Lectureships

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For scholars, the phrase “publish or perish” has become an ironclad rule of academic career development. Without a sufficient number of publications in the right kinds of journals, tenure and promotion are just a pipe dream. But another, much less studied aspect of faculty work can also shape the arc of a career in the professoriate. It is not teaching or service. It is the invited talk.

The talks can take many forms. There are the ever-popular seminar series, lectures, colloquiums, workshops, symposiums, and keynotes.

These invitation-only spots come with their own codes and meanings, and often reflect disciplinary mores that can be inscrutable to people early in their careers. And careers can be shaped by them.

“It’s expected that you go out and talk about your work,” said Richard M. Reis, longtime publisher of the e-newsletter Tomorrow’s Professor and author of a book on how to prepare for an academic career in science and engineering. “That’s just part of the job.”

But invited talks aren’t just about getting in front of graduate students, postdocs, faculty members, and at times the general public. The talks are more than potential opportunities to collect the occasional honorarium.

Being invited to give a talk increases the visibility of professors and signals to others that their work is attracting attention in their field — two of the tenets of tenure and promotion, with international invitations often used as evidence of renown for those looking to become full professors.

A stellar performance during an invited talk can also lead to a scholar’s first (or next) job. A future collaborator might be in the audience. There’s the built-in perk of jet-setting around the world to speak at various institutions. And the feedback that scholars get on their talks can play a key role in sharpening the focus or direction of their research agendas.

“People see the papers you publish, but if you don’t give talks, they don’t know you,” said Arne Gennerich, an associate professor in the department of anatomy and structural biology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. For the past nine years, he has given career-advice seminars at his institution. “One of the best ways to make yourself known to people is to get invited to talk at universities and at conferences.”