Dear Colleagues,
I understand that there's been a question about my characterization of the
employment period at the University of Auckland. We do have a system called
"continuation," whereby a staff member hired on a permanent employment contract
is assessed after 3 years of service. If the staff member is approved, they
become "continued," which confirms their permanent employment contract. Once a
staff member is continued, they can be fired for cause, but it is not an at-will
employment system where the employer can simply terminate the contract for no
reason. It is not as rock-solid as the North American tenure system, but it is
much more stable than the fate of most academics in the US, who are on term
contracts that do not qualify them for sabbatical leave and that can be ended
at any time, for any reason. (Estimates are that only 30% of academics in the
US are in the tenure stream; see, for example,
http://blogs.nature.com/naturejobs/2011/02/07/new-squeeze-on-tenure-in-the-united-states
) There is a labour dispute here currently, which concerns many people.
However, I would personally advise people to apply anyway; by the time
interviews are completed and offers are made, the dispute may be positively
resolved (that is certainly my hope!). I'm not a member of your list, and I
appreciate opportunity for one follow-up to clarify my initial post (I don't
intend to make any additional responses).
Best,
Maria
Quoting Julie Cupples <[log in to unmask]>:
> As a New Zealand based academic, I think it is really important not to
> mislead potential applicants. There is no tenure in New Zealand – for a while
> we had de facto tenure, but those days are definitely gone and academic
> redundancies are no longer uncommon. Now your job security depends on
> fluctuating student numbers, research productivity and “strategic” emphases
> determined by management. So it is in fact far more stressful than the US
> system. In my view, 6-7 years of stress and hard work followed by job
> security and academic freedom are far preferable to constant reviews and
> restructuring in which academics are always having to justify their continued
> existence. Furthermore, anybody interested in the positions at Auckland
> should consider the following, from the Tertiary Education Union (TEU):
>
>
> TEU is asking academic unions around the world to warn their members to be
> wary of transferring to the University of Auckland because of the vice
> chancellor’s efforts to remove from the academics’ collective agreement some
> major conditions around research and study leave, disciplinary procedures and
> time spent in professional activities outside the university. TEU is
> recommending that any academic staff thinking of relocating to the University
> of Auckland should contact the TEU before making a final commitment.
>
> Full document from the union is here:
> http://teu.ac.nz/2011/06/overseas-academics-warned-off-university-of-auckland/
> Julie
>
> Dr. Julie Cupples
> Department of Geography
> University of Canterbury
> Private Bag 4800
> Christchurch
> New Zealand
> Email:[log in to unmask]
> Tel: +64-3-364-2987 ext 8116
> Fax: +64-3-364-2907
> Web:www.canterbury.ac.nz/spark/Researcher.aspx?researcherid=86493
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: A forum for critical and radical geographers on behalf of Kevin M.
> DeJesus
> Sent: Tue 6/14/2011 12:48 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Hiring Announcement: 2 Positions, Political Studies-Auckland
> (Rublee)
>
> From: <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Hiring announcement of interest to critical political geographers
> Date: Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:38:20 +1200
>
> Dear Colleagues,
>
> Our department has two open positions: one in comparative and the other is
> open
> field. We are looking for the best possible person, rather than someone who
> fits a certain profile. Auckland has a tenure-like system, although it's far
> less stressful than the American tenure system. We teach 3 courses a year (2
> undergraduate and 1 postgraduate). We have excellent research funds also. For
> Our faculty (Arts) has $25,000 grants for new staff; in the past, these have
> basically been ensured if you have a decent proposal. On top of that, you get
> $5000/year from the department for conferences and small research projects. I
> also received a $5000 Asia:NZ foundation grant in my first 6 months here, and
> I'm in the running for a $300,000/3 year grant from the NZ government that
> would buy me out of all teaching but 1 course per year. I would be more than
> happy to answer any questions about the department. Applications close June
> 30.
>
>
> Very best wishes,
>
>
> Maria Rost Rublee, Ph.D.
> Senior Lecturer, International Relations
> Department of Political Studies
> University of Auckland
>
>
> *Hiring Announcement*
>
> Lecturer/Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor
> Department of Political Studies
> University of Auckland
>
> The Department of Political Studies is seeking to fill two academic
> positions:
> one at Lecturer level, and the other within Lecturer/Senior
> Lecturer/Associate
> Professor (Reader) range.
>
> One appointment will be in Comparative Politics, broadly defined. The other
> appointment is open field. The Department is particularly interested in
> candidates who are theoretically informed researchers and teachers and who
> contribute to lively critical debate in the field of Political Studies.
>
> Preference will be given to candidates whose teaching and research interests
> include: comparative democratisation, environmental politics, postcolonial
> theory, political institution, and/or political communication. Regional
> specialty may include the Middle East, Europe, South Asia (India), Latin
> American, New Zealand. Appointment will not necessarily be restricted to
> these
> fields and regions, and applicants in other areas are welcome.
>
> The Department of Political Studies is New Zealand's top-ranked politics
> department. In a recent independent assessment of research outputs, the
> Department of Political Studies ranked first among all academic units in the
> Faculty of Arts, second in the University as a whole, and third across the
> country.
>
> The vibrant nature of the Department is reflected in the age profile,
> research
> innovation and teaching expertise of its 15 full-time academic staff. It has
> an outstanding postgraduate programme, with close to one in five of its
> effective fulltime student numbers enrolled at postgraduate level. Its PhD
> student community is very active and growing fast in size. The Department is
> looking to build on existing research strengths in International Relations,
> Comparative Politics, New Zealand Politics, Political Theory, and Public
> Policy.
>
> Please visit our website:
>
>
https://www.opportunities.auckland.ac.nz/psp/ps/EMPLOYEE/HRMS/c/HRS_HRAM.HRS_CE.GBL
>
>
> This email may be confidential and subject to legal privilege, it may
> not reflect the views of the University of Canterbury, and it is not
> guaranteed to be virus free. If you are not an intended recipient,
> please notify the sender immediately and erase all copies of the message
> and any attachments.
>
> Please refer to http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/emaildisclaimer for more
> information.
>
"When we cannot communicate, we get sick, and as our sickness increases, we
suffer and spill our suffering on other people."
-Thich Nhat Hanh
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Kevin M. DeJesus, PhD
Department of Geography
York University
4700 Keele Street
Toronto, Ontario
Canada M3J 193
Co-Editor, H-Net Mideast Politics
http://www.h-net.org/~midepol/
Mobile:
416-819-8850
Home Office:
31 Alexander Street
Apartment 202
Toronto, Ontario Canada M4Y 1B2
|