We have some exciting new to share...

​This summer Karly and Jen are flying the UTEP coop! We have jobs! Yay, employment! (Yay, paying back student loans!....) 

Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels

Let’s hear from Karly first…
Earlier this spring, I accepted an Assistant Professor position at Heritage University in Toppenish, WA. Heritage is a small private institution located within Yakima Nation’s Reservation. Heritage serves a diverse group of predominantly first-generation college students. In my time at UTEP, I’ve seen how valuable it is to have a diverse population of both students and faculty. I am excited to join a university that reflects this value and mission.

In the fall, I will be teaching multiple sections of Introduction to Psychology and one section of Professional Ethics. Both will be new classes to me. I’ve decided to emphasize OER in all of my classes. For Intro Psych, I plan to use Noba Project’s open textbook. The textbooks available through Noba are adaptive, in that I can pick which chapters I want to have included in the text I assign to my class. They also have lots of quiz and testing resources available for instructors to use and adapt to their own courses. . I haven’t used either the Noba Project before, but will make sure to tell The Novice Professor community about my experiences with it next fall!

Things are a little more undecided for Professional Ethics. It is a Junior-Senior level course, and the interim department chair has been very flexible in letting me design the course to my liking (thank you, Blake!). I plan to be textbook-free for this class as well, and am in search of either an OER textbook or a compilation of various articles/videos/podcasts episodes (to assign in lieu of traditional textbook chapters). It is my goal to make this a very discussion oriented class, allowing students to discuss ethical issues related to their future careers or personal lives. If you have recommendations for resources or course ideas, let me know!

After casting a very wide net on the job market (I don’t even want to count how many places I applied to, nor how many hours went to those applications), I am excited to start the next step in my academic career at Heritage University. Washington, here I come! 

Now a few words from Jen…
I will be working at William Peace University in Raleigh, NC. WPU is a small private school located in the heart of downtown Raleigh. I am most excited about the wonderful community of faculty and students I will be joining. It’s a small school (only 800 students and 3 psychology faculty including myself), so I’m looking forward to really getting to know my colleagues and students. This type of environment nicely lends itself to making meaningful connections and leaving lasting impressions. I’ll have the opportunity to do this through teaching (of course) and research!

As a side note, I am also very excited to live in NC! When I filled out applications, I casted a wide net in terms of location but 67 applications later, I somehow landed a job in one of my top places! My husband, doggies, and I are looking forward to making the great migration this summer!

During my first semester, I’ll be teaching Intro, Cognitive, and a research methods writing/stats lab. One of these courses is brand new to me (Cognitive). I’m greatly looking forward to finally being able to tackle a special topics course in my area! If I remember correctly, I think I’ll be teaching Neuro in the spring! I have a full and busy year ahead of me, but I’m ready for the challenge! 

written by Karly Schleicher and Jen Blush