Pomona College’s computer science department is hiring Fall of 2021 for Fall 2022. I used to work at Pomona, and there is a lot to recommend it. Pomona College is a small liberal arts college (SLAC) in LA County, 35mi/45-240min outside DTLA. It’s a 2:2 teaching load.
First and foremost, you’ll have excellent colleagues. They are friendly, collegial, supportive, and hardworking. There’s a sense of shared purpose and responsibility. Disagreements are resolved amicably, because everyone is on the same team. Nobody shirks. They’re great people!
Second, the students are bright. They’re motivated, broad-minded, and often interested in social justice. Pomona’s student body overall is quite diverse, along a variety of axes (income, ethnicity, national origin), and the CS enjoys that diversity. Pomona is a very wealthy institution, and it’s putting its wealth to work helping many students who have very little money.
Third, Pomona offers a great deal of research freedom. I felt zero pressure to get grants when I was there, which allowed me to pursue whatever research interests felt worthwhile.
I’ve written in the past about what I loved (and didn’t) about Pomona College. I’ve left that document up, since it provides more detail on what I think is really good about working at a SLAC in general and Pomona in particular.
Joining Pomona’s CS department will let you join a community of lovely colleagues. You’ll have the opportunity to shape the culture and trajectory of a department, work closely with smart and interesting students, do the research you want… all while enjoying the mountains, high desert, city, and coast. It could be right for you — if you’re not sure, feel free to get in touch and we can chat about it.
