Raising our Expertise in Chairing Dissertations: Learning from One Another
Sunday, August 05, 2007
10:30:00 AM - 12:30:00 PM
Loews Philadelphia, Howe
Organizer: Kathryn Goldman Schuyler; Alliant International U. / Coherent Change;
Organizer: Lee Robbins; Golden Gate U;
Presenter: David A. Whetten; <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Brigham</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">Young</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">U.</st1:placetype></st1:place>;
Presenter: Jerome Katz; <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Saint Louis</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>;
Presenter: Bernardo M. Ferdman; <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Alliant</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">International</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">U.</st1:placetype></st1:place>;
Presenter: Mark P Kriger; <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Norwegian</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">School</st1:placetype></st1:place> of Management;
Presenter: Antoinette Swayne-Kohlman; <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Alliant</st1:placename> <st1:placename w:st="on">International</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">U.</st1:placetype></st1:place>;
Nothing is more essential to the contribution to the world of those with management PhD.s and DBAs than the guidance they receive in their doctoral research and dissertation writing. Success in this endeavor not only gives graduates with a doctorate license and certification to influence generations of managers and other researchers, but has a momentous effect upon the quality of their work and the values by which they will judge their own work and that of others. In addition, the student's advisor has a great effect upon the emotional and material well-being of the advisee, and sometimes their families, over a multi-year period.
Most of us received no or minimal training as doctoral dissertation chairs, yet this is an critical role not only for the welfare of our students but for the welfare of our discipline -perhaps even for the welfare of the larger world of organizations and managers who may act upon the current and future research on our soon-to-be-graduated doctoral students. Most of bring only our own experience as dissertation students and the practices of our own advisors to this challenging and important task. If we're lucky that's a good start, yet even at best it provides little range of alternative advising methods and small guidance towards dealing with students who come to their dissertations with different backgrounds or styles than our own. We learn through our experience over the years, moving beyond what didn't work and trying out what we would have liked to have experienced.
Yet there is a wide array of wisdom and alternative perspectives available in our profession from already experienced advisors. Our PDW intends to make a start at filling the needs for training, dialogue and mentoring on the craft of dissertation advising. This PDW includes presentations by a panel of experienced and effective dissertation advisers from both traditional and non-traditional programs sharing their experience, providing suggestions and raising questions. Panel members will describe a success or 'failure' case, and then use these examples and their wider experience to suggest effective approaches and helpful "rules of thumb" for dissertation advising. The audience will divide up into small discussion groups, each facilitated by one of the panel members. Small group members will be invited to raise their own questions and issues and to provide suggestions based on their own experiences as students and as advisors. Following the small group discussion period, the whole group will gather in plenary session to hear the reports of the small groups and to continue the discussion.
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