The Waiting Room

The chair of the business department called me back last night. He offered me two sections of the law class. He stated while he did not have anything to offer me course-wise that would give me a full time position in his department. he was open to discussing the idea of a cross departmental hiring situation in which I would work full time but have courses across different departments.

I stopped in to see my chair about this possibility. Well actually, I introduced the topic by first discussing the course availability for my department for the fall. Of course, it's hard to predict how many sections will be offered becuase the CT class is offered to incoming freshman. They will not register for some time. So, I started my discussion explaining my situation and my desire to teach both courses. Then, I brought up the topic of a possible full time hire.

After mentally ciphering through the load of crap my chair gave me, here's what I took away from my conversation:

1. He thinks I am a great instructor, as evidenced by my evaluations and would like to keep me.
2. A practitioner line may not be available due to budget constraints and demand.
3. A tenure track position may not be possible because I do not have a PhD. A JD does not cut it. (Getting my PhD is so NOT an option!)
4. He will let me know about courses for the fall.

I kind of had a feeling I would get this response. Even my good friend, Righteous Babe, warned me. My chair is a nice guy, but he not the kind of person who is willing to push the system.

I am going to talk to the chair of the English department and see what she says. I don't know if she will be able to help me, but it is worth a shot. I am going to confirm the two course with the chair of the business department. Maybe I will have something to bargain with later.

I guess I am going to keep lining up ducks.