Behind the scenes of an academic career: Preparing Future Faculty
Since I began working in The Graduate School in 2003, I have coordinated RCR ethics training, taught courses on college teaching & higher education, and had the privilege of directing the Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) program. PFF is an annual, professional mentoring program for 25 advanced Ph.D. students and 5 postdocs at Duke who are […]
Alumni Profiles Series: Natalya Wallin
Tell us about yourself: I received a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) from Duke Graduate School in 2010 and am currently a Master of Public Policy Candidate at the University of Chicago Harris School, a DACOR Fellow, former International Affairs Staff Writer and newly appointed Executive Editor of the Chicago Policy Review. I […]
Summer suggestions for professional development, part 1
It has been quite a year for graduate student career and professional development here at Duke. In her first full year in the newly-created position of Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Professional Development, Dr. Melissa Bostrom coordinated a range of programming for all research master’s and doctoral students in the newly launched Professional Development Series. […]
Alumni Profiles Series: Nichole Theresa Gleisner
Tell us about yourself: Nichole Theresa Gleisner PhD, Romance Studies, Duke University, 2011 BA, Comparative Literature, Boston University, 2003 Current City: New Haven, CT Current Job: Freelance translator; Poetry Editor for New Haven Review; adjunct instructor in French, World Languages and Literatures Department, Southern Connecticut State University Family: Husband: Tadhg Dooley Children: Josephine, 5; Conall, […]
Three lessons learned from a Bass instructional fellowship
Their eyes were upon me, and I was stuck. I had just given students a worksheet that had them calculate the relatedness of haploid-diploid bees. In my ideal lesson plan, the students would have worked together to discover that female bees may actually be more related to their sisters than their own offspring. Instead, the […]
Graduate students talk about their MOOC experiences
Duke’s Center for Instructional Technology (CIT) blog recently featured two PhD students in a post in which they talk about their experience taking a massive, open online course (MOOC) as part of their Bass Instructional Fellowship. Over the coming 14-15 academic year, they’ll be applying some of this experience as online apprentices in CIT. Read […]
Who leads a group of emerging leaders? Reflecting on the Emerging Leaders Institute group project
Melissa Bostrom sold me on applying to the Emerging Leaders Institute (ELI) with one word: “deliverable.” The program included many attractive characteristics: leadership training, self-assessments, and coaching. However, from the beginning I was focused on the group project – not simply as an exercise in working with others but to develop a concrete product that […]
Find your passion – or not
“Find your passion.” As someone who has worked in career services for 17 years, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that phrase bestowed on job-seekers as if it’s the answer to all their problems. I also can’t tell you how many students and postdocs have somewhat guiltily confided in me that maybe […]
Professional development doesn’t always have to feel like work
Sometimes it’s a relaxed, engaging conversation over a meal with interesting folks. Sometimes it means getting together with a group of peers to share experiences and support. Sometimes it will have you tapping into your creative side for improvisational fun and games.
Getting off the tenure track: lessons from history
The Chronicle of Higher Education shared some encouraging news yesterday in what has lately been a contentious national dialogue about the futures of graduate education in the humanities, announcing a new Mellon Foundation grant to support non-academic career & professional development for Ph.D. students in history.
