music history musicology ethnomusicology 2009 2010
Discussion (0) Version history (2293) Pages linking here
[[music_history_musicology_ethnomusicology_2009_2010]] last edit on Aug 26, 2010 6:25 PM by Anonymous

Academic Careers

finding, applying, and interviewing for jobs in higher education


MUSIC HISTORY/MUSICOLOGY/ETHNOMUSICOLOGY (2009-10)
[note: 2008-2009 page remains available/active. See archive links below]
(Schools listed once, in alphabetical order - Application due date in parentheses)
Current Wiki Time: Sat May 26 09:55:05 CEST 2012
Last Page Update: 2010-08-26 18:25:32.0

Schools with known acceptances (doctorate-granting institution in CAPS):
Amherst College: "scholar/performer" of jazz/pop music/etc. (Jason Robinson, CS/EP, UCSD, 2004)
Anglia Ruskin University: Popular Music (Justin Williams, UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM, 2010)
Bowling Green State University: Western Art Music after 1945 (Marcus Zagorski, STANFORD, 2006)
Bowling Green State University: 17th/18th-cent. Music (Arne Spohr, KOLN, 2006)
Bowling Green State University: Instructor in Ethnomusicology (Kara Attrep, UCSB, 2008)
Carleton University, Ottawa: (James McGowan, EASTMAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC [2005], James Madison University)
Case Western Reserve University: Popular Music Studies/Senior (Rob Walser, MINNESOTA, 1991)
Chapman University: Musicology (Jessica Sternfeld, PRINCETON, 2002)
Colby College: Musicology, pre-1750 (Todd Borgerding, MICHIGAN, 1997)
Collin College: Jazz, Popular Music, Major/Non-major Music History (Aaron West, UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS, 2008)
Columbia Society of Fellows in the Humanities: 3-year Postdoc (Edgardo Salinas, Musicology, ABD/COLUMBIA)
Columbia University Post-Doctoral Fellowships in Music (Gavin Steingo, ABD/UPENN and Rachel Mundy, NYU)
Cornell University: ACLS New Faculty Fellow (Eliot Bates, UC BERKELEY, 2008)
Cornell University: 19th/20th-c. Music History/Theory (Roger Moseley, UC BERKELEY, 2004)
Davidson College (March 15, 2010): adjunct appointment in musicology (Sandra Graham, NYU, 2001)
Denison University: Orchestra director "artist/scholar" (Damien Mahiet, ABD/CORNELL)
East Tennessee State University (1 January 2010): Bluegrass, Old Time & Country Music - (Lee Bidgood, ABD/UVA)
Georgetown University: Musicology/American Music (Ben Harbert, Ethnomusicology, UCLA, 2010)
Indiana University South Bend: Music History plus applied instruction (Jeffrey Wright, ABD/UNC-CHAPEL HILL)
Lawrence University: Music History (Sara Gross Ceballos, Musicology, UCLA, 2008)
Merrimack College: Assistant/Associate Professor in Music (Laura Moore Pruett, FLORIDA STATE UNIV, 2007)
Michigan Society of Fellows: 3-year postdoc (Roger Grant, ABD/UPENN)
Muhlenberg College: Music History/Theory One Year VAP (Andrew Oster, ABD/PRINCETON)
New York University: Unspecified, 3-year Asst. Prof./Postdoc (Anna Zayaruznaya, ABD/HARVARD)
Northeastern U: (1 Feb 2010) Ethnomusicology postdoc - (Julie Strand, WESLEYAN, 2009)
Oberlin College (15 February 2010): Ethnomusicology, 1-year - (Katherine Meizel, UCSB, 2007)
Ohio State University: Ethnomusicology/African Music (Ryan Skinner, COLUMBIA, 2009)
Pomona College: Ethnomusicology, 3-year visiting appointment (Anthony Perman, ILLINOIS, 2008)
Portland State University: Music History/Ethnomusicology (Wynn Yamami, NYU, 2009)
Ramapo College: Asst. Professor of Musicology (Marc Gidal, HARVARD, 2010)
Reed College: Ethnomusicology (Morgan Luker, COLUMBIA, 2009)
Reed College: Musicology one-year VAP (Peter Kupfer, ABD/UCHICAGO)
Rhodes College: Musicology/Ethnomusicology (Vanessa Rogers, USC, 2007)
Roosevelt University: Music History/Musicology (Colin Roust, MICHIGAN, 2007)
Saint Joseph's University: Music History/Applied Instruction (Elizabeth Morgan, Musicology, UCLA, 2009)
Santa Clara University: Lecturer in Ethnomusicology (Christina Zanfagna, Ethnomusicology, UCLA 2010)
Stanford University: Jazz, indigenous, non-Western music (HERC) - (Anna Schultz, ILLINOIS, 2004)
Sydney Conservatorium in Music: Lecturer in Musicology (James Wierzbicki, UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI COLLEGE-CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC, 1977)
University of Alabama, New College : Interdisciplinary Global Arts (Jennifer Caputo, Ethnomusicology, ABD/WESLEYAN)
University of Alberta, Killam Memorial Postdoctoral Fellowship (Jennifer Ronyak, EASTMAN, 2010)
University of California, Berkeley: ACLS New Faculty Fellow (Holley Replogle-Wong, Musicology, UCLA, 2009)
University of Cincinnati: Ethnomusicology (Stefan Fiol, ILLINOIS, 2008)
University of Dayton: Music History, non-tenure-track, full-time Lecturer (Sam Dorf, NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY, 2009)
University of Delaware: Music History, Asst. Prof. non-tenure-track (Philip Gentry, Musicology, UCLA, 2009)
University of Glasgow (Björn Heile, SOUTHAMPTON, 2001)
University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada (14 April 2010): 3 year VAP, twentieth-century historical musicologist (Kimberly Francis, UNC-Chapel Hill, 2010)
University of Louisiana at Lafayette: Dr. Tommy Comeaux Chair in Traditional Music (Mark DeWitt, UC BERKELEY)
University of Massachusetts at Amherst (10 April 2010): Music History, non-tenure track (Erinn Knyt, ABD/STANFORD)
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (15 January 2010): Ethnomusicology (Matt Rahaim, UC BERKELEY, 2009)
University of North Texas: Music History, European Baroque emphasis (Hendrik Schulze, HEIDELBERG, 2002)
University of Richmond: Musicology one-year VAP (Kelsey Cowger, Musicology, ABD/UCLA)
University of Rochester: Musicology one-year VAP (Corbett Bazler, ABD/COLUMBIA)
University of San Francisco: Ethnomusicology and social justice (Francesca Rivera, ABD/UC BERKELEY)
University of Toledo: 3 Year VAP in music history/musicology (Christopher Alan Williams, UC BERKELEY, 2008)

