Graduate Mentoring Program Articles

Professional Mentoring Conferences at ASLE 2007

From: ASLE News Spring 2007

The Mentoring Program and the Graduate Student Caucus will co-sponsor one-on-one professional mentoring conferences with experienced faculty and/or department chairs at the Seventh Biennial ASLE Conference at Wofford College. These informal conversations, designed to supplement the support graduate students receive in their home departments, will involve one faculty volunteer who will meet with an interested student for one hour to answer specific questions about preparing for jobs, the job market, working conditions at small and large institutions, the relationship between scholarship and teaching, and non-academic work options. Conversations will be focused by the needs of the student.

Beginning graduate students can benefit from hearing about work in the field as they begin to imagine a professional horizon beyond graduate school. Graduate students nearing completion of their programs, or those who are seeking academic positions, will find an opportunity to ask questions or talk about preparing a job portfolio.

The one-hour conferences will take place throughout the week, mostly during concurrent session slots that do not conflict with community events, including plenary talks and dinners. If you are interested in signing up for a conference, please watch for more information on the ASLE listserv once the conference program is available (April 30).  If you would like to volunteer as a faculty mentor, or you have any questions about the conferences, please contact the coordinator of the ASLE Mentoring Program, Mark C. Long, at mlong [at] keene [dot] edu.