or another here, I have a few follow-up questions: whom should one approach at a university to request affiliation?  Should I hit up the chair of the pseudology department?  A colleague I happen to know a little in said department?  The dean?  The president?  The kid who hangs out by the snack machine in the student union?

How should one make the request?  Can I be direct and to the point? E.g. "I would like to be affiliated with you for technical purposes in my job search, but I won't ask you for money or even for anything at all, save perhaps access to the university letterhead." Or must I bow and scrape?  I've kind of had it with bowing and scraping for the moment, to be frank.  I only have so much energy I can devote to being smiley and glad-handy.

Ideas from the ether?

10 comments:

  1. I would always start with someone I know. If you don't know anyone, then the chair (you can also ask about adjuncting at the same time if that's something you're interested in).

    Our uni lets anyone use the library, which is cool when my mom comes to visit. If I were to go to hers I would need to get a special pass and stuff.

    How about, "I would like to be affiliated with your fine institution, but I won't ask you for money or a desk, though it would be nice to have access to university letterhead, and, if applicable, the library." I might even add [for research purposes] after institution.

    I don't know if having an affiliation helps on the job search, but I do think it helps for publication purposes (editors are more impressed with an affiliation than from an independent scholar) and, as you noted, for conference purposes.

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    1. Good to hear, N&M! It's not the library itself so much that I need, but the research databases to which the library subscribes: JSTOR and other such. Generally, you need a university-issued identity in order to log into those and download journal articles.

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    2. Our uni library lets you use the databases without a login so long as you're on campus using a university terminal. (I think they charge you for printing though.) It's really generous.

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  3. My department allows pretty much anyone with the appropriate credential (one of two terminal degrees) to affiliate as a visiting scholar. That gives the visiting scholar library privileges that are somewhat more limited than faculty privileges but still decent, access to departmental events like guest speakers, colloquia, etc., and the right to call himself or herself a visiting scholar at University of X for whatever that is or is not worth!

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  4. I've never heard of this, but of course that means nothing. Are you planning to adjunct at all? It may be that teaching even one class may be useful. Worked for me.

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  5. I don't have first-hand experience with this, but I have friends who have done basically what ntbw describes--they get to call themselves "visiting faculty" and get library access. It may also be that your grad institution would let you get (online) library privileges and that your grad department would agree to a notional title.

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  6. In the UK, so YMMV. We have a similar visiting scholar system, where you get a uni id card and email address which is useful for publications, allows you all the necessary library rights, rights to go to seminars etc. Usually you get asked to GIVE a seminar too but that means people get to know who you are, and you can practice or recycle an interview or conference talk, so it's not a bad thing. It can also include access to a hot-desking space for days when you are on campus for a seminar and a space for a few hours would be handy (but adjunct equivalents all get their OWN DESK and whenever possible their own office as well here, so we are generous about that sort of thing). It's good for publications, conference apps etc.,.

    I'd start with asking someone you know - in our system, the application asks for a letter from the department saying you're a suitable person and will enhance the intellectual life of the place, so it makes sense to go that route.

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  7. I'm not sure about the job market advantages, but as far as library privileges and an email address go, you might look for an Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in the area to which you're headed. At least at my institution, the OLLI is open to all (no age restrictions, even though it's targeted toward retirees), and a few hundred dollars a year gets you library privileges and a university i.d. card and email address. I'm not sure how much, if at all, that differs by location.

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  8. Check with any of your alma maters to see if they offer alumni library privileges. Another option would be to take some kind of non-academic position at a university, because those come with library privileges, too. Just a thought!

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