Schools with rumored acceptances/offers (name unknown):
Brooklyn College: Lecturer in Music History or Applied Theory - (email 11/16/09)
   Q: Wondering what happened with this; the position was set to start Spring '10
Dalton State College (7 January 2010): Music (CHE) - Informed via letter dated 3/24
High Point University (15 January 2010): Music History/Theory/Piano (CHE)
Kingston University, London: Lecturer in Music, 3 posts (email 06/06)
New Zealand School of Music: Lecturer in Contemporary Music - (email 12/23/09)
   - This was re-advertised more recently. Any news?
Northwestern U (1 November 2009): Ethnomusicology/African American Studies (HERC)
   - short-list candidates start visiting the week of 02/01
   - offer(s) made
Northwestern University (24 May 2010): one-year VAP (MVL); Preferred specializations: 18th-c. music, film music, theatre music, and historiography; popular music
Ohio State University at Lima (1 Dec. 2009): Music History/Theory/Piano or Organ (CHE)
Royal Northern College of Music (22 February 2010)
The Queen's College, University of Oxford (9 April 2010): http://www.queens.ox.ac.uk/vacancies/
University of Massachusetts at Amherst (2 October 2009): Jazz Studies (CHE)
Warren Wilson College (11 March 2010): Musicology/Ethnomusicology (CHE)
   - chair said offer was extended to another candidate (phone, 5/18)

Schools that have requested campus visits:
Syracuse University (15 January 2010): Popular Music of Africa or the African Diaspora
   - Are interviews still under way?
   - Did anyone else get a campus visit and not make it to the "finals"?
University of Cape Town, South African College of Music (2 July 2010): Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer/Lecturer, Musicology
University of Tennessee: (1 December): Ethnomusicology, Africa or the African diaspora (SAM-L)
   - at least one music candidate has been interviewed (4/12)
Washington College: (31 January, 2010): Music History/Brass or Winds - (phone, 3/6)
   - e-mail rejection 4/7

Schools that are conducting phone and/or video interviews:

Schools that have requested more materials:

Schools requesting conference interviews:

Schools that have sent out rejection letters and/or established a shortlist:
City University London (10 September 2009): Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Music - (rejection email 9/30/09)
Edison State College (29 January 2010), Music History/Theory/Musicianship (CHE)
   Q: Has this search been canceled? As of 1/23, the position is no longer listed on the College's HR website. (It was there earlier this month.)
   - rejection email 5/10
Mount Saint Mary's University (ongoing): Assistant Professor in Music
Roger Williams University (15 November 2009): Music History/Theory - (rejection email 3/15/10 x2)
Southeastern University
   - [WHERE IS THIS POSTED?] CHE, but it is a theory/piano ped. job
Stillman College: Music History/Theory/Piano (CHE)
University of New England/Australia (31 May 2010): Lecturer/Senior Lecturer (MVL)
University of Pittsburgh School of Arts and Sciences Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (June 1): (AMS-L)
   - e-mail rejection 6/22
Yale University School of Music (21 May 2010): Western art music (AMS-L)
   - snail mail rejection 6/24

Announced jobs with no further information on their status:
Baruch College, CUNY (15 January 2010): Assistant Professor, New Media/Interdisciplinary Studies (including music)
Bergen Community College (1 March 2010): Assistant Professor, Musicology/Ethnomusicology
University of Cape Town, South African College of Music (2 July 2010): Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer/Lecturer, Musicology
   - I like how we've gotten in to posting jobs after the deadline passes.
   - Wasn't this advertised on all the main lists, including AMS? It's odd to be making a sarcastic complaint if you missed it.
Case Western Reserve University (Review begins immediately): Lecturer, Music History (HigherEdJobs)
   - e-mail ack.
City University of New York (21 January 2010): Historical Performance Practice (AMS-L)
College of the Bahamas (30 November 2009): Music History/Theory/Choir
   - e-mail ack. received 01/05
Louisiana State University (22 March 2010): Lecturer, Music History (MVL) [Apologies for not posting earlier; I assumed this was already listed.]
Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music (1 Feb 2010) : Musicology/Assistant Professor (MVL)
   - Someone mysteriously deleted this posting, what is going on with this search?


Canceled and failed searches:
Ithaca College (9 April 2010): Assistant Professor, Music History
   - e-mail received 5/27
Marlboro College (Application review begins immediately): (Higheredjobs.com)
   - Search cancelled "due to unforseen circumstances." Snail mail, 4/26 (x 2)
   - Letter also states: "We will be going forward with the tenure-track search next year" I thought this job was a VAP..
Southern Methodist University (28 December 2009): 2 positions in Musicology/Ethnomusicology (CHE, AMS-L)
   - email dated 2/9 states "at this time, no further actions are planned with respect to this search"
   - odd, i didn't get this e-mail. what time did it arrive? (x2)
   - anyone else read this as a poorly worded rejection letter? Mine arrived in the AM EST.
   - yes, especially considering that there were two hires there just last year.
   - it always struck me as odd that they would put out a search having just hired last year.  Thoughts?
   - a fishing expedition in a buyer's market? I mean, if there were ever a year where a school might be able to hit a home run with a search, this is it.
   - I read the email as "we didn't get any perfect-fit applications, so we're not going forward".
   - I read it more as "no further action... because of budgetary issues." I would have thought if they had someone in particular in mind they would have arranged for the hiring (much as often happens outside of the humanities).
   - SMU lost 2 faculty two years ago, hence the double search last year. Last year, the school lost another, hence the search this year. Unclear why it was a double search.
   - this brings up some other searches that have gone the way of the Dodo. Particularly U. Pittsburgh's double search from last year?
University of British Columbia Killam Postdoctoral Fellowship competition canceled(dguerra@fas.harvard.edu) due to budget constraints. Competition will resume in Fall 2010.
University of Colorado, Boulder (30 October 2009): Humanities/Music (CHE)
   - email requesting MLA interview in Philadelphia received 12/7
   - rejection email received 12/21 (x3, but presumably x900+, actually!)
   - email from chair of search on 1/29 notifying semi-finalists that position could be the victim of budget cuts.  He will write back in 2-3 weeks with more information.  Search in limbo for time being...
   - search canceled, 3/5
University of Iowa (1 November 2009): Music since 1900 (email received 11/9. Budgetary constraints.) x3
University of New Mexico (30 November 2009): Musicology
   - E-mail received 4/7; due to budget constraints
   - Too bad, very sorry for the people who sent additional materials, aborted searches are such a waste of time and energy.
     There should be a law prohibiting universities to go ahead with  a search if they don't have the funding secured in advance.
University of Richmond *Ethno VAP*: received e-mail stating that position will be covered by existing faculty (3/9)
   - and yet it's *still* being advertised on MVL (3/26)

Wiki Counter(Check all that apply)
I am a musicologist: 41
I am an ethnomusicologist: 22
I am a little of both: 11
I am looking to leave my current TT position: 8
I am looking to leave my current VAP/Lecturer position: 14
I am a recent PhD and on the market: 17
I am a no-longer-so-recent PhD and on the market: 6
I am a no-longer-so-recent PhD and now studying at a community college towards my Plan B (software development): 1
I am a no-longer-so-recent PhD and now studying at a state university towards my Plan B (Library Science): 1
I am ABD and on the market: 23
I am ABD and no longer on the market: 1
I am not on the market but am an interested observer: 8
I am a member of a search committee: 1

Wiki Counter, Pt. II
(including postdoc apps)
I have mailed zero applications this academic year: 6
I have mailed 1-2 applications this academic year: 11
I have mailed 3-5 applications this academic year: 11
I have mailed 6-8 applications this academic year: 9
I have mailed 9-11 applications this academic year: 4
I have mailed 12-14 applications this academic year: 3
I have mailed 15+ applications this academic year: 7
I received 0 "bites" this year: 2

General discussion
When people make major edits, please insert a note.

