RESOURCES
Professional Development Column
A Guide to an Effective Start of the Academic Year
Editor: Alan Meca, Ph.D. (Old Dominion University)
Contributors: Elizabeth Morgan, Ph.D. (Springfield College) & Martina Benvenuti,
Ph.D. (Italian National Research Council)
The start of a new academic year is often associated with challenges and
opportunities. On one hand, there is the chaos that the start of a new semester
brings, on the other hand, there is the new life that and beginning of a new
cycle of productivity. As an Assistant Professor though, I have struggled with
identifying best techniques for settling into the new academic year.
For this reason, I reached out to Drs. Elizabeth Morgan and Martina Benvenuti to
provide their feedback on the best strategies for settling into the new academic
year. Whereas Dr. Morgan provide helpful advice for early scholars and faculty,
Dr. Benvenuti speaks to effective tips for graduate students seeking to
transition effectively to the start of the new academic year.
Interview 1 - Elizabeth Morgan, Ph.D.
President-Elect, Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood
Associate Professor of Psychology
Director of Undergraduate Psychology Program
Chair of Department Of Psychology
Springfield College
Email: emorgan2@springfieldcollege.edu
1. What are some of the biggest challenges you face when starting the new
academic year and how have prepare to face them?
The overall pacing of the academic calendar provides a unique work environment
that creates challenges and opportunities. In terms of challenges, after two
months of a generally quiet office and campus environment, I feel the need to
mentally prepare for the onslaught that is about to happen. As someone who
relishes the quiet of the summer months to work on research and generally just
exist at a slower pace, Fall signifies a time where I yet again look at my “to
do” list and realize that I might have gotten about 1/3 done of what I’d hoped.
Over the years, I have learned to calibrate a bit better and not set such lofty
goals, but invariably I fall short of where I’d hoped I’d end up. So, I have
consistently found that mentally preparing for the start of the semester
includes purposefully letting go my overly ambitious hopes for summer
productivity.
2. What are some of the opportunities associated with the start of the new
academic year and how have you made the best of them?
There are definitely positive aspects of the excitement: seeing colleagues again
who have disappeared for the past three months, watching the students excitedly
return to campus, and seeing facilities finally fix that broken door before
parents come to drop off their kids. As a result, the other side of preparing
for the semester to start is to remind myself that teaching and interacting with
the broader campus community are significant reasons that I entered into this
profession, and that despite requiring a lot of time and energy, the work
associated with these activities is quite rewarding and the pace at which it
happens can be rejuvenating.
I am also very happy to not have a monotonous job environment where the same
kinds of activities happen every day, week, month, and year. The variation that
comes with teaching new classes and students each semester, popping on and off
tasks forces and other service endeavors as needed, and starting and ending
research projects, are all challenging parts of the job, but I very much welcome
those over the alternative. Tapping into the opportunities that each new year or
semester provides is another way to make the most of this potentially daunting
time of year.
3. What are some tips you would highly recommend all doctoral students utilize
as they begin to plan to return from the “Summer Break”?
There is repetition and you can learn to expect the ebb and flow of work as you
move throughout the year, and consequently prepare for it by creating realistic
goals that fit with each of these variations, clearing your schedule for certain
time periods (such as student advising), and generally taking advantage of the
slower pace of the summer to rejuvenate. Revving up for Fall semester is the
necessary complement to the summer slowdown, just as the madness of finals is
the necessary finale for a semester of procrastination from students who seek to
improve their grade in the final hours (or faculty who inadvertently assigned
four major end-of-semester projects to be all due in the same week).
Even though I do hold a fulltime work schedule over the summer, September still
comes as a rude awakening. Prepping myself to handle the disappointment of lack
of progress on projects I anticipated finishing and reminding myself to relish
the variability of the academic schedule are two ways that I approach this time
of year to make it more palatable.
Interview 2 - Martina Benvenuti, Ph.D
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Istituto Italiano Per le Tecnlogie Didattiche (ITD)
Italian National Research Council (CNR)
Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Martina_Benvenuti
Academia: https://cnr-it.academia.edu/MartinaBenvenuti
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martina-benvenuti-a58a50a5/
1. What are some of the biggest challenges you face when starting the new
academic year and how have prepare to face them?
the challenges that must be faced at the beginning of the new academic year are
numerous. Usually, my challenges concern: the planning of the year's research,
the planning of national and / or international projects and finally the
programming of publications. My advice is always to take 4/5 days after
returning from vacation, when you are still relaxed and not tired, to plan
everything before classes and academic commitments begin. I also recommend
keeping dates as "plan B", in case something unexpected happens. The greatest
advice is always to organize in advance your commitments to avoid having to face
problems quickly and with little attention.
2. What are some of the opportunities associated with the start of the new
academic year and how have you made the best of them?
It is important to keep in mind that each academic year is always different.
Usually, the biggest opportunities are to be able to plan the activities related
to your PhD project and to start new collaborations with the colleagues you may
have met during the summer conferences. New collaborations are always excellent
opportunities to expand your research network. Without a network of people
working together, it becomes more difficult to invent / make new projects and
disseminate research results.
3. What are some tips you would highly recommend all doctoral students utilize
as they begin to plan to return from the “Summer Break”?
My advice is always to organize the commitments in advance in order to be able
to deal with any unexpected event. In particular:
- make a personal (electronic / paper) agenda,
- if emails have been accumulated during the summer period, take 2/3 days to
answer everyone before the academic year begins,
- try not to get too anxious, because otherwise you can't work,
- if you are planning projects with international colleagues during the year,
write to them immediately when you return from the holidays so you can better
organize your work.
Looking Ahead to the 2017 SSEA Conference: An Interview with Joseph
Schwab
Interviewer: Emerging Scholar Representative Monique Landberg. Monique’s
dissertation research focused on disadvantaged young adults in vocational
training, applying qualitative and quantitative methods. She now does trainings
and workshops with apprentices on topics such as goal setting. She continues
doing research on non-traditional students.
Interviewee: Joseph Schwab. Dr. Schwab is Assistant Professor of Psychology at
Bridgewater State University. His research focuses on the narrative construction
of identity in emerging adulthood, aiming to better understand how emerging
adults create meaning and purpose in their lives through the stories they tell.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Monique: Hi Joe, I know it is not your first SSEA Conference. How many have you
attended?
Joe: The upcoming conference in DC will be my fourth. The 2011 conference in
Providence, RI was my first and I’ve been coming back ever since!
Monique: What was the most inspiring talk you experienced at the CEA so far?
Joe: Moin Syed gave a great TED-style talk at the conference in Chicago about
researching the integration of identity domains using an Eriksonian approach to
identity development in emerging adulthood. It was insightful, engaging, and
motivating––it inspired me to work harder at taking a culturally-oriented and
person-centered approach to my own research on identity development.
Monique: What helped you most when attending SSEA Conferences?
Joe: Meeting people and talking to them––I love getting different perspectives
on the various kinds of research being done. I also find it very helpful to get
feedback on research projects that I am currently pursuing or thinking about
pursuing. Conferences can be an invigorating space to talk to other scholars in
the field and encourage each other in making our research more rigorous,
insightful, and imaginative. The SSEA Conference specifically has always been
encouraging of new and emerging scholars, which has resulted in a very
supportive atmosphere to get this kind of feedback and advice.
Monique: What would you recommend to researchers attending the SSEA Conference
for the first time?
Joe: Talk to people––even if you feel nervous. I have found that even the
biggest names in the field love to talk about research and ideas, no matter who
you are. The goal should not be to get your name out there or become known, but
rather to exchange ideas and think more deeply about your work.
Monique: This year, you and Johanna Carlsson are organizing the pre-conference
workshop on Intersectionality of Identity Domains & Content. How come?
Joe: We recently created a listserv for members of the
Identity Topic Network and elicited ideas for pre-conference themes from the
group. Nearly everyone who responded expressed interest in focusing on a
particular domain of identity, and we thought it might be interesting to bring
all of those domains together and discuss how they intersect. There is a lot of
discussion in academia and the popular press about the idea of intersectionality,
so it seemed fitting to get social scientists together to talk about it and
discuss how we can implement this idea in our work.
Monique: Can you explain a bit about the theme of the workshop?
Joe: The theme is Intersectionality of Identity Domains & Content and it will be
a full-day workshop on issues of identity content and the intersections of
different identity domains within research on emerging adulthood. Confirmed
speakers include scholars who are currently conducting research on the
intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, social class, immigration status, and
education. It will be a hands-on workshop, including active group discussions
and activities to get all participants involved in applying concepts of
intersectionality to their own research, teaching, and/or clinical work. We hope
to encourage an engaging and dialogical atmosphere at the workshop.
Monique: Who should attend the workshop? Can researchers new to the topic attend
this workshop?
Joe: Yes! We have designed the workshop specifically for people new to
intersectionality. We will first introduce the concept, then focus on ways to
apply this concept to our own work.
Monique: Thanks so much for your time and your insights. Would you like to add
anything?
Joe: Thanks for the opportunity! I hope we all enjoy our time at the conference,
learn something new, and return to our respective jobs and communities
rejuvenated with ideas for how to make our world a better place.
Monique: Thanks, and have a great pre-conference workshop and conference!
