Who gets what letter?

[letterer]

I have duly composed two letters, one focusing on research, the other on teaching.

The first talks up my dissertation, future research, and pubs, with a short, reassuring paragraph about how I am a good teacher.

The second goes into some detail regarding my teaching experience, philosophy, methods, and so on.

But now I don't know who to send which letter. Some are obvious, with the R1s getting the first and the 4/4 teaching load places getting the second. My question is about the high end SLACs, many of which specifically mention research and support this with a 2/2 or 2/3 teaching load. Should they get the R1 letter? The teaching letter? Or a third hybrid letter?

My advisers, all R1 types, seem to think that even top notch places (e.g. Amherst, Wellesley, Wesleyan) are mainly concerned with teaching and so should get that letter. I'm leery about this though.

Any thoughts or experience?

[slacprof]

High status liberal arts colleges will care about both teaching and research. Basically, they want to hire an experienced and committed teacher, but not someone who's a scholarly lightweight. You'll need to demonstrate that you have ideas and will be tenurable by standards that are starting to look a bit more like R1s. Most important, however, is fit. What you do and can teach needs to fulfill the department's needs. They're small places and if they need someone to teach theory, then they need that, period. If they already have someone doing your field, it's unlikely they'll want you.

My advice is to send a letter that highlights your dissertation/current research and areas, describes teaching experience and areas, then briefly outlines future research plans. If they want a separate teaching portfolio then you can also have a page long statement on your teaching experience and approach.

[Newprof]

I have a new job at a strong SLAC. This was the job process from my perspective: They only interviewed people whose research looked active and interesting. Then at the interview they hammered away to find out how committed I was to teaching. It seemed to help enormously that I had attended an SLAC myself. It seems likely that your research will speak to itself through your CV and any pubs you have. You might tweak letter 2 to mention that you have an active research agenda that you are looking forward to sharing with undergrads and mention some ways in which you plan to incorporate students as research assistants.