Interesting job market statistics from the MLA: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/12/17/mla

ACLS New Faculty Fellows
   Q:  is this different from the fellowships for "recent doctoral recipients"?
   A1: I believe it's different - 60 universities nominated recent grads for 50 2-year teaching postdoc appointments at unspecified universities. The "clearinghouse" list of 50 was sent out to 90 colleges for "bids."
   A2: You might be thinking of the same thing - the fifty preliminary fellows who got notification on 1/12 are "recent doctoral recipients" as specified in the call for  nominations. These fifty teaching positions are different from the grants and fellowships provided for research.
   A3: No, these must be two different things - as far as I know, there were no "preliminary" winners of the "Recent Doctoral Recipients" ACLS fellowship last year. Winners were announced in late March.
   A4: Indeed, they are two absolutely different fellowships. Easy to confirm: look at the menu of fellowships on the ACLS website.

ACLS Recent Doctoral Recipients Fellowships
   Q: Anyone applied to this one? Got letter notifying me of alternate status (3/25). I'd like to get a sense
      of how many people in the field applied to this one. (x2)
   A: Did any of the alternates get an offer?  I declined my offer a couple of weeks ago. Hope another ethno/musicologist got it!

Amherst College
   - Word of mouth: they received over 200 applications. (Bear in mind that many are likely from people who already have jobs and are exploring the idea of making a change, or who just want to negotiate a raise at their current institutions.)
   R1: Applicants looking to move are a big part of any search.  Amherst seems serious about looking for a "scholar-performer."   I know this area pretty well, and I would be surprised if more than a quarter of those applicants really fit the job description.  There just aren't that many people out there who are high-quality scholars and professional-level performers.  I would bet that a lot of those applicants are really mostly one or the other and applying to the job on the off-chance that they may not hire what the ad describes.
   R2: The same could be said of practically any search. There are always lots of people hoping to squeeze by the description. Success at doing this is rare but possible, as a small handful of recent hires demonstrates.
   R3: Interesting how we can all read job calls differently. I didn't assume they wanted a "professional" performer, but that's probably naive of me. At any rate, the current VAP fits their job call pretty well.
   R2: True. Job ads are almost always a compromise of some sort. One person thinks the department needs this, but another thinks it needs that and the other. So it all goes in, or alternately the text becomes so broad that it makes very few distinctive requests.
   R4: I assumed they wrote the description to accommodate the unique visiting prof who's already there.
   R5: This raises an important issue.  Sometimes job ads are written to appease one candidate on the search committee.  Other times, they are written so narrowly because they already have a particular inside candidate in mind, but have to run a search out of formality and legality.
   R6: I second what R3 says. Sometimes ads are a compromise between members of a search committee who want different things. My current job wanted a specialist in x who could also do y. I was a specialist in y who could also do x, and it worked out anyway. You never know, so it's good to just apply.

AMS 50
   Q: Anyone heard anything on this? Usually winners are notified mid-March, but given that the due date was earlier this year...
   A: Email notification of award received 3/21.
   Q: Has anyone received a rejection notification yet?
   A: From Al Hipkins 4/1: "I'm not aware of any news which has already been sent out, and I know
      that the committee is still working on this year's selection"
   Q: Does this mean that someone intentionally "misrepresented the facts"? It's scary to think we have that kind of colleagues.
   A: My guess is that the winners have been notified and that they were given an April deadline to confirm. If one of the winners is waiting to hear back on a job, it may be delaying the entire process. Al Hipkins is really on top of things (I've only had good online interactions with him), but that doesn't necessarily mean he's sitting in on the AMS 50 selection committee meetings and knows their timeline...
   A2: This is a wiki, not an official source of information, so I would encourage you to treat anything you read on here as you would treat anything on, say, Wikipedia. I can tell you with absolute certainty that,
       in at least one case this year, somebody posted false, misleading information; I can only assume it was done intentionally. I don't know whether that was the case in this instance, but clearly it does happen.
   A3: I can say with absolute certainty that some winners were already notified, as my graduate department sent around a memo the other day, congratulating the student on his/her AMS50.
   A4: Re: A2, here's a nice reminder of how fickle this wiki can be:  http://amusicology.wordpress.com/2010/03/26/who-obscures-the-job-wiki/
   A5: The comment attributed to Al Hipkins on 4/1 has prompted me to write. The committee finished its work in mid-February, creating a ranked list with winners and alternates.
       After that it is up to AMS what deadlines they want to impose. But please to not attribute the slowness of notification to the committee, which worked hard to do its job in a timely manner.
   Q: Is this still going on?
   A: Nope.  Kindly rejected via e-mail 4/20.
   A2: Weird. I never heard either way. I'm under no illusion that I'm an alternate or anything. Seems like things are a little strange administratively this year, by no fault of the committee.
   A3: You should email the chair of the AMS committee, I understand all fellowships have been formally accepted by now.
   A4: I also received no response either way last year until I e-mailed them.

AMS Indianapolis
   - The program committee supposedly met last week. Please post if you hear anything!
   - The past few years, selections were announced at the end of March.
   - Website says they will notify by 4/20.
   - Does anyone know why they are notifying so late this year? Never before has it taken so long!
   - May have something to do with the larger number of proposals, over 600 according to the website. The past few years, I recall receiving notice by email around April 1.
   - Last year the acceptances started arriving on 19 March, if that helps.
   - It's March 31; anyone received an acceptance email yet?
   - I guess they totally meant it when they said "4/20."
   - Email notification of proposal acceptance received 4/14.
   - Q: Received a rejection letter today.  Saw a discussion thread a year or two ago on this wiki that mentioned rejections received at various times.  Can anyone elaborate on this?
   - A: Actually, that discussion was about there being two (or so) rounds of acceptances--a practicality made necessary by the fact that not everybody who's initially accepted is
        able to commit to showing up in November.
   -Q: Does anyone have a guess at when they might have the program up?
   -A: The preliminary program is on the AMS website as of today (July 1).

Colby College
   Q: Why already listed as current faculty? http://www.colby.edu/directory_cs/tmborger/
   A1: Internal hire.
   A2: Hard to believe they went to the trouble to do AMS interviews

Columbia Mellon Postdoc
   Q1: Has anyone heard back from Columbia?  The deadline was well over two months ago now.
   A1: Someone who chimed in on the humanities postdoc wiki indicated that this search typically moves slowly.
   A2: Society of Fellows (Humanities) one already moved on to interviews.  The humanities/social sciences postdoc wiki is a helpful resource: http://academicjobs.wikia.com/wiki/Humanities_and_Social_Science_Postdocs_2009-2010
         (The tone of the chatter on the page is also kind of fun)
       - World's wordiest rejection email received (1/27) x3
       - Wordy, yes, but I think they were just trying to be kind given how bad the job situation is in the U.S. at the moment. I've never seen one that cordial (or that long, to be fair).
   Q2: Has anyone else NOT received a rejection? I'm trying to figure out if my application was lost in the mail... (x4)
   A1: Spoke to soon! I'm short-listed. UPDATE: phone/Skype interviews to be conducted first week of Feb.
   Q3: How/when notified?
   A1: By email, Jan 27-28
   Q4:  If short-listed people are participating in phone/Skype interviews, does that mean that Columbia is not hosting campus visits?
   A1: Hosted visits will happen later this month, after short-list is further shortened.

