Goodbye Del.icio.us? Using Del.icio.us for Bookmarking Scholarly Journals

Readers,

I use del.icio.us for EVERYTHING! I use this program to organize the websites of journals for which I monitor their "call for papers" posts. I have over 75 journals organized by their various categories: i.e. - JournalsEdTech, JournalsCommunication, JournalsInterpersonal, JournalsK12.

Now, I am faced with the dilemma of saving each of these book marks on my hard drive. After seeing this article, "Is Del.icio.us going away?", I started to panic. It seems that Yahoo plans to sell the service. Perhaps to a company like Google? Still, I plan to save each of my book marks just in case.

What social bookmarking websites do you use? Xmarks perhaps? My husband is an advocate for Xmarks, but I was a total del.icio.us fan. :(

Sincerely,

Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

The End of Tenure?

This article scares me. For the past three years, I have worked very hard to publish in an effort to prevent myself and my career from perishing. However, I sincerely hope the position of "Associate and Full Professor" will be around for generations to come. Who will publish? Who will engage their students in undergraduate research?


http://chronicle.com/article/Tenure-RIP/66114/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

Millennial Professor
Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

How I Spent My Christmas Vacation (Pre-Christmas Vacation Post)

Late last night, I searched through various tweets on my twitter feed and I discovered that the blog was selected as one of the "Top 16 Professor Blogs" by Academe Jobs.com. Here's the link - http://www.academejobs.com/professor_blogs.php. 

This is quite exciting, because I needed an extra "pick me up"! The past few days, I have spent my time searching for grants and fellowships to help others and to add to my tenure packet. I found a couple of grants for which I am very excited about, but the budget planning and research process for each grant is very time consuming. On Wednesday, I had a very productive meeting with two people who seem to be very interested in the grant.



I hope it pays off in the long run! I plan to have a grant for each year of the tenure process (7 years) AND to help the surrounding community! :) Wish me luck!


Millennial Professor

Writing Rewards: My Journey Towards Writing a Section a Day

It is almost April. I need to get out of my rut. One of my articles was published in February and I was very happy with my first publication in 2009. However, I need to get BACK on the publishing bandwagon to race towards article number two. I admit, I've been procrastinating and I have not put publishing on my priority list for this year.

As a result, I plan to try the "Write a Section a Day" and "Writing Rewards" (as suggested by Jeffrey L. Sallaz) methods. A Vice President for Student Services/Associate Professor of Higher Education for one of the institutions in Texas told me, "Jennifer, there are two types of writers. The first type is a continuous writer and the other type is a binge writer." Personnally, I will exclaim that I am a binge writer! I teach four classes every fall and spring (plus one to two classes in the summertime). I love to spend hours completely engrossed in an interesting subject matter. However, I do not get that luxury during the school year. As a result, I complete most of my writing on the weekends and in the summer. This works for me, but I want to try another strategy.

Here are the goals for my writing journey:
a) Write at least one paragraph a day.
b) Log-on to the library's databases (Ebscohost) at least once a day.
c) Write a blog update on the writing journal at least once per week.
d) Complete an article Thursday, April 30th.
e) Remain in contact with Lora (a fellow Ed.D. in Speech Comm.) about our joint writing endeavors.

My Writing Rewards:
a) After each successful writing day, I will eat a snack (Quaker Quakes Rice Cakes - Apple Cinnamon). <- My fav.
b) After each successful writing week, I will embark on a shopping endeavor.
c) After each successful writing month, I will take a one to two day mini vacation for writing. (I wrote many parts of my dissertation in various hotels/resorts (conferences, etc.) in Texas. They are quiet places to work with minimal distractions.

I think these rewards are reasonable.

Please keep me motivated. I hope this will work.

Millennial Professor

Ms. Mentor! I Need Your Advice! (Book Review)

Over the break, I had the pleasure of reading, "Ms. Mentor's New and Ever More Impeccable Advice for Women and Men in Academia" by Emily Toth. I think Ms. Toth is the same woman that responds to the "Ms. Mentor" column in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

This book referred to the pleasures and perils that faculty encounter on most college campuses (especially on the tenure track). The chapters in this book range from "Stewing in Graduate School" and "Love and Sex in Academia" to "You're Hired! Early Years in a Strange New World" and "What is Life After Tenure?"

These chapters were relatively eye opening, but I really enjoyed a section titled, "What Do College Teachers Do?" in "The Fine and Quirky Art of Teaching" chapter. In this section Toth (2009) offers a mind boggling statement:

Ms. Mentor urges her flock - teachers and would-be teachers - to take stock of themselves once they begin teaching. It can be the most rewarding and enriching job on earth, and the most challenging...No other professions, except maybe courtroom law and standup comedy, pay us for constantly thinking, and for keeping our intellects sparklingly alive (p. 125).

In the same chapter, Toth gives advice to all faculty who wish to make a difference in their students' lives:

Learning students' names, create discussion circles, make chat rooms, assign hands-on group projects, require in-class presentations, encourage role playing. Today's students learn by doing - making a Civil War - era quilt from a pattern found on the internet, writing a sonnet...You may fear that you're denying your students access to The Expert (you). But if they are teenagers, most would rather interact with each other than listen to you (p. 141).

I strongly believe the last sentence of the prior paragraph. I was a millennial student and now I am a professor from the millennial generation. I have been in the same seats that the students are currently seated in. As a result, I know the boredom that some of them experience in the classrooms every day.

In addition, the book features a great bibliography. Some books that I plan to request through interlibrary loan are:

"I'm the Teacher, You're the Student: A Semester in the University Classroom" by Patrick Allitt

"Will Teach for Food" by Cary Nelson

"In Pursuit of Knowledge: Scholars, Status, and Academic Culture" by Deborah L. Rhode

I hope you enjoyed the short book review!

Millennial Professor

Time Tactics of Very Successful [Professors] - Book Recommendation

Yes! After reading Time Tactics of Very Successful People by B. Eugene Griessman (a college professor) for three weeks, I finally finished it! This was a very intriguing book on tried and true, time management tactics. It seems our jobs are requiring more in less time. This requires many professors and student affairs professions to work during the evenings and on weekends.

This book has many great ideas on how professionals can effectively manage their time. Since graduate school, I have read many books on time management, but other books fail in comparison to this book.

Armed with the time management tactics written in this book, I feel that I will be able to publish at least two articles and deliver at least four professional presentