|
dillon
|
 |
« on: January 16, 2007, 01:34:39 PM » |
|
This will perhaps seem an odd or silly question. I need quick help with a minor thing related to my job search. I currently am lining up campus visits and thinking through things related to those.
At the institution where I currently teach, faculty are addressed by students as Dr. LastName (assuming they have earned that title), or Prof., Mr., Miss, Mrs., etc. if they have not. At my institution when I introduce myself to my class or to an individual student, I call myself "Dr. SoAndSo". When I talk with other faculty around students, I address them by their last name, although privately we all speak to each other using first names. I have become used to that custom, although I know that not all campuses handle things that way. (When I completed my Ph.D. work I had a very hard time getting used to calling my advisor by his first name.)
Now that I'm going for campus visits elsewhere, I'm wondering about how I would introduce myself when I interact with students. FirstName Lastname (no title)? Dr. FirstName Lastname? Dr. LastName?
Would this be different for undergraduate vs. graduate?
What about in printed material or lecture slides? FirstName LastName, or Dr. FirstName LastName, or FirstName LastName, Ph.D.
I know this is pretty trivial, but getting input from others will remove the doubt I have.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
nailman
Longwinded
Senior member
   
Posts: 333
|
 |
« Reply #1 on: January 16, 2007, 07:11:55 PM » |
|
I think this is very important. I'm sure if you don't introduce yourself the right way they'll immediately remove you from consideration as a candidate. So you should be sure you always
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
hiddendragon
|
 |
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2007, 07:26:35 PM » |
|
I have no suggestion for what you should do. For me, in face-to-face interactions, I just use my name--even with students. No title. My issue is not so much how I should introduce myself, but what I should call people. Some people are friendly and they would introduce themselves simply as "harry" or "sally" which I take the cue to then go on a first name basis with them [this is what I was taught by people who prepare me for these situations. They encourage trying to get on a first name basis right away which shows that you view people as colleagues rather than as elderly mentors]. My problem is that I can't seem to get on a first name basis with much more senior profs who are not particularly smiley and/or who are introduced to me by someone else who's walking me around campus. Usually the one introducing would refer to more senior prof by first name, but more senior prof makes no effort to encourage me to be so collegial. Then, there is also the question of the dean and chair, too. Do I call dean, chair, and senior, unsmiley profs by name like I do sally and harry, or by title--"Dr. X"? The ultimate question I have is, is it appropriate if I refer to sally as "sally" and harry as "harry" but then call the chair of the dept. Dr. X? And what happens at dinner? Would I then say, "hey sally, how are you?" Then turn to the chair and say "Oh, Dr. X, nice to see you too"? Would that offend sally? I never have this system figured out and I hope it's not costing me too much.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
chracatoa
|
 |
« Reply #3 on: January 16, 2007, 09:07:26 PM » |
|
oh man, now I have one more thing to worry about.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
coffeebuzz
Junior member
 
Posts: 89
|
 |
« Reply #4 on: January 16, 2007, 09:18:25 PM » |
|
I think some of this may vary by department too. In both my undergrad and graduate training I have almost always referred to my professors by their first name. But then again in my field it is rare to have someone on the faculty with a Ph.D., most of the faculty had an MFA. When there was a professor with a Ph.D. they still routinely asked us to refer to them by their first name. The interesting thing is when I teach classes that are mixed with majors and non-majors, the non-majors refer to me as Professor Last-Name where the majors refer to me as First-Name.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
"Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death and as sweet as love." Turkish proverb
|
|
|
betterthanok
New member

Posts: 45
|
 |
« Reply #5 on: January 16, 2007, 09:19:16 PM » |
|
Before you get there: use your title and your name. It would be the very rare campus where the more formal use of titles would be considered offensive. If you're going to make a mistake, err on the side of formality.
When you get there: Watch what other people do. Do that.
On my campus, the use of titles is variable across disciplines. Some departments are much more informal than others. We use first names for administrators, too.
Mostly I don't think you should worry about this too much. You should definitely NOT refer to male faculty with titles and female faculty with first names. I've seen that before. Didn't like it. Didn't hire the person.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|