Ithaca College
   Q: Any word here? With how little time is left in the semester, I expected this one to move quickly.
   - Perhaps there's already an internal candidate.
      - Possible but doubtful; their lecturers are composers
   - I was unsuccessful in getting a response about a week ago - perhaps someone else could try contacting them for an update.
      - Writing less than two weeks after the deadline seems impatient. If I were the chair I probably wouldn't have responded either.
   - My initial contact wasn't a "status request" as you imply.  Regardless, it's now five weeks past the deadline -- I wonder if it failed or was geared toward an inside hire?
   - My money is still on the internal candidate (not necessarily from Ithaca, but maybe across the street at Cornell).  It seems to me that the search has moved too fast for someone unknown to Ithaca to be considered.  Acknowledging receipt of materials would have been classy, though.
   - No internal candidates. Finalists were on campus a few weeks ago.
   A: Got an email from HR this morning explaining that "after serious consideration and careful evaluation of the needs of the department, a decision has been made to close the search and not hire anyone at this time."

Mount St. Mary's University
   - Wow! they want a person who will "...direct instrumental ensembles (e.g. wind ensemble or chamber instrumental ensembles, jazz ensemble),
     teach courses in music history and/or music theory, music education methods, and general courses in the humanities core curriculum.
     Expertise in jazz/popular music and contemporary social issues is welcome." Why not also serve as school nurse?
   - The primary search here is for instrumental music. The rest is icing on the cake.
   - That's pathetic. Sorry.
   - Actually not pathetic but very standard in a small liberal arts department.
   - More accurately, it's certainly not pathetic for any institution to advertise for someone that will meet their needs.  If you don't meet the selection criteria, that's not the institution's problem.
   - Wow. Well good luck with that.
   - You seem determined to read the ad for maximum annoyance.  It is surely not a list of things the applicant is EXPECTED to do, but rather a list of things in addition to the main
     duty -- instrumental music -- which would be welcome in the department.  It is, frankly, GOOD NEWS for applicants that the 'additional duties' list is so large;
     it indicates an eagerness to tailor (!) the job to the applicant's strengths.

Ohio State University
   Q1: According to the ad on their website, they're looking for an Africanist.  Has anyone seen a reference to African American music other than the joint appointment in African and African American Studies?
   A1: The description actually states: "Teach courses at all levels, undergraduate and graduate, on diverse topics in ethnomusicology, notably including African and African American music cultures."
   A2: It also states that the candidate should have done "fieldwork in Africa." I think it's highly unlikely that they would hire an African Americanist unless a significant portion of their work was in Africa.
   A3: The description is quite clear, they want an Africanist who can also teach or do work on African American music. Much like the scholar they seek to replace.

Reed College
   Q1: Does anyone know if the VAP musicology position is a fill-in for someone on leave, or if it is a new spot that perhaps could become a tenure-track search in another year or two?
   A1: AFAIK, it's a sabbatical replacement

University of Colorado, Boulder
   Apparently there were 900+ applications for this position! Fun times.
   Q1: How do you know there were 900+ applications?
   A1: Someone with knowledge of the search posted that figure on the academic jobs wiki page (the UC)

University of Massachusetts at Amherst
   - This is absolutely unbelievable - an NTT job that expects everything that a TT prof would have to do (teaching, research, committee service, advising).
   A1: although I think this is a terrible development, I'm not surprised. They probably think that the market is tough enough that someone will be willing to do 100% of a TT prof's work for .8 (or less) of the salary and none of the security. They're probably right.
   A2: Though if you are considering applying to this job, it would be worth looking at the faculty's collective bargaining agreement
       (www.umass.edu/humres/library/msp2007-2008.pdf). The position of "Lecturer" is not the same everywhere; and this strikes me as one of the better places to have that title. True, it's non-tenure track, but there appears to be considerable stability after a two-year probationary period. This will be a good position for somebody.
   OP: Is the agreement still in place? It's dated for AY 2007-08. Why is an expired contract still posted?
   A2 again: Oops, missed that the contract ended in 2008. Here's the current one: http://umassmsp.org/msp_contract

University of New Mexico
   Q1: Ideas about the specialization they might be interested in? I'm thinking they're not interested in Ethno because of the names of their divisions in the dept (i.e., Music History = hist musicology). Thoughts?
   A1: In the "history" division there is only one Ph.D., whose specialty is American Studies and who teaches on 20th-century subjects. The other three members of the department are performers who also teach history. Ethno is a separate area ("contemporary world music").

University of Richmond VAP
  - Got an email today stating that they are covering the position with existing faculty, suggesting that the search is canceled (3/3)
  - I don't know why they would have said this, but I can say with some certainty that this isn't the case.
  - What?!  I have heard NOTHING since acknowledgment of materials received on 1/29. Hoping someone can get to the bottom of this.
  - Weren't they advertising two VAPs, one in musicology and one in ethno? Could they have decided to fill one with existing faculty and still be conducting phone interviews for the other?  Would the person(s) who received a phone interview request please state your specialty?
  - There may have been two VAPs: my phone interview was for the musicology VAP. The musicology hire is a sabbatical replacement, and I believe there was some ambiguity about whether or not the faculty member in question's sabbatical would be able to be extended. I suspect the confusion was not malicious, but rather, was an administrative holdup.
  - Amazingly, this is still on MVL.
  - The ethno VAP is definitely being covered by existing faculty - there was already some question as to which of the courses to be covered - for an ethno faculty away on a 1-year fellowship - would be taken by an existing ethno faculty and which would be assigned to the new VAP.  Perhaps they decided they didn't need to hire both ethno and musicology VAPs, and with one, they could do some shuffling around and cover everything.  Considering that they were trying to squeeze 4/4 out of the ethno VAP, I'm assuming they didn't have a lot of money for this position in the first place.
  - And the musicology position is STILL on MVL as of 3/12, more than a week after it was filled...

University of Tennessee
  - The ad says 4 jobs available among 21 departments including music, not 4 music jobs. "four open-rank tenure-track positions from individuals whose research agendas encompass scholarship and creative activity related to the continent and/or peoples of Africa, the African diaspora, and/or the African-American experience.  Individuals appointed to these positions will have a tenure home in one of the College's 21 Departments or Schools."
  - e-mail ack. received (12/3) x3
   Q: anybody heard more yet? (1/9)
   A1: this will likely take time, applications have to go through two search committees: one for African Studies, and one for the individual departments.
   Q2: Still nothing?  I never even got an ack. of materials. (2/2)
   A2: Nothing for me, but I have a friend in literature who just got a campus visit.

