Mike, I just wanted to thank you (again) for an informative and well-organized presentation. Your organization is inspirational.

I wrote a short bit on this on my site http://blinger.org/archives/000438teaching_portfolio_tips.php

I tried to ping, twice, but pinging timed out.

I came over via Blinger's post. And I'm glad I did. He has a knack for posting about interesting and useful articles.

Thanks you guys. Glad I could help out. Putting together a portfolio can be an arduous, but rewarding process...even more rewarding when you've got some clarity on what's expected to be there. So best wishes in however you use it.

[Just today, I had a "now where did I put that handout?" moment...and instead of having to search I just pulled my portfolio off the shelf and copied an old one from inside it... saved me some time and angst!]

-- Mike Arnzen

Any practical advice for contingent faculty on how to shine? The question may sound arch, but isn't meant to. Much of the time, adjuncts are invisible: they rarely are observed by their chairs/WPA/Director of Comp, have no incentive to offer their ideas to the department, receive no funding for conferences or research, aren't tapped for committee work where their capabilities outside the classroom might be noted, and exist somewhere beyond the orbit of GTAs, in whom the program has at least a nominal investment. Obviously I'm talking about English departments here, but I can't imagine it's much different in the other humanities or social sciences.

What's an adjunct to do?

Thanks Mike. I'm going to start revamping my portfolio soon in preperation for the coming hiring season. I've started looking into moonlighting a class or two at the local college, so I need to make something that would be more relevant to that level of education. These links will help a lot.

Wow! Another awesome resource. I'll be pinging you via my weekly e-newsletter that gets sent to over 700 grad students, post-docs and faculty.
Thanks so much.