The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2020

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2020 29 Ambassador (ret.) Piper Campbell Current position: Will begin spring 2020 as an adjunct professorial lecturer at American University, Washington, D.C.; previously taught at the National War College. How she found the job: FSI’s Job Search Program. JSP was a great source of information and foundation for networking, she reports. Responsibilities: Teaching one graduate-level course in the evening (currently writing the syllabus). Part- time teaching is an attractive way to build competency and connections, while also pursuing other interests, Campbell notes. But don’t discount the number of hours required for developing a course, interacting with students, and grading, she adds. Her mission: Supporting women in national security, and finding opportunities to explore what foreign policy might look like in the future—what skills will be needed, and how do we incorporate more diverse voices and “outside the box” thinking? Observations on teaching today: “Teaching today feels much more dynamic than what I recall: stu- dents expect more opportunities to engage with professors—in the classroom, during office hours and virtually. And the technical components of teaching (using programs like Blackboard or oth- ers for grading, communication with students and accessing electronic materi- als) were all new to me. I was sad to learn most college bookstores don’t really sell reference books so much anymore, and so much of the reading is done online now.” Advice to FSOs thinking about teaching: “If you are interested in teaching as a next career, it is useful to keep track of the many teaching moments that are likely to have occurred during your For- eign Service career. When I sat down to develop an academic résumé, I was surprised to realize how many lectures I had delivered at universities. The list included schools in Cambodia, Iraq, Mongolia, Singapore and Indonesia, as well as the United States. Additionally, at various times I had written articles or op-eds and given interviews that had a more strategic aspect to them and were relevant to academia. “Certainly, teaching at the National War College was a great opportunity to test out my interest and apti- tude, and I highly advise anyone seriously considering academia to look at the many teaching and educa- tional opportunities within State—including at FSI. “But, even without filling one of those posts, there are many opportunities to teach in the course of a career—especially as we further emphasize engage- ment with youth, including through programs like the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative.” Finding a Teaching Job and Designing Classes Colleagues who have already made the leap into academia are your best resources—to find work and then to help design your course, particularly if the institution does not provide a syllabus for the class you have been asked to teach. Former FSOs now work at universities across the country, including Georgetown Univer- sity, The George Washington University, Princeton, Davidson, the University of Colorado, Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and the University of Virginia. (Jillian Burns mod- erates a LinkedIn group, “Foreign Policy Practitioners–Educators Network, ” to help FSOs connect.) In addition, AFSA and FSI’s Job Search Program have sites that post job listings, including educa- tional opportunities. There are various websites that list teaching positions, both in the United States and overseas. Retired FSO Jane Zimmerman, who was hired in 2019 at Davidson College, recommends signing up for “Global Jobs” alerts (globaljobs.org) ; to narrow her search, she used the term “professor of practice.” You can also “cold call” schools that interest you, particularly since adjunct positions are rarely advertised. After perusing course listings of schools of interest, you can contact department