Teaching Philosophy
  Q: I know this question came up last year, but please bear with me.  Is it just assumed that when a school asks for materials, you send a philosophy of teaching?  I have two kinds of cover letters-straightforward ones for the schools that ask for a separate teaching statement, and ones in which my teaching philosophy is integrated in the narrative of letter.  Should I just nix the second kind and always send a letter AND statement whether they've asked for it or not?
  A: Don't send anything the school doesn't ask for.  If the school asks for a cover letter and CV, that's all you should send.  If it's a teaching-oriented school you can incorporate a paragraph on your teaching philosophy into your cover letter.
  A2: I agree, although I like to send a 1-page list of courses that I can teach w/ short descriptions. The committee can then quickly scan through them. A teaching philosophy statement isn't formatted this way, and committees probably won't read it if they didn't ask for it.
  A3: Every year we have some posts about "teaching vs. research" (including the one that was already deleted this year), but it seems like there are many people in denial about how important teaching is to 95% of the jobs out there (moreso than research). Just thought I'd post a link to a Chronicle article that, while a bit jaded, might be worth a quick read: http://chronicle.com/article/The-Rules-of-Faculty-Club/49000/?sid=ja_source=ja&utm_medium=en.
  A4: I don't know about the market for musicology, but the vast majority of ethno jobs are are at research-oriented schools, many of which don't want to see a bunch of teaching materials that they didn't ask for.  It is good advice to follow the directions in the job ad.  At best, those extra materials get a glance or get tossed by the secretary.  At worst, the candidate looks like they think the rules don't apply to them.

Job Search Requirements
  Q: What is it with departments asking for video of teaching? I can understand it from an abstract perspective. On the other hand, it makes it look like a Mickey Mouse department that doesn't care about research, only teaching. Whether or not this is the case, some of the very best up-and-coming scholars I've talked to about this (people from high-end institutions in historical musicology, ethnomusicology, and theory, good scholars and instructors alike) say they don't even bother to apply to schools that make this request. To be sure, this is more than ever a buyer's market, but if the search committees really want the full range of applicants, they really should take this into account. For those of you on search committees, are you aware that you are undercutting your prospects? For those on the market, does this matter to you? (Please note, I am, much to my relief, not yet on the market.)
  A: My understanding of such requests (and requests for anything beyond CV, cover letter, and reference letters) is that the schools are weeding out those people who aren't truly interested in that job and those people who will just view the job as a stepping stone to something else. Based on your "Mickey Mouse" comment, it sounds like those jobs aren't the right fit for you. By not applying to those jobs, you've just saved yourself some time and money, as well as saving the search committee the time they would have spent reviewing your materials. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.
  A2: There actually was a discussion of this on AMS-L a year or two ago when the University of Delaware made just such a requirement for a one-year (and then again the next year when it went TT). The difficult part for applicants is actually getting together a video (I'm sure we all agree that it is a total pain in the rear). The problem for the search committee (as stated on the email list) was that most of the videos they received were of "poor quality." I'm not sure what they expected to get really, but given the comments posted on AMS-L they apparently didn't find the videos they got very useful.
  A3: Eastman asked for a teaching video last year, and I'm assuming Q doesn't view this as a "Mickey Mouse" school.
  A4: With the budget issues that many schools are now facing, videos of teaching and phone/videoconference interviews are cost-effective methods search committees use before selecting candidates for [expensive] on-campus interviews. I'm more than happy to submit video materials for that reason...
  A5: Even if it were true that a department's request for a teaching video suggests an ambivalence toward research (which it is not, any more than a request for sample scholarly work suggests an ambivalence toward teaching), it would not be unheard of for a department to have priorities that are different from other departments or from applicants' expectations.
  A6: In case any future search committee members are out there, the difference between Delaware and Eastman's video requests are noteworthy. Delaware required all applicants to include a video with the initial application, whereas Eastman just requested a video from the shorter list of candidates from whom more materials were requested. I doubt that Delaware watched all 100+ videos they probably got, and since it can be a pain to make one, it's nice to only do so when you know you at least have a slightly real shot at the job.

