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[anonrightnow]

At my somewhat selective SLAC ,we garner approximately eighty applications for an Assistant Professor search.  I am wondering: for a public, non-selective, state institution with an enrollment around 12,000, could anyone estimate how many applicants they might receive for a chair position?

I was just talking with an adviser from years back and was surprised to learn that their last search for a chair yielded only 30-40 applicants (at the most); this particular school is the flagship university in the state.

I have applied for a position like the one described above (12,000 enrollment)
and was curious, if anyone had any info/comments.

I would be most interested to hear any comments.

[clean]

I think that the discipline would matter.   

History may garner more than Accounting.

When we advertised for an assistant/assoc. prof in Finance 2-3 years ago, we got close to 170 apps.  We have only 9000 students.

[frack]

We have about a dozen applications for an assistant professor position in a social science discipline. We're a small teaching-oriented regional state university. The focus of the position -- statistics and research methods -- may be lowering the applicant pool.

I have heard from folks in an allied social science field that pools have gotten smaller in recent years. My discipline's professional organization has also noted a decline in PhD production in the past few years.

[anonrightnow]

Interesting...

The position I am referring to is for a Chair position; so it's not a revolving chairship, but a permanent adminstrative (with minimal teaching) position. It's a twelve month contract, and is in the humanities. 

[anthroid]

I was one of two applicants.  I'm heading up a chair search right now in a different department and we have four applicants.

[anonrightnow]

Thanks, Anthroid.

I wonder, is it normal for a person outside the department to run the search for a chair position in another department?  You mentioned that you were SC on a committee for a chair position in another department and that's the same setup where I applied.  Just wondered if that's common.

Also, how large is the school where the chair search is being conducted? 

After reading some of your other posts, I know that you aren't at the school where I applied, but you're near it,  I think!  ; )

[prof_tournesol]

I'm on a chair search right now for another department and we currently have zero candidates. The deadline hasn't passed yet, but it is coming quick.

It's not uncommon that many academics don't want to be chair. I interviewed years back for a chair position and ran for the hills after the interview, swearing "never again". The university advertised the job twice, with no luck, and finally strong-armed someone internally into the position.

[frack]

Interesting...

The position I am referring to is for a Chair position; so it's not a revolving chairship, but a permanent adminstrative (with minimal teaching) position. It's a twelve month contract, and is in the humanities. 

Sorry, I keyed on the first paragraph in your note. Too much grading ...

[takapa]

The field matters as much as the university, and for that matter so does the reputation of the department.  We had an external search a few years back.  We're a highly ranked department in our field (routinely 2nd or 3rd in the business) and that alone limited the number of applications we received.  Seriously, I think we had 4 or 5.  Most people in the field who met the position requirements were either a chair somewhere else or were about to retire (or both).  We only had interest in one of them.  When we had a search for an assistant professor position they beat the door down with applications. 

[anthroid]

Thanks, Anthroid.

I wonder, is it normal for a person outside the department to run the search for a chair position in another department?  You mentioned that you were SC on a committee for a chair position in another department and that's the same setup where I applied.  Just wondered if that's common.

Also, how large is the school where the chair search is being conducted? 

After reading some of your other posts, I know that you aren't at the school where I applied, but you're near it,  I think!  ; )

There's an internal candidate and the Dean wanted to make sure that the SC chair didn't have a dog in the hunt, as it were, so that the search could be as objective as possible.  We are approaching 20K students (grad and undergrad) at a regional state u in the great flyover zone.  The search committee I'm chairing is not in the humanities, so frack and I won't be interacting... :)