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[trabb]

I was about to begin this thread with the obligatory disclaimer that I have already searched the forum, read the Academic Job Search Handbook, etc., but I figured after 250+ posts, you've all made up your minds about trabb anyway.

So - on to the question.  For better or for worse, the order in which one presents material in a cover letter has the effect of making a statement about one's priorities.  Mentioning teaching before research will raise red flags at RIs, and mentioning all of one's publications and research plans before teaching will inevitably not work at S(mall)LACs with a 4/4 load. 

My problem is knowing how to prioritize for a comprehensive university.  For any number of reasons, comprehensives are the most attractive types of schools for me.  But, are they looking for a strong researcher who can also teach very well?  Or are they looking for an excellent teacher who also happens to do solid research?  Or - more likely - has the term "comprehensive university" been applied so carelessly that it no longer has any real substance, meaning that things will vary from one university to the next?  Any suggestions on how best to frame my candidacy for these types of schools is welcome.

[voxprincipalis]

The problem with this is trying to cram a multifaceted presentation into a document that is by convention organized in a linear fashion. Presumably, however, people at a comprehensive U. understand this problem, know that you had to put something-or-other "first" and something-else "second," and not get wrapped up in knots about the order.

That being said, I would look to the job ad for hints about how to order your paragraphs. If no order can be found there, I'd start with your biggest strength.

I don't know what your opening paragraph is like, but you might consider adding a sentence at the end that says "I'm interested in this position because" -- then mention your love of both teaching and research and say what a great fit that would be at a school that also values both areas. That will set the committee up to know that even if you talk about research first, you are going to have something to say about teaching as well.

VP

[dr_strangelove]

I don't know what your opening paragraph is like, but you might consider adding a sentence at the end that says "I'm interested in this position because" -- then mention your love of both teaching and research and say what a great fit that would be at a school that also values both areas. That will set the committee up to know that even if you talk about research first, you are going to have something to say about teaching as well.

What she said.

[the_crushinator]

I will add that if you are including a teaching philosophy or research interests you don't need the detail of these areas in your cover letter.  You can make your case how you are good in both areas in the cover letter and then allow the more specific documents to give the details. If you are creative you could end up synthesizing these areas ("My teaching aids me in my research by...")  because you have the freedom from having to pack all your specifics in.  I also take the opportunity to put in the intangibles into my cover letter.  I don't have a place to talk about the symposiums I have organized or details of awards I have won for presentations and the cover letter gives me that chance.

[much_metta]

An interesting question to consider is whether or not the comprehensive university itself knows its balance in priorities for teaching and research--not all do, especially those that are trying to be all things to all people.  Sometimes you can figure this out from mission statements or Presidents' press releases, but usually it's "inside information" you'll never know about.  Sometimes you just have to stab in the dark...

One way of addressing the order of presentation issue is to follow exactly the order in the position announcement.  If they mention scholarship first, so do you; if it's teaching, etc.  This has the added benefit of making it MUCH easier for SCMs to read and evaluate, since they will likely be looking at the ad.  Having recently evaluated a stack of applications, I can tell you that applicants who follow the order in the ad make my job much easier.  In addition, try to keep the length of each of the two sections about the same. Even if a CompU is more research focused, 2 pages on research and 2 sentences on teaching are not "balanced" and doesn't send the right message. 

Also--not to hijack this thread, but--mention in the cover letter everything listed in the position announcement!  In our case, we actually have a rating form we have to fill out for every applicant.  If they fail to mention at all an item we advertised in the position announcement, that amounts to up to a 10% deduction in their rating.  If they neglect to mention multiple items, they can quickly eliminate themselves from consideration at all.  This is a simple, and all-too-common mistake, particularly for applicants who are creating relatively generic cover letters for multiple positions.  If you really want the job, show us how you are qualified for the position we advertised.