This year's job market
  Q: Any idea on how this year's job market is shaping up compared to last year's?  Or is it too soon to ask that question?
  A1: Terribly! It //is// still early, but I'm sure there were more jobs this time last year, and many more the year before.
  A2: Yeah, pretty terrible. To be fair, not as terrible as I think some were expecting; there are //some// jobs at least. Usually a few more job postings trickle in over October and November, but typically by this time of year the bulk of the major postings are out. For what it's worth, seems like a good year to be an ethnomusicologist.
  A3: I would not get antsy about the market until at least December 1. Keep in mind that approval for searches at many colleges is being pushed to higher levels of the administrative food chain than ever. As a result, job announcements are surely going to run behind schedule. And as far as speculating on trends in specialization, I wouldn't judge things on the small sample we have so far.  Patience!
  A4: I think we're likely to see more late searches this year than in the past, in part because some institutions that had frozen hires in the spring of 09 may be willing to re-instate some of those searches this year. It also seems obvious that having an ethno angle to your work is an advantage, even for jobs that are listed primarily for musicologists. What concerns me is that nobody I've spoken to is talking about new positions - they're hoping that they can fill previously vacated spots and that's it. My suspicion is that we're going to see a lot more performance jobs that request musicology as a sideline, especially in smaller institutions. I wonder what we can do to demonstrate the intrinsic value of a dedicated music scholar to these schools beyond simply doing our jobs well. Thoughts?
  A5: It is doubtful any public universities will have any searches (even retirement replacements) except for endowed chair positions. However, I anticipate a LOT of part-time adjunct positions, more than normal.
  A6: Well, out of the 18 U.S. jobs above, 4 are at public universities. I hate to say it, but the job market isn't so bad this year!
  A7: Hmmm. A quick look back to last year's wiki shows 50+ successful searches. I hate to say it, but so far the market is terrible this year.
  A8: Usually there are at least three or four open interviews at AMS - Zero this year. In fact, many states are still talking about further budget cuts, which will only prolong the time that jobs are left vacant.
  A9: If you aren't an ethnomusicologist and/or a performer, your chances of getting a job this year are essentially nil.
  A10: Awfully defeatist of you, A9. And A8, there were actually three open interviews at AMS this year: New Zealand, UNM and Colby.
  A11: Who are these people that continue to pretend that this year's market is decent? Simply look at the wiki archives for the past few years and you can see that, not only are there less jobs this year, there are WAY less. There are 1/3 as many jobs this year as last year, and that was considered a bad year. It's not about being defeatist, it's about being pragmatic. There is a 100% possibility that most of us will not get a job this year. That's not a reflection on anyone's qualifications, it's just the job market.
  A12: I agree that it is a terrible job market and that many people will not get jobs this year - but I would also add that the musicology job wiki is looking better than some other fields I've been following. For those interested, spend some time here: [[http://academicjobs.wikia.com/wiki/Academic_Jobs_Wiki]].
  A13: By my count, of jobs in the United States, 11 are historical musicology, 12 in ethnomusicology (including Africa or African diaspora and counting the 4 openings at Tennessee separately), 1 in both historical and ethno, 1 in history plus applied, 3 in jazz/popular music, and 3 listed as musicology and/or theory. I have to agree with A9 on this one: "traditional" historical musicology jobs seem to be a dying breed. I really do believe that our wiki should follow the theory model, with listings separated by discipline.
  A14: By my count, there are 20 jobs in musicology (including those that require theory and/or applied), 11 in ethno, 6 unspecified (which almost always go to musicologists) and one in "music industry."  UTK is hiring AA studies, not music, so none of those 4 jobs could go to a music scholar, but I generously included one in ethno.  It is highly unlikely (impossible?) that the AA studies department is going to hire 4 music scholars into their interdisciplinary department which covers 20-some fields.  Also, since when does black=ethnomusicology?  Counting jazz, there are at least as many employed historical musicologists who work on AA music as there are ethnomusicologists.  The job market is bad for everyone this year.
  A15: Re: "since when does black=ethnomusicology?" - The UTK jobs are very specifically for African Studies, the positions are intended to be part of the university's interdisciplinary Africana Studies program.  The School of Music is lobbying very hard to get *one* of these positions as an ethnomusicologist to augment their Music & Culture program (so there definitely would not be more than one), though I suppose there is no guarantee, as applicants will all be evaluated by their individual merits.  While there is a chance that they might hire a Musicologist studying African American music, considering what the School of Music wants in the position in regard to their own curricular needs, it's likely this position will go to an ethnomusicologist. The Africana Studies department may also need someone who has more fluency in specifically African Studies to teach their Africana Studies course, according to what I know about it, so they may also tend toward ethnomusicologists rather than musicologists specializing in AfAm studies, who often do not have considerable experience in African studies per se.
  A16: I just did a count of the gender division of job awardees and noted that just 8 out of 31 positions went to women. Now, it may be that this reflects the number of women in the application pool, but I doubt it. It could also be that all these male awardees were in fact the best candidates for the job. But I'm not sure. Thoughts?
  A17: Well, that's about 25%. Do we know the percentage of women PhDs and ABDs who applied this year? Do we know the percentage of women in the field of musicology as a whole? I note that 14 (nearly 45%) are graduates of either the UC system or an Ivy. If we are to ascribe prejudice (as A16 implies), should the blame be laid at the feet of the hiring committees, or the upper-echelon programs' admisison policies? Shall we also parse racial percentages? Persons with disabilities? My personal thought is that A16 is indulging in sour grapes. But that's not politically correct, now, is it?
  A18: I think this is a conversation worth having. Thanks, A16, for bringing it up, and thanks, A17, for pointing out that we don't have all the statistics at hand. I don't consider myself in the "sour grapes" category, yet I still wonder: do hiring committees have reservations about hiring young female candidates, fearing they might become pregnant in a few years? Do search committees lean towards applicants who promote themselves and their ideas more aggressively in cover letters and in interviews? Not saying that female candidates aren't "aggressive" on the job market, but that some female candidates might field questions quite differently than male candidates.
  A19: For what it's worth, it looks like 28 out of 57 jobs (49%) went to women last year. This year might just be a fluke.
       I personally can't think of a music department in which female faculty are severely underrepresented, but I'm sure some are out there.
  A20: Agreed that more information is necessary to do an accurate analysis--but I think such a study is overdue and necessary, and should include statistics that break it down by subdiscipline, job type, etc.  For example, an overwhelming number of TT jobs in ethnomusicology went to men last year, I believe (can someone out there corroborate with numbers?).
  A21: The AMS Committee on Graduate Education has done some work on this already (not gender-based, but employment stats at least). Look at the most recent newsletter (vol. 60/1 Feb. 2010), top of p. 22.
  A22: Spousal hires (heterosexual or otherwise) are another way that gender/diversity balances are increasingly being shifted, but there is no way to reflect that on the wiki.
  A23: Here's another interesting statistic: by my count, only 3 of the 19 TT jobs went to women; 2 of those jobs were at least 50% ethno and one was a combined musicology/applied position. Thus, no women were hired for TT jobs strictly in musicology this year. The remaining five women who got //something// this year got either postdocs, fellowships or VAPs (10 men were in the same category.)
  A24: My advisor made a good point: namely that in recession markets, "diversity" hiring sometimes feels like a luxury to institutions that are running relatively few job searches. [So if a college is running five total searches rather than, say, ten, they don't feel the same push to even out the ratio of male-female hires.] That might explain why this year is looking so different than subsequent years. 
  A25: I'm sorry, but your advisor's logic is flawed: why would a financially struggling university hire someone who isn't the best candidate? Is your advisor somehow implying that women candidates are less qualified? I think it is just a crapshoot in some ways and this year has been statistically anomalous.
  A24: No, I'm sure that's not the point he was making. It may very well be that this year is a statistical anomaly, and who knows, when all the numbers come in, maybe things will even out. But I'm not sure that the search process is "objective" and above cultural (often unintentional) biases. It's hard to answer why the numbers are so skewed - it just seems to me that women receiving fewer jobs is rarely an anomaly.
  A26: Judging from previous years, this year seems to be unusually skewed. The wiki from 2007-8 also showed 49% (47/96) of all jobs going to women.  Although there is always some degree of bias, I think we have it pretty good compared to other disciplines. Anyone look at the music theory wiki recently? Or statistics for math/physics hires nationwide?
  A27: It just seems a little weird that hiring a woman might be construed as a "diversity hire", especially given that statistically, more women than men populate graduate programs in musicology.
  A26: I'm not sure why someone deleted my response, but I'll ask it again: is it true that women make up a larger percentage of graduate students in musicology? If so, I wasn't aware of it, because that certainly was not the case in my department, where men outnumbered women by more than a ratio of two to one.
  A29: (to A26) I'm sorry that I can't find a link that verifies this statistic, but I first heard it at the CSW meeting at AMS a few years ago, and I believe they have compiled this data. I'll poke around online a little more and see if I can link to some hard numbers for you.
  A30: (to A26) For example, at UC Berkeley, there are currently roughly 3x as many women who are active grad students in musicology and ethnomusicology.
  A31: Another tidbit: I did one on-campus interview this year, and heard from the grad students that I was the only female candidate. Oh, and for more data, one can always check the lists on the "oops" rejection emails...
  A32: To add to the data: Texas Christian U, SoM had 4 tt hires last year and all of them went to white males; there are only 4 female tt professors in the entire dept.
  A33: I think your concerns are totally justified. Since this wiki seems to be the only source for a broad comparison, I just did a count for 2006-7, and 25 of the 53 listed hires were women (47%). If the previous two counts are correct, this means that out of a three-year nationwide sample of 206 listed jobs, 100 (48.5%) went to women. This year is really unusual, and hopefully doesn't represent a continuing trend.
  A34: In my department, 75 percent of the grad students are female and there is only one TT female professor.  If hired, many women end up in VAP type jobs or community colleges.
  A35: I agree that there is no way to know, without further data, whether discrimination is affecting overall hiring patterns, especially with only a year's worth of data showing a decline in the hiring of women.  But I would say that discrimination
       certainly affects women on the job market.  As a female musicologist married to another academic, I've been asked very directly about my marriage in two interviews in recent years--at AMS and at an on-campus interview, both with high-profile
       schools.  I was specifically asked whether my marriage would compromise my commitment to the jobs.  While such questions may affect men, I've only heard of their being asked of women in the early stages of their careers.  I don't think it's a
       common practice to ask such things, but the AMS as a community should continue to promote discussion and awareness about equity.
  A36: (to A35) For what it's worth, I'm male and have been on six campus interviews over the last four years. On four of those occasions, I was directly asked about my wife and child, especially about how they would fit into the picture if I was
       offered and accepted the job. In my personal situation, I saw nothing that might jeopardize my chances for the job, so I was happy to talk about it. I can, however, imagine other situations where that would be more dicey for the candidate.
       For me, this is an issue that arises from the fact that hiring committees are not trained in appropriate hiring practices. At my graduate institution's teaching center, we were always coached to evaluate our own situation and then to decide
       whether it was "safe" to talk about such personal issues (assuming that the person on the hiring committee was unwittingly being inappropriate) or to not answer the question and tactfully indicate that such topics are inappropriate. It's a
       delicate balance, of course, but one that I think candidates needs to be proactive about, since the committees probably won't be.
  A37: (to A35) Did you reply by saying that their lack of touch with reality would affect your commitment to the department? When will people realize that generous leave packages for families are valuable recruitment tools, not liabilities?
  A38: I guess I've been lucky that this hasn't happened to me (yet) but I have prepared something along the lines of "while I appreciate your interest, what I'd really like to know (fill with golf courses, national parks, etc.)" -a basic redirect that is not rude.
  A39: Family-oriented questions in an interview (which strike me as inappropriate, even borderline illegal?) will have different intentions when directed to a man or a woman, and will also be received/interpreted differently by different genders,
       especially for recent PhDs.  I'm certainly not diminishing the importance of paternity leave or the time and energy fathers commit to their families, but it's not the same as a woman having children, that's just the reality.  Also, consider
       this: many women are around their mid-30s, give or take, when they finish their degrees.  Often the demands of grad school have caused them to put off marriage and families until they finish.  Then, finally with degree in hand, many are faced
       with two priorities: getting a job, and starting a family.  Unfortunately, there is often a short timetable for both, and they are not things that are easy to do simultaneously - start a new TT job at the time you want to have your first baby.
       Does this scenario sound familiar to anyone?  My bet is that search committees are all-too-aware of this situation, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out how old someone is from their graduation dates on their CV.  Of course not all women
       intend to have children, but many, if not most do, and this has to be something considered/discussed when considering a female candidate in her mid to late 30s who the committee is relatively certain does not yet have children.  This not only
       affects leave time, but also ability to conduct research (for those of us who have to travel to far-flung locations to do so), which in turn affects ability to write/publish, and more.  Perhaps the way that current budget issues factor into this
       is not so much about so-called "diversity hires," and more about whether they can afford to hire someone who may need to take a maternity leave within the first couple of years of their hire.  Are they ready to look for a temporary replacement
       so soon?  Can they even afford to do so?  Perhaps I'm overreaching a bit here, but this seems to be a more realistic scenario to me.
  A40: I'm not even going to begin to enumerate all the ways in which I find A39's comments to be concerning/disturbing/borderline offensive. I thought we had gotten over this? But just to begin: Though I may appear to be a fully-functioning woman in her mid-30s, for all the committee knows I could be asexual/transgendered/physically and/or emotionally incapable of having children/etc. It is very dangerous to assume.

