Event recap by Luby K. Linden, PhD candidate in Classical Philology
On Tuesday March 31, 2026, the Mignone Center for Career Success (MCS) hosted a panel of Harvard Griffin GSAS alumni to discuss work and life in a small liberal arts college:
- Richard Ekman (panel chair), PhD ’72, History of American Civilization, President Emeritus, Council of Independent Colleges
- Robin McDowell, PhD ’21, African & African American Studies, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, Bates College
- Wendy Raymond, PhD ’90, Biochemistry, President of Haverford College
- Qiaomei Tang, PhD ’16, East Asian Languages & Civilizations, Associate Professor of Chinese, Grinnell College
Richard Ekman did a wonderful job making sure all four advertised topics were answered by the panelists within the hour with enough time for Q&A. He introduced the dialogue with some numbers: In the United States, there are around 4,000 colleges & universities. Harvard is one of ~100 R1 Very High Research Activity Doctoral Universities – we are all very familiar with R1s! But have you considered the more teaching-intensive schools in the US? With ~400 state colleges (branches of the flagship public state universities), 1,500 community colleges, and 700 small to mid-size private colleges, there are many opportunities for Harvard Griffin GSAS students and alums to pursue their academic dreams. The panelists represent the latter category, specifically the Small Liberal Arts College (SLAC), and even though all three of their schools clearly value teaching, it was eye-opening to see how much variety can be found within just one sub-category of schools. There are also, for example, historically Black colleges, women’s colleges, Great Books colleges, religiously-affiliated colleges, and more.
Read on to get some highlights of what was discussed in this panel.
- What makes the culture of a small college different from an R1 university?:
All three panelists made it clear how fulfilling and meaningful work at a small college can be. You are part of a community where fellow faculty can be quite generous with their time, where there is opportunity for collaboration across departments in the service of enriching the experience of the small student body, and where there is often an expectation to be active in faculty governance. The size of such schools allows for less bureaucracy and more face-to-face interactions with both colleagues and students.
Yet, it is not wise to generalize across schools. Wendy Raymond shared that the culture of Haverford weighs teaching equally to scholarship and has generous resources to support faculty research. She emphasized that a professor’s mission is to “spread curiosity about your field and invite students in to explore and push the boundaries of human knowlege.” Robin McDowell noted that, while Bates is a teaching-focused institution, she still continues to engage with her scholarship. Robin and Qiaomei Tang both described their schools and departments as having a distinct sense of community, extremely supportive colleagues, and a dedication to teaching undergrads. Qiaomei advised that candidates consider the importance of the location or local demographics of a school and how these might intersect with their needs and values. Nevertheless, there can be considerable mobility across one’s career – the three panelists have worked at a total of eight different SLACs – and you can be happy in a place you might not have expected to be!
Expect to teach around five classes a year: a 2:3 load seems typical, or a 2:2 load plus an advising course. The advising of undergraduates and other forms of service, either to the institution or your discipline, are an expected part of your involvement. Qiaomei explained that, at Grinnell, pre-tenure faculty are not expected to have as heavy of a service load as tenured faculty. Part of beginning work at a small college is asking colleagues for help to find your unique balance of service, teaching, and research.
- What these teaching-intensive institutions value in candidates for faculty positions:
If you see yourself thriving in a small college, you have to make your compatibility clear to your potential future colleagues. Each school values a balance of teaching, research, and service. But be warned that the balance of these three can differ. Haverford places much more weight on research than other similar schools, so you must make clear how your research and teaching relate, how your research informs your teaching and vice versa. How does your passion for your scholarship draw in undergraduates?
Qiaomei warned that the primary metric is not necessarily a long list of teaching experiences, but your evident preparedness to teach. You must show that you can think pedagogically about your work in a way that will resonate with undergraduates. This is possible even if you do not have that much teaching experience!
A strong candidate, both for tenure and for a tenure-track job, shows evidence of excellence in all three areas of teaching, research, and service. Consider what kind of service you could be a part of. The possibilities include participating in student life outside the classroom, like tap dancing, theater, or fencing (that last one is me manifesting student interest in my weird sport).
- How best to strengthen your candidacy during graduate school:
To make your compatibility to your dream school unquestionable, Wendy suggests spending time self-reflecting. Be clear on how you want to describe your research, why you want to teach undergraduates, and how you want to spend that most valuable resource, time, in general.
Qiaomei encourages you to transfer this reflection into a strong teaching statement, and Robin gave suggestions for teaching-intensive application materials. If you have an opportunity to teach your own course, do it! Ask to sit in on courses in your department, especially for undergraduate students. You can workshop your sample syllabi with other colleagues to gather feedback on pacing and choosing optimal assessments, for example. She even suggested that you run your syllabi by your students!
- What typical tenure expectations are:
For Qiaomei, Grinnell’s tenure expectations are rigorous but reasonable, with teaching being the most important of the three domains. Publication expectations vary considerably by department: the concrete example given was a set of strong, peer-reviewed articles, with the book not being required (!).
Robin shared that at Bates, you have an internal tenure committee and can communicate with them over time as you hone in what excellence in all three domains (teaching, research, and service) looks like for you and how you can attain it.
By contrast, Haverford’s model does not include a “tenure committee” but rests on letters from colleagues across the College, student input on teaching, and external committee members who evaluate your progress after three years and for the tenure decision later down the line. That’s why Wendy encouraged continuing to grow your relationships with scholars in your field all over the world, or at least in the United States. Go to conferences, deliver papers, collaborate with other scholars, and develop a web of mentorship just as you help your undergraduates develop theirs.
Final Nuggets
All four panel guests closed the hour with words of encouragement after acknowledging the stress of the job search. The meaningful work and life balance as a faculty member in a small college has been a lovely surprise for Robin. She encourages people who love working with undergraduates and who like how their research and teaching inform each other to pursue this path. Qiaomei shared the importance of being nice, collegial, supportive, and being the kind of person others want to work with. Wendy encouraged us to be our unique, curious selves, ever open to learning. Richard closed the panel by reminding the group that while graduate school emphasizes specialization, a small college offers to broaden your interests. Indeed, work and life in a small college offer the opportunity to share your passion with a unique community and broaden your life in unexpected ways.