Professional Development: Tips for Careers in Interdisciplinary and Collaborative Research
Interdisciplinarity and collaboration are mantras for change in the 21st
century, driven by the complexity of problems that require the expertise of more
than one discipline and increasingly involve teams. However, individuals are
often unsure about whether their interdisciplinary and collaborative work will
be rewarded.
There are no magic bullets. However, two authoritative reports give you a strong
foundation of definitions and best practices you can use to inform students,
faculty, and administrators. Even if they offer verbal support, in many cases
they have not read pertinent literature. Anchoring your work in knowledge of the
literature will give you a leg up in discussions, publications, presentations,
and grant applications.
• National Research Council. (2004). Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research.
Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press. Downloadable free at
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11153/facilitating-interdisciplinary-research
• Cooke, N. and Hilton, M. (2015). Enhancing the Effectiveness of Team Science.
Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press. Downloadable free at
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/19007/enhancing-the-effectiveness-of-team-science
Two additional tips will also help you take control of the way your work is
perceived and evaluated.
First, Think Strategically About
Navigating Your Career Life Cycle
Mentors are valuable resources throughout graduate study, transition to a new
job, and pre-tenure and tenure review. However, they are not always available
and, even if they are, aware of pertinent literature. Fortunately, Graybill and
Shandas have written an excellent set of guidelines for navigating the life
cycle of an interdisciplinary career that is also relevant for collaborative
research.
Stage 1: Initiation includes questions for graduate students aimed at situating
your scholarship, establishing a personal identity in disciplinary departments,
and positioning projects for maximum benefit, and rigor and acceptability in
both disciplinary and interdisciplinary contexts.
Stage 2: Familiarization includes questions for graduate students aimed at
maintaining rigor and depth in both disciplinary and interdisciplinary research,
timely completion of your Ph.D., deciding where to publish, and describing the
benefits and value of interdisciplinary training to scholars in disciplinary
units.
Stage 3: Adaptation includes questions for early career hires aimed at
introducing and promoting a personal vision for interdisciplinarity, navigating
risks for tenure and promotion, introducing new pedagogical techniques,
identifying shared commitments and interests, and managing time commitments.
Stage 4: Protected Enthusiasm includes questions for early career academics
aimed at representing identity as a disciplinarian and an interdisciplinarian,
building new bridges or maintaining existing ones with external collaborators,
challenging or changing views and practices, weighing risks pre-tenure, and
handling internal and external tenure review.
Reference: Graybill, J. and. Shandas, V. (2010). “Doctoral Student and Early
Career Academic Perspectives.” In R. Frodeman and C. Mitcham (Eds.). The Oxford
Handbook of Interdisciplinarity. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 404-418. Note:
keep an eye out for an updated revision of this chapter in the second edition in
2016.
Second, Stay on Top of New Resources and
Developments
The proliferation of publications on interdisciplinary research and team science
has made it impossible to keep up with every new resource and development.
However, a couple of strategies will help you stay on top of them, once again
giving you a leg up when articulating the nature and importance of your work.
Set up a Google Alert
Google Alert is a free service that allows you to get email notifications on a
particular topic. You can customize alerts by when and how often they arrive as
well as the sources.
https://support.google.com/alerts/answer/4815696?hl=en
Search Aggregated Repositories
The [US] National Cancer Institute’s Team Science Tool Kit contains over 2,000
publications, applications, models, methods, and other materials for design,
implementation, and evaluation. You can browse tools, measures, or bibliography
and search by specific goals. The SciTS ListServ on Mendeley is another forum
for exchange of information and resources on topics related to team science.
http://www.teamsciencetoolkit.cancer.gov/public/home.aspx?
http://www.mendeley.com/groups/3556001/science-of-team-science-scits/
Join a Pertinent Interest Group
A number of organizations serve interdisciplinary and collaborative interests.
In addition, the Association for Interdisciplinary Studies and the Network for
Transdisciplinary Research (td-net) provide updates on new developments as well
as bibliography:
http://www.mendeley.com/groups/3556001/science-of-team-science-scits/
http://wwwp.oakland.edu/ais/
http://www.transdisciplinarity.ch/e/index.php
See Also
Klein, J. T. (2012). “Monitoring the Interdisciplinary Career.” In Creating
Interdisciplinary Campus Cultures. San Francisco: Jossey Bass and AACU. 127-151.
An overview of hiring, tenure and promotion, and faculty development. Be sure to
update using the Team Science Toolkit since related publications are
forthcoming.
Lyall, C., Bruce, A., Tait, J., and Meagher, L. (2011). “Charting a Course for
an Interdisciplinary Career.” Interdisciplinary Research Journeys: Practical
Strategies for Capturing Creativity. London, Bloomsbury Academic. 103-26.
