Science Departments Seek Three New Faculty

Both the neuroscience and biology departments are looking to add faculty members to start in the fall of 2013. The two departments are working together to find a single candidate to fill positions in both departments. The biology department is looking for a candidate independently who will fill the position previously held by Philip Battell/Sarah Stewart Professor of Biology Andrea Lloyd who was recently promoted to Dean of Faculty, as well as another biology professor. The neuroscience department is also looking for a third candidate jointed with the psychology department. All three positions are tenure-track positions.

Much of the specific information on the types of candidates the departments are looking for is not available to the public yet. The joint biology and neuroscience candidate will teach classes in cell biology and animal physiology and will establish a research program with an invertebrate animal system in which students may do research. The joint neuroscience and psychology candidate will teach classes in physiological psychology and will be expected to maintain an active research program with either humans or animals.

While the biology department is seeking to fill an opening created by Lloyd’s promotion, the need for new neuroscience faculty is largely due to an increase in students entering the major.

“There has been a lot of competition for neuroscience courses, especially the physiological psych classes,” said Chris Batson ’13, a senior representative of the neuroscience Student Advisory Council (SAC). “In these courses, you have not only neuroscience students, but psych and bio students too, and the classes become very hard to get into.”

As a senior representative of the SAC, Batson attends all of the neuroscience faculty meetings and helps to review the syllabi for new courses. During the hiring process of these new faculty members, Batson and other members of the SAC will help the department review each candidate’s application. After the candidates are called in to present a mock seminar and lecture, they are taken to lunch with the SAC representatives.

“This not only allows us to get to know the candidates better, but it’s also a chance for them to get to know the type of students who attend Middlebury and see if it will be a good fit from both sides,” Batson said.

The interview process for all three positions is currently underway. The candidates will be brought in to give mock seminars and lectures open to all students in the coming weeks.