One end of semester day during my own PhD study years, I went down to my local coffee shop and ordered a latte. The barista took one look at me and said, “An extra shot, then?”
Faculty
Collegial Connections, Week Three: Maintaining Connections
Relational Maintenance Theory (Canary & Stafford, 1992; Stafford, 2011; Stafford & Canary, 1991; Stafford, Dainton, & Haas, 2000) explains that there are seven maintenance behaviors (positivity, understanding, assurances, network, sharing tasks/activities, relationship talks, and self-disclosure) that are used to sustain various types of relationships. For friendships, though, start by focusing on these two maintenance behaviors: sharing tasks/activities and self-disclosure.
Collegial Connections, Week Two: Meeting Connections
Meetings can be a chance to forge real connections with your colleagues. Renee Bourdeaux explains how.
Collegial Connections, Week One: Hallway Connections
Want to deepen your conversations with academic colleagues? Check out this new series by a communications professor on connecting with colleagues.
How Did You Do It? Faith and My Dissertation
Last fall, I defended my Ph.D. dissertation, and in May I attended my graduation at Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus. My studies were challenging, especially since I was changing my discipline, from engineering to Science and Technology Studies (STS), which is built around a core of history, sociology, and philosophy.