Individual chapters viewable free
here.
Julie Thompson Klein is Professor of Humanities Emerita in the English
Department and Faculty Fellow for Interdisciplinary Development at Wayne State
University
The Fine Art of Authentic Self Promotion
By Kendall Soucie
July 2015
Academic self-promotion, for better or for worse, has become an integral
part of building a successful academic career. The expansive growth of the
use of citation indices being used by hiring committees, tenure and
promotion committees, and in merit reviews has changed the old academic
adage of "publish or perish" to "publish AND make a splash or perish".
Getting your work cited means that your work is recognized, and that
invariably leads to the need to market yourself. Sometimes it feels like 20%
your time is spent doing your research, and the other 80% is spent
explaining to the rest of the academic world why your research is valuable,
innovative, groundbreaking, and (most importantly) should be funded!
Does self-promotion mean that you have to be “that person”; you know, the one who causes a Pavlovian eye-rolling response at the mention of his or her name? That person who seems to spend most of everyday “bragplaining” on every social media outlet available that they "can’t believe they just got another grant, which they don’t have time for, because they already have 6 grants". Or, that person who equates social interaction to a perseverant recitation of their C.V. While nobody wants to be that person, self-promotion is a double-edged sword. The academic wallflower, waiting for someone to notice their work, is headed down a path of academic spinsterhood. No one will ask you to dance, so you have to polish those dancing shoes, and bust a move. So, the million dollar (or at least please give me tenure) question is... how do you avoid academic spinsterhood without turning into “that person”?
Here are a few quick and easy guidelines:
1) Market It!: despite the utopian ideals of pure intellectual
pursuits of seeking knowledge for the sake of knowledge, Universities have
become a marketplace and academic “deliverables” are the currency. Here is a
corporate analogy. If a company makes the most amazing product ever known to
humankind, but fails to market it effectively, that company will go out of
business, and the world will not benefit from its product, no matter how great
it was. If you are passionate about your work, and you believe that your
research has value, then you need to market it and sell it or you might end up
doing your valuable work in your parents' basement! Harsh, I know, but this can
be the reality. Many of us, especially women, have been socialized to downplay
their successes. Women are afraid to come across to the academic community as a
narcissistic primadonna. But, remember, this is about your research, and not
about you as a person. Just like any business transaction, whether negotiating a
salary, asking for research support, or space, going up for tenure or
promotions, you are making a sales pitch! If this institution invests in you,
then it will get a substantial return on that investment. Highlighting your
skills and accomplishments shows why that institution should invest in you.
Don’t be shy or feel bad about it. What would you think if someone tried to sell
you a car and their sales pitch was “well, it is ok as far as cars go, but it
isn’t really special, and I am sorry to trouble you by asking you to consider
it”?
2) Make it about the work: Yes, you need to market your research, but think about your marking strategy as a public service announcement rather than a "Harry's discount dollar days" when you are strategizing about how to best promote your work. When someone says "tell me about your work", refrain from giving a laundry list of the grants and publications that you have under review. Talk about and explain what you are actually studying. Paint a picture of why you are so passionate about it. There is a huge difference between being excited and explaining your research to a colleague and reciting a citation index.
3) Remember it is not a zero sum game: Celebrate the accomplishments of your colleagues. The more recognition and funding your field gets, the more recognition and funding there is to support your work. Science is a community effort and recognizing the contributions of your colleagues builds collaborative relationships, supportive friendships, inspiring partnerships and sparks creativity and innovation.
4) Finding the digital needle in an information hay stack: One of the biggest reasons for the need to promote and market your research is that we all live in a world completely inundated with information. Just for fun type your area of research in Google and see how many tens of thousands of links come up. The modern library is not housed inside of brick and mortar; it floats in a digital cloud, and your contribution is a tiny speck of that massive ethersphere. Make it a priority to learn to effectively use social media and devote at least a couple of hours a week managing your “social media presence”. There are a lot of fantastic resources available for managing social media and making sure your work is available for others to access easily. Remember, every major company has an entire division devoted to social media management, and has developed tools and strategies to make managing social media and brand awareness efficient and effective.
Here are some useful links to resources and perspectives on the art of
self-promotion:
http://nymag.com/thecut/2015/03/12-women-on-twitter-and-self-promotion.html
http://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2014/08/15/four-ways-to-help-emerging-women-self-promote/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/bonniemarcus/2014/05/06/new-study-reveals-senior-executive-women-still-struggle-with-self-promotion/
http://www.theguardian.com/women-in-leadership/2015/apr/22/become-a-yes-woman-and-break-from-the-thinking-patterns-that-hold-you-back?CMP=new_1194&CMP=
Kendall Soucie is Assistant Professor at the University of Windsor, ON