At my institution, faculty are expected to acquire substantial federal research funding. If we are asking faculty to submit many grant proposals per year and using this as a factor for their tenure and promotion , it seems very reasonable to assess their ability to write compelling technical documents that will be read both by specialists and non specialists. This is one additional important use of the research/teaching statements.
Regarding time commitment - In my field it is not necessary to extensively personalize the research and teaching plans for each university, so most of the text can be recycled between applications. Writing the first application is very time consuming while the marginal cost of additional applications is fairly minimal. Perhaps this low marginal cost is why some folks apply very broadly even if they are not particularly interested in a certain location.
I think this type of search season is happening more (we're seeing them here). One issue I'm curious about is whether postdocs/recent PhDs have mentally recalibrated to be way more willing to draw the line at working in a place they don't want to live, but nevertheless still apply to all the jobs in the sector they want, because...reasons? If there's no chance you'll live in State X, maybe do X State College a favor and don't apply for the job? Expectations for spousal arrangements also seem to have grown beyond what they were in the past, although I do wish (well-resourced) colleges would start seeing some of those as opportunities rather than Gordian Knots
Nah, man, any academic who can't glean everything they need from a job letter and a vita should automatically be removed from the search committee and any administrator who can't read a vita should be demoted back to adjunct faculty. A good letter will embed research and teaching statements and will at least hint at diversity-related matters. Requiring a grad student or junior faculty member to cater to specific jobs with endless piles of bullshit because some professor or dean doesn't know how to read a letter and vita puts the burden in exactly the wrong place. Also, any college or university that requires candidates to fill out online forms to provide information already in the letter and vita should lose accreditation.
At my institution, faculty are expected to acquire substantial federal research funding. If we are asking faculty to submit many grant proposals per year and using this as a factor for their tenure and promotion , it seems very reasonable to assess their ability to write compelling technical documents that will be read both by specialists and non specialists. This is one additional important use of the research/teaching statements.
Regarding time commitment - In my field it is not necessary to extensively personalize the research and teaching plans for each university, so most of the text can be recycled between applications. Writing the first application is very time consuming while the marginal cost of additional applications is fairly minimal. Perhaps this low marginal cost is why some folks apply very broadly even if they are not particularly interested in a certain location.
I think this type of search season is happening more (we're seeing them here). One issue I'm curious about is whether postdocs/recent PhDs have mentally recalibrated to be way more willing to draw the line at working in a place they don't want to live, but nevertheless still apply to all the jobs in the sector they want, because...reasons? If there's no chance you'll live in State X, maybe do X State College a favor and don't apply for the job? Expectations for spousal arrangements also seem to have grown beyond what they were in the past, although I do wish (well-resourced) colleges would start seeing some of those as opportunities rather than Gordian Knots
Nah, man, any academic who can't glean everything they need from a job letter and a vita should automatically be removed from the search committee and any administrator who can't read a vita should be demoted back to adjunct faculty. A good letter will embed research and teaching statements and will at least hint at diversity-related matters. Requiring a grad student or junior faculty member to cater to specific jobs with endless piles of bullshit because some professor or dean doesn't know how to read a letter and vita puts the burden in exactly the wrong place. Also, any college or university that requires candidates to fill out online forms to provide information already in the letter and vita should lose accreditation.