Off-campus study can certainly open new vistas for students, providing opportunities for them to see their academic work in a new light. It can have a similar effect for faculty, too, when they serve as Visiting Faculty and Directors on ACM off-campus programs.
Consider the experience of Colorado College microbiologist Phoebe Lostroh, who regularly teaches courses and conducts research related to the biological aspects of infectious disease, as well as the relationship between disease and social inequality.
This semester, as Director of ACM’s Botswana: University Immersion in Southern Africa program, Lostroh is teaching “The Biology and Public Health of Tuberculosis, HIV, and Malaria.” The topic is particularly salient in a country where all three diseases are a fact of daily life, as she noted in a recent post on her blog.
“The rainy season is in full swing. Apparently it’s swinging a little too much – we are getting more rain than usual, which the Ministry of Health believes will cause a mosquito population explosion. This in turn will probably lead to increased risk of malaria, so we are all taking mosquito-avoidance measures very seriously. Some of us have decided to take our anti-malarial prophylaxis as well, though we are all getting mixed advice on that score. Word on the street is that there is not yet a single confirmed case of malaria contracted in Gaborone, but on the other hand none of us wants to be the first case….
“So, it has turned out to be an interesting time to live in Gaborone and teach about malaria – next week and the following two are our unit on malaria.”
Interesting, indeed.
With wide-ranging curricula and programs in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the U.S., ACM offers faculty from all disciplines opportunities to teach off-campus. ACM also provides a variety of development opportunities and support for visiting faculty and directors, such as:
- Orientation at the ACM office and participation in a meeting of ACM off-campus program directors and visiting faculty.
- Teaching one or more courses that use the program’s location to teach in ways not possible on campus and that addresses the program’s overall mission and learning goals;
- Overseeing independent study projects by students that are interdisciplinary that take advantage of unique resources available at the program site;
- Working with on-site ACM staff and partners at local universities, and making professional contacts;
- Living in the program location and traveling locally to lead field trips; and
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Carrying out responsibilities in student advising and orientation.
Positions available for faculty in 2012-13
Positions during the 2012-13 academic year are open to ACM college faculty on the following consortial programs. Except as noted, the application deadline is March 31, 2011.
- Botswana: University Immersion in Southern Africa (Spring 2013) – Visiting Faculty/Program Director
- Florence: Arts, Humanities, & Culture (Fall 2012) – Affiliated Scholar
- India: Culture, Traditions, & Globalization (Fall 2012; appointment for August 2012) – Faculty Coordinator
- London & Florence: Arts in Context (Spring 2013) – Affiliated Scholar in Florence
- London & Florence: Arts in Context (Spring 2013) – Visiting Faculty/Director in London
- Newberry Seminar in the Humanities (Fall 2012) in Chicago – Two Faculty Fellows (apply by March 1)
- Tanzania: Ecology & Human Origins (Fall 2012) – Visiting Faculty/Program Director
Faculty at ACM colleges also are eligible to apply for:
- Japan Study (Academic year 2012-2013) – Resident Director (apply by April 30; Japan Study is managed by Earlham College)
- Oak Ridge Science Semester (ORSS) (Fall 2012) – Resident Director (apply by October 15; ORSS is managed by Denison University)
Detailed announcements for all of the positions listed above are posted on the ACM website at www.acm.edu/VisitingFacultyPositions.