Salaries
  Q: The New Mexico job lists the salary at $44 000 per year. AAUP data lists the average assistant professor salary for UNM at $65 000. I know that New Mexico is hurting financially, but a starting salary 2/3 of the average? It's almost $14 000 less than the average Instructor salary? Is this a sign of things to come?
  A: The answer is already in your question.  AAUP and others list //average// salary, while the UNM position is posting a //starting// salary.  Average salaries span all fields and years of experience within a given job classification.  Music faculty almost always make less than science faculty at the same level of seniority.
  Q: I'm well aware that music faculty make less than people in the exalted sciences. My question was about the **size** of the disparity, which seems to be much more drastic than anything I've seen in a long time. Is this indicative of the value that UNM places on the arts, or is it that arts faculty are subsidizing other areas?
  A1: You might be overreacting on this, as science professors skew the average numbers for institutions quite a bit. Somewhere on Chronicle.com there is a list of average starting salaries for music faculty (and for every field), and I think you'll find that UNM's $44k is just about average for the field. I doubt that they have extra money around to subsidize other areas, it just is what it is.
  A2: Having consulted the Chronicle's survey, I can report that the UNM salary *is* on the low side. The average assistant professor starting salary in the "Liberal arts and sciences, general studies, and humanities" field is $49,832, with the average overall salary for asst. profs is marginally higher, $49,876. If musicology is classified with the "Visual and performing arts" then the average starting salary is $48,004, while the overall average is $49,821. However, the low starting salary might be high in comparison to the cost of living in New Mexico! Interestingly, the highest salaries in the report are *not* the sciences but business. The faculty in the "Business, management, marketing, and related support services" have an average STARTING salary of $86,640, while the overall average salary is only (only!) $79,910. The next highest category is "Computer and information sciences and support services" with a starting average of $71,889, and an overall average of $68,954. Just some food for thought.
  A3: It's not just the sciences; it's also economics, business, and even, occasionally, music performance faculty that make the really top dollars.  And it's not at all the case that arts faculty "subsidize" others; grant-driven faculty subsidize us.  Also, $44K may not seem like much, but look at any cost of living calculator and you'll see that it translates into much more in other areas, indeed areas whose public research universities pay substantially less for a first-year musicology professor than the NM salary, once you take into account the cost of living.  Finally, keep in mind that cost of living and merit increases will very quickly raise the salary; that's one reason why the average is (by definition) higher than the starting salary.  And the average is based entirely (also by definition) on starting salaries and merit increases from the past, when there was much more money floating around, so a comparison to this year's starting salary, in the middle of an economic crisis, is skewed for that reason as well.
  A4: A3 makes an excellent point about "subsidizing." Grant winners (in public health, for example) whose salaries come from soft money bring in big dollars categorized as "overhead," which is used around the rest of the university. This, along with some state funding at public schools, is usually where a substantial amount of humanities (and un-sponsored science) money originates. The accounting is more complex than that, but it is definitely a stretch to say that low humanities salaries subsidize high salaries elsewhere, especially when you consider that at research universities, the health sciences can bring in upwards of 40-50% of the school's operating budget. Without them, some of us would be lucky to get $4,400 a year.
  A5: I've seen starting salaries offered to musicologists that were about 5% below the AAUP average... at other universities they may be up to 45% below. Some full professors in musicology make less than 100k, others over 200k (a VERY small number, but they exist).
  A6: I disagree. A discussion of how starting salaries operate is very relevant to those of us on the job market. You needn't read it if you don't want to.
  A7: I'm sure the poster is aware that the offered salary even at state schools is often not the salary that you will start at; and that research budgets, perks, and salary growth are more important in the long run than a few K.  I remember one school that offered a fine starting salary ($46k four years ago) but none of the tenured profs were even making $55k.  My experience as a TT-Asst. Prof, my initial offer was 65% of the average Asst. Prof salary; after negotiations, etc., I was offered 70%; 15 months later I'm at 88%; so if you can make up the gap fast then not to worry.  (I do disagree on thinking of cost-of-living when looking at salary as COL is usually inversely correlated with quality of life.  given $50k to live in Fargo ND or SF, many people would be equally happy starving in SF as being a royalty in Fargo).
  A8: I'm tenured and full at an R1, and sometimes check this page because it's a quick and dirty way to see what's going on in the job market. So I'll tell you all what a helpful person told me 20 years ago when I was in grad school: Starting salary is much less of an issue than salary compression at the mid level ranks. When a job starts at $44,000, and your promotion only gets you to the low 50s, you are in trouble. But if you jump to $65,000 at tenure, and perhaps the low 80s at full, then it's decent (these figures are for a public). Taking a close look at the Chronicle can reveal schools with serious compression problems. Finally, many individual salaries are available online (UC System and Cal State can be found on the Sacramento Bee website, Michigan is online through the state budget, so is Iowa). If you do the legwork, you can find out what musicology faculty are really paid.
  A9: Thank you, A8, that is tremendously helpful.

