Friday, January 13, 2006

Positions at National Tsinghua University

Positions at National Tsing Hua. I am compelled to warn that the ad is either lying or mistake: there is no such thing as a "tenure-track position" and no such thing as tenure at all in Taiwan. There are two universities here, scroll down for the second one. UPDATE: The contact at Tsinghua said after I asked him that by "tenure-track" they mean promotion track, as opposed to lecturers, who cannot get promoted. Wrong again. Lecturers CAN get promoted, and if your university doesn't permit that, it is acting illegally.

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Tenure-Track Positions Available

Department of Foreign Languages and Literature
National Tsing Hua University


The Department of Foreign Languages and Literature at National Tsing Hua
University invites
applications for tenure-track positions at the rank of Assistant
Professor or
higher in the
following areas of specialization:

Category A
(1) British literature; or
(2) Any aspect of western literatures

Category B
(1) (Applied) linguistics; or
(2) English teaching (TEFL)

National Tsing Hua University is a research-focused institution
located on a
spacious wooded
campus one hour outside of Taipei. We welcome applications from
candidates with
a PhD in
western literatures or (applied) linguistics who can bring intellectual
flexibility and a
commitment to research productivity. Major responsibilities for these
positions
will include
teaching in the applicant's areas of specialization; teaching language
skills
courses;
supervising graduate students; and pursuing an active research
program. The
minimum starting
salary for an Assistant Professor is currently NT$68,190/month
(approximately
US$2200/month).
The salary of the successful candidate will be based on rank and
experience and
will also
include generous starting funds, a housing allowance, health
insurance, and an
annual bonus.

Applications should include: 1) a curriculum vitae; 2) three letters of
reference addressing
the candidate's research potential; 3) proof of previous academic
employment (if
applicable);
4) a photocopy of the candidate's PhD diploma; 5) a list of
publications; 6)
copies of all
publications from the past five years or a copy of the candidate's
doctoral
dissertation;
and 7) other relevant supporting materials including copies of
transcripts,
sample course
outlines, or (if applicable) evidence of effective teaching. Please
send all
materials to:

Search Committee
Department of Foreign Languages and Literature
National Tsing Hua University
101, Sec. 2, Kuang Fu Road
Hsinchu, Taiwan 30043

tel: +886-3-571-8657; fax: +886-3-571-8977

Applications received by February 20, 2006 can be considered for a
starting date
of August
2006. For further information, please consult our website at
www.hss.nthu.edu.tw/~fl or
contact Dr. Guy Beauregard at guy@mx.nthu.edu.tw (Literature) or Dr.
Hsien-chin
Liou at
hcliu@mx.nthu.edu.tw (Applied Linguistics).

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Announcing Linguistics/TESOL Teaching Position

The English Department of National Central University of Taiwan
announces a
tenured position
(Assistant Professor or
above) in Linguistics/TESOL. The appointment will begin Aug. 2006.
Applicants must have a Ph.D.
degree in related
areas; teaching experience preferred. The position carries a
three-course
teaching load per
semester, including basic
courses in linguistics and TESOL practicum. Please send resume (in
English
and/or Chinese),
transcripts, syllabi, two
recommendation letters, and writing samples Before Feb 20, 2006 to:

Professor Josephine HO, Chair

English Department

National Central University, #300 Chung-da Rd.

Chungli 320, Taiwan

Tel: 03-426-7171 // Fax: 03-426-3027 // sex@ncu.edu.tw

14 comments:

T. Destiny in Taiwan said...

Am I the only one to notice an email address that clearly states "sex" at ncu.edu.tw?

It's a joke, right?

Michael Turton said...

I don't think it was a joke. I'm hoping it stands for someone's Chinese name.

Michael

Jonathan Benda said...

It's "sex" because Josephine Ho is the head of a center for the study of sexuality at NCU. She's quite famous for it--she had problems at one point a couple of years ago because the center's website had a link to a website that contained descriptions (pictures?) of bestiality. Even the Chronicle of Higher Ed, which is incredibly US-centric, had a online colloquium about it.

Michael Turton said...

Right! I knew that name was vaguely familiar.

Michael

T. Destiny in Taiwan said...

Thanks for clarifying!

Anonymous said...

Hmmmmmm her name is Ho and her email is sex???

Anonymous said...

Well for a serious comment now: The pay seems to suck.
Since it is in English and includes TESOL, I assume they are targeting foreigners, particularly native English speaking people from English-speaking countries.
Considering what they are asking for, they appear to be offering very little.
My background is technical and I have no idea what English, or other disciplines', PhD's with teaching experience commonly receive but US$2200/month seems ridiculously low.
I know ordinary teachers in the US receive much higher than that and many BS and BA grads receive double that for entry level positions.
I can't think of this as being enticing to anyone, from most western countries, with the qualifications they are asking for, especially if they expect people to relocate 1/2 way around the world.
Is this common there at colleges?

Michael Turton said...

Yes, that pay level is normal. That's what a PHD makes. That's why they cannot attract foreign talent.

Michael

Anonymous said...

Two comments...

This pay issue is ridiculous. I've been through it several times on other forums.

Yes, it is true that it is not a lot of money. Professional wages in general are depressed in Taiwan compared with most Western nations. Do you think professional engineers in Taiwan make as much as they do in the USA?

I suppose it would be possible for the national government or the MOE to divert all the money in the country to professor's salaries. And it's true if you did this, you could attract the best professors in the world. But it would wreak the country.

Really, salaries are low here because this is not a rich country.

But that's a whole other issue from whether the job is a good job in this market. The amount of money comes with somewhere around 12 hours of teaching and 4 months where there are no classes. That comes out to less than an hour a day across the whole year. You decide for yourself whether that's a good job.

Michael Turton said...

We'll have to disagree, I guess.

Yes, it is true that it is not a lot of money. Professional wages in general are depressed in Taiwan compared with most Western nations. Do you think professional engineers in Taiwan make as much as they do in the USA?

That has nothing to do with this. The Taiwan government is not committed to upgrading the engineering profession the way it is commmitted to upgrading the universities. Part of that upgrade has to be upgrading salaries to attract talent, and pruning out the deadwood of old teachers who don't publish.

I suppose it would be possible for the national government or the MOE to divert all the money in the country to professor's salaries.

Nobody is suggesting anything stupid like this. The fact is that you can attract talent with a package of things, such as life in an exotic country, and high pay relative to living expenses (duh).The key is marketing....

Michael

Anonymous said...

I would never argue that Taiwan treats its university well, but you see the same problem (attracting high quality foreign faculty) in universities in Korea, Thailand, and many other devloping nations. Where you don't see this problem is Japan.

Jonathan Benda said...

Or Singapore or Hong Kong, from what I've heard...

Anonymous said...

well, I think we should compare like with like. NT$68,190/month is a good salary in Taiwan, putting cost of living into consideration here. Sure, the official salary for the Prime Minister of China PRC is something like $300/month.

Jonathan Benda said...

About the "promotion-track" issue, Michael. It's my understanding that National universities are not allowed to hire full-time lecturers. I guess Clyde would know more about this than I do, though.