The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2020

28 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Students typically enjoy active learning opportunities, such as simulations of National Security Council meetings to weigh policy options or diplomatic negotiations to implement policy decisions. vost position at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. And retired FSO Jane Zimmerman is director of the international studies program at Davidson College in North Carolina (see her profile on p. 27). Full-time position as a professor of practice. Ambassador (ret.) Chris Hill serves as the Chief Global Adviser and Professor of Practice in Diplomacy at the University of Colorado. These slots are typically better compen- sated than adjunct teaching and better root you in the aca- demic and community life of a university; but they are also highly competitive to get. And there are two types of employers in higher educa- tion. For-credit classes. Options include U.S. and overseas brick-and-mortar higher edu- cation institutions (e.g., com- munity colleges, four-year undergraduate institutions, graduate schools), as well as online-only degree programs. Class format may be traditional, online or a combination of both. Non-credit instruction. Less formal teaching opportunities include guest lecturer invitations at universities; participation in panel discussions; and the growing number of adult education programs, such as Road Scholar (previously Elderhostel) and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Some of these programs compensate lecturers, while most are pro bono. Gaining Experience While in the Foreign Service The Foreign Service provides numerous opportunities to try teaching to see if it suits you, hone your skills and build academic credentials that might resonate with future employers. Details outside the State Department. Active-duty FSOs are eligible for roughly 40 detail assignments at U.S. govern- ment and nongovernmental academic institutions. Examples include National Defense University and other war colleges; the State Department also has faculty at the Air Force Academy, West Point and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Two interesting examples of FSOs who taught while on active duty can be found in State Magazine ’s September 2011 edition: Kelly Adams-Smith taught aboard the MV Explorer in the Semester at Sea program as a Cox Fellow, and Robin Holzhauer served as a faculty adviser at the Coast Guard Academy. There are also mid-level and senior-level opportunities at Georgetown University. Foreign Service Institute. There are more than 60 positions on which members of the Foreign Service can bid at the Foreign Service Institute that involve direct teaching responsibilities, including professional and area studies, leadership and man- agement, language study and applied technology. Positions are available at both the mid- and senior levels and offer opportuni- ties for on-the-job training in pedagogic techniques. Part-time/guest lecture teaching options. Some active- duty officers teach evening classes in addition to their normal work. If you teach at a university while on active duty, you will need approval from the Legal Adviser’s Office to receive pay for adjunct work. You can also volunteer to give guest lectures at universities wherever you are posted, as well as at FSI in a variety of profes- sional courses as an area specialist. (Some lectures may require clearance through Public Affairs.) Publication. Members of the Foreign Service can develop a list of publications by writing articles while still in service, both on their work and on other topics of interest to them. While these will not likely appear in peer-reviewed academic publica- tions, published articles may make you a more attractive can- didate for academic institutions. (All such publications require clearance through Public Affairs.) Mark Storella, at left, plays the U.N. Special Envoy on Syria in a simulation of an international negotiation with students at Georgetown University. COURTESYOFMARKSTORELLA