A few points regarding the positions being advertised below: (1) Whenever considering an academic post in another country (or, indeed, in some areas of the U.S.) it is a good idea to do extensive research about the country, culture, and, depending upon personal characteristics, the legal system and the administration of punishment (e.g., what crimes are considered "capital offenses", meaning that if you do the crime, you will be killed by the state).
(2) Although the university is named Yale-National University of Singapore (Y-NUS), the degrees it will award are not from Yale but from the National University of Singapore. This may be important to incoming faculty. Other universities that enter into "joint agreements" with foreign governments do grant degrees from the U.S. based college, such as Weill-Cornell's MD program in Qatar (an amusing little story about the connection between the two situations can be read here: http://findmuck.wordpress.com/2011/04/ (Scroll down to the entry "The Disappearing Yale-NUS Article") NOTE: NYU is opening franchises in various parts of the world, most recently in Shanghai but since no one at NYU asks my opinion about these foreign campuses, I just ignore them. (3) It is unclear from the wording below whether a new faculty member would be part of Yale or NUS or unique to Y-NUS college. This might be important to some people. (4) Some have expressed concern about Yale's partnership with the government of Singapore. One set of concerns were expressed in a Chronicle of Higher Education article available here: http://chronicle.com/article/Yale-in-Singapore-Lost-in/127277/ Quoting from the Chronicle article: |What is wrong with Singapore? Why should a great American |university not engage with a rising Asian state? According to |Human Rights Watch in 2010, Singapore "remains the textbook |example of a politically repressive state. Individuals who want to |criticize or challenge the ruling party's hold on power can expect |to face a life of harassment, lawsuits, and even prison." Singapore's |penal code sets out more than 20 drug-related offenses for which |capital punishment is mandatory. | |Most immediately troubling to me as a gay faculty member, male |homosexuality is illegal in Singapore. Section 377A of the legal code |bans consensual, private male homosexual activity as "outrages on |decency," in effect making it illegal to be gay. Enforcement is not |the issue here; this is a question of principle. Yale has no business |establishing a campus in a state where some of its own faculty |members are subject to arrest because of who they are. By doing so, |the university has, in effect, violated its own nondiscrimination clause, |which protects sexual orientation. Yale could have stayed away from |Singapore until the repeal of Section 377A but chose not to. As a |consequence, Singapore's discrimination becomes Yale's. Then again, some applicants may feel perfectly at home with such a situation. But make sure that the entire article is read -- it was written by a current professor at "Yale-New Haven". (5) Another view but similar in tone has been expressed in the Asia Times Online; see: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/MI09Ae02.html Quoting a key part: |"Yale is essentially partnering with an anti-democratic regime," |Yale Journalism Initiative director Mark Oppenheimer says. |"Rather than demanding Singapore become more Western and |democratic, Yale is compromising its own principles." In summary, whether one sees the Yale-NUS as a fantastic opportunity to get in on the ground floor of an exciting enterprise that may re-define higher education in this part of the world or as another deal between a high status organization trying to maintain its visibility and an antidemocratic government that will support the university as long as it plays ball, really depends upon one's moral character and economic circumstances. As so brilliantly expressed in the movie "Thank You For Smoking", a person's gotta do what a person's gotta do to pay the mortgage. Unfortunately, I believe that money trumps morals every day of the week and twice on Sundays. -Mike Palij New York University [email protected] ----------------------------- Original Message --------------------------------- On Tue, 20 Sep 2011 05:15:05 -0700, David Myers wrote: Colleagues, One of our Hope College alums has been part of the formation of a new liberal arts college, which is a collaborative venture between the National University of Singapore and Yale University. He has welcomed my posting their new job notice here, and welcomes you passing it along to any teacher-scholar colleagues. Note that appointments could be either permanent or term. Dave Myers www.davidmyers.org www.hearingloop.org Yale *NUS** *College 4 Sept 2011 The newly established Yale-NUS College (www.ync.nus.edu.sg) in Singapore announces the availability of faculty positions at all ranks and in all areas of the humanities, arts, and social and natural sciences. Yale-NUS College seeks outstanding teacher-scholars at every stage of their career who are eager to be part of the inaugural faculty, who are committed to innovative pedagogy, who are active researchers and who enjoy close mentoring of students. We expect to hire approximately 100 faculty in the next few years as the student body increases; and plan to hire up to 35 in the next academic year and approximately an additional dozen by May 2013. Yale-NUS College (YNC), a collaboration between the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Yale University, seeks to draw on the best elements of liberal arts education in the United States and to re-imagine the curriculum and collegiate experience for the 21st Century. Both Asian and Western perspectives will be integrated throughout the students’ course of study. YNC will be a fully residential four-year College, located adjacent to NUS’s main campus. The College emphasizes small class size, close interaction between living and learning and a common curriculum, which will be significantly broader than most established “core curricula.” It will include courses addressing material and disciplines from across the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Students will focus on a major of their choice in the third and fourth years of study. The working outline of the common curriculum and the roster of proposed majors appear at www.ync.nus.edu.sg/Learning-at-Yale-NUS.html; and we expect that both will be refined as faculty are hired. Faculty recruitment will not be limited only to those disciplines where a major is offered. The faculty at Yale-NUS College will participate in a lively academic culture, with a tenure track and teaching requirements comparable to those at leading liberal arts colleges in the United States. Salary and leave policies will be competitive at an international level. We seek scholars with a particular interest in undergraduate teaching in a residential setting. We expect faculty to maintain a strong research focus, with particular strength in involving undergraduates in research experiences. Startup funds, and continuing research funds on a competitive basis, are available through the College. The College will not have disciplinary departments, but joint appointments with NUS departments can be arranged in cases where the involvement of YNC faculty with research facilities, graduate students, and other activities at NUS would be mutually beneficial. In hiring this year, we expect to focus on tenured or tenure-track faculty who will lead the development and teaching of the common curriculum. In addition to strong teaching and research abilities, the ability to work with an interdisciplinary team to develop and teach the common curriculum is critical. New faculty may start their appointment either in mid-2012 or mid-2013. During 2012-2013, some faculty will prepare for the class entering in 2013 by working at Yale, while others will move directly to Singapore in July 2012. Other options may be developed on a case-by-case basis. For a limited number of outstanding teacher-scholars with tenure at leading institutions who do not wish to relocate permanently, we would also consider a two or three-year appointment as a visiting appointment, starting with the 2013-14 academic year. The College values diversity and is committed to equality of opportunity. For additional information about the College and the faculty hiring process, including submission guidelines, we invite you to our web site at www.ync.nus.edu.sg. Review of applications will begin November 1, 2011 and will continue until open positions are filled. --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. 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