This fall, Renee Bourdeaux draws on her expertise in communications and her experience as a college professor to offer tips on building strong relationships with academic colleagues. Stay tuned for three posts exploring connections with fellow academics in your department and university. In addition to applying her academic knowledge, each week Renee will also offer a prayer and a practical exercise to help readers build community in academic settings. … [Read more...] about Collegial Connections, Week One: Hallway Connections
Faculty
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. Fortunately, I had some advantages as a “non-traditional” student. First, I was accustomed to research and writing after a long, successful career as an engineer. Second, my STS interests ran deep. And … [Read more...] about How Did You Do It? Faith and My Dissertation
Scheduling for our Souls (Scholar’s Compass)
Quotation “The decisions you make determine the schedule you keep. The schedule you keep determines the life you live. And how you live your life determines how you spend your soul.” – Lysa TerKeurst, from her book The Best Yes: Making Wise Decisions in the Midst of Endless Demands … [Read more...] about Scheduling for our Souls (Scholar’s Compass)
Giving Repetitive Courses A Fresh Look
“I never teach my pupils, I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.” ― Attributed to Albert Einstein When I started my career in teaching six years ago I knew I was finally living my God-given purpose in life. During the years as an undergraduate and half the time as a graduate student I was constantly changing my career choice after being exposed to each of these options in some way: pediatrician, child psychiatrist, forensic scientist, research scientist. But finally one day after … [Read more...] about Giving Repetitive Courses A Fresh Look
Processing your PhD: on next-ness
What's it actually like when you finally finish a PhD? Recent PhD grad Will Mari wraps up his series on life after graduate school, Processing Your PhD. See posts on finishing here, teaching here, and further thoughts on being done here. I'm sitting in my office on a quiet, mid-summer afternoon, and my campus is silent. Sure, I hear the clunk-clunk of apples rolling off the roof above my office (outside an ancient tree stands vigil, and is raining forth its bounty early). We have a few summer camps going … [Read more...] about Processing your PhD: on next-ness