Tanzania: Ecology & Human Origins - Fall 2013
- Position available: Visiting Faculty/Program Director
- Appointment for: Fall semester 2013
- Location: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
- Application deadline: March 31, 2012
- See the program pages for Tanzania: Ecology & Human Origins
General framework of the program
The ACM Tanzania: Ecology & Human Origins program aims to provide a strong academic, experiential, and cultural program for students in the natural and social sciences. At the heart of the program is the six-week field experience with student-designed projects that draw upon Tanzania's world-renowned anthropological, paleoanthropological, and ecological resources.
The program seeks to provide opportunities for engagement with Tanzanian culture and society through intensive Kiswahili instruction, immersion in university-based academic life at a Tanzanian institution of higher learning, and exploration of diverse cultures and historical sites.
The program has three overall learning goals:
- To deepen knowledge of ecological, human evolutionary, and behavioral issues through extensive field inquiry at unique sites, first-hand experience, and coursework;
- To develop an understanding of Tanzanian society, and cross-cultural literacy through cultural immersion; and
- To develop a working knowledge of Kiswahili sufficient to speak with local people and read newspapers and other materials.
Specific duties of the Visiting Faculty/Program Director
The Visiting Faculty/Program Director in Tanzania is expected to teach the Research Design and Methods course, in which he/she will teach about research design and methodologies in different disciplines and guide students in outlining and refining their proposed projects and in drawing up a research plan.
In addition, as the Program Director, he/she liaises with the Program Coordinator and LINKS Office at the University of Dar es Salaam, is responsible for helping to plan the on-site orientation when students first arrive, oversees program financial operations, works with a local safari company to plan the field component, assists students to adapt to life in Tanzania, and handles any emergencies that may arise.
The Visiting Faculty/Program Director will attend the ACM annual conference for program directors and faculty as well as an orientation session in preparation for his/her time abroad.
Compensation
The faculty member will continue to receive his/her salary and benefits through the home college. In addition, ACM will provide round-trip airfare between the home school and Dar es Salaam as well as allowances for housing, local transportation rental, and shipping. Candidates may also apply to ACM for additional travel funds to cover the transportation costs of a spouse/domestic partner and up to two dependent children (under 18) who will accompany the faculty member and live with him/her for the duration of the program. (ACM will reimburse the home college at the rate of one-half the salary of the faculty member for the period of the assignment.)
Application criteria
Any faculty member at an ACM college is eligible to apply, although priority will be given to a faculty member whose disciplinary expertise is relevant to the program's mission. It is also to useful have some experience with off-campus study, as the Visiting Faculty/Program Director serves as an academic advisor for program participants and may be called upon to handle a variety of student-related issues as students become adjusted to their surroundings.
Application procedures
Interested faculty should contact Carol Dickerman, ACM Director of International Study Programs.
Applications should include:
- A letter describing the applicant's background and interest in the program, outlining goals related to teaching and in working with students and detailing how the applicant would contribute to achieving the program's overall mission and learning goals.
- A brief description of the proposed course and how it would too contribute to the program's mission and learning goals.
- Summary of teaching evaluations.
- A curriculum vitae.
- A letter from the chief academic officer endorsing the application.
Selection will be made in consultation with the Tanzania Faculty Advisory Committee. The application deadline is March 31, 2012. The letter of application and supporting materials should be sent, in electronic form, to acm@acm.edu.