http://chronicle.com/stats/aaup/
http://www.collegiatetimes.com/databases/salaries
http://blurblawg.typepad.com/files/university-of-virginia-faculty-salaries.pdf
http://www.indystar.com/data/government/state_salaries2008_search.shtml
http://umich.highedsalaries.com/department/details/2074
http://www.uvm.edu/~isis/sr/sr08.pdf
http://www.timesunion.com/data/payroll/2008/
http://ia310825.us.archive.org/2/items/UniversityOfIllinoisSalaryList2008-2009/UI-Sal-2UIUC.pdf
http://www.sacbee.com/statepay/
http://ia310809.us.archive.org/2/items/UniversityOfMinnesotaSalaryList2008-2009/
http://php.app.com/rutgersweb/search.php
http://data.desmoinesregister.com/results/index.php?info=State_Salaries
http://lbloom.net/
http://www.dailyillini.com/salary-guide
http://www.archive.org/details/CommonwealthOfPennsylvaniaPayrollDatabase2008
http://www.bostonherald.com/projects/payroll/massachusetts/
http://ia310834.us.archive.org/3/items/UniversityOfConnecticutSalariesSep2008/
http://ia331421.us.archive.org/3/items/OhioStateUniversitySalaryListJune2008/OSU_salaries_as_of_June_2008.pdf
http://ia331414.us.archive.org/0/items/NorthCarolinaStateUniversitySystemSalaries2008/NC-State-Universities-Salaries-2008.pdf
http://ia310803.us.archive.org/1/items/UniversityOfMarylandSalaryListSep2008/
http://www.azcentral.com/news/datacenter/payasu.php?fdepartment=&ftitle=professor&fsalary=0
http://www.azcentral.com/news/datacenter/payasu.php?fdepartment=&ftitle=professor&fsalary=0
http://open.georgia.gov/sta/entryPoint.aud
http://www.kansas.gov/KanView/client/js/#dataTable=salary/emp_salary%3Fid%3D682%26job_title%3DAssistant%20Professor
http://ia310831.us.archive.org/2/items/TexasAmUniversitySalariesSep2008/
http://www.ir.ufl.edu/factbook/v-14_salaries.pdf
http://www.kentucky.com/1028/story/353631.html
http://www.utahsright.com/h_salaries.php
http://blog.nola.com/graphics/2009/02/search_for_state_employee_sala.html
http://transparency.sc.gov/BCB/transparency/BCB-state-salary-query.phtm
http://oira.unc.edu/faculty-salaries-at-research-and-aau-universities.html
http://chronicle.com/article/Graduate-School-in-the/44846/
useful Chronicle forum thread

Job Market, pt. II
  - Just quickly compared this year's market thus far to last. In 2008-09, there were around 108 positions announced, with 17 canceled (15.7%).  So far in 2009-10, we've had 78 announcements and 5 cancellations (6.4%). Surely a few more positions will crop up, but we're probably looking at around 20-25% fewer jobs this year.  It's hard to say what will happen with the cancellation rate, other than it will probably rise (perhaps not as high as last year, though).
  - Cool, thanks for tallying. I would add that there are also far more one-years, adjunct positions, and community college jobs listed this year. My guess is the number TT jobs is down by more than 25%.
  - And 2008-09 was already a huge drop from 2007-08 and 2006-07 (both online for consulting); so don't be discouraged if there have been few or no bites.  Chances are it's not you, it's the market.

Cover Letters
  Q: For those of you lucky enough to get interviews, how long are your cover letters? 2k words? 5K?
  A1: Mine was just over 1000 words, which fit nicely on two pages. I've seen one successful letter (they got the fancy job) that ran for three pages, but that seems a bit much to me.
  A2: My job letter is 2.5 pages, 1250 words, and last year I got a request for more materials, 2 conference interviews and a VAP job.
  A3: Your letter should be between 1.5 and 2 single spaced pages, so no more than 1,000 words.  This is what every candidate I know who has landed a prestigious job has done. (x2)
  A4: Here's another vote for keeping it on 2 pages: my letter drifts between 1000-1300 words, depending on how I tweak it for individual programs, and while sometimes it's a short two pages and sometimes it's a long two pages, it's always two pages. My sense is that especially with the number of applications most programs are getting, a longer letter won't be fully read.
  A5: I'll echo A4 and say that of the dozen+ tenured faculty I've asked to comment on my cover letter, not one suggested that it was too short.  Mine is around a 1.5 pages single spaced, including the header and sign-off.  The total word count is around 750 (not sure how people are fitting 1300 words on two pages).  I've also attended some CV / cover letter workshops and there too was advised that it's best to get straight to the point.  Less is often more. I should add that my CV used to be five pages long and now it's three or four at the most.  Your "best stuff" should be obvious and up front, and if you pad your letter or CV with filler, most readers will spot it right away.
  -A4 again: you get 1300 words on two pages by using the reverse of classic undergrad techniques: 11-pt. font, shortened spacing, monkeying with the margins. I should add that I try hard never to do this, but sometimes job descriptions ask you to cram a tremendous amount of things in the cover letter: full-on teaching philosophies, in-depth detail on your research, info about performance experience, meditations on your experience with different school types.....sometimes you have to make silly accommodations like messing with your font. Not recommended, though: my best letters were ~1000 words.
  A6: Mine was 600 words and it got me several TT offers and 10+ flyouts, so don't worry about being too short.  Make every word count and save something for a dazzling second-cover letter that you'll include w/ req. for more materials.
  A7: My cover letters are typically 3 pages long 11pt font.  That said, out of the last 8 applications I have sent (over the past 2 years), I have gotten 5 interviews and 3 TT job offers. Yes my cover letters are long, but like the last person said: make sure ever word counts.  A three page cover letter full of rambling would be awful.  A three cover letter where every word counts will get you the gig! ...maybe.
Writing Samples
  Q: The the same crew, When asked for a writing sample, do you recompose an existing essay to fit the length (writing a new intro and conclusion, etc.) or do you excerpt it and provide descriptive notes?
  A1: I think it's better to do the latter, if you do not happen to have a writing sample of the approximate required length.
2010-2011 Jobs Wiki?
   Q:  Just wondering if there's a 2010-2011 musicology jobs wiki page yet?  Seems like a couple of jobs have already been posted (Carleton and American University for 2).
   A:  Hear Hear! Out with the old and in with the new!!!
   A2: Let's do it. To everyone who didn't get a job this year, I think it's safe to say you're in good company.

Acronym guide
CMS: College Music Society
CHE: Chronicle of Higher Education
HERC: Higher Education Recruitment Consortium
IHE: Inside Higher Ed
MVL: Music Vacancy List (published by the College Music Society). Requires a member login.
AMS-L: American Musicological Society listserv
SEM-L: Society of Ethnomusicology listserv
SEM: Society of Ethnomusicology. Their current job list requires a member login.
TT: Tenure Track
VAP: Visiting Assistant Professor
ABD: All-But-Dissertation

Archives
2008-2009 Search
2007-2008 Search
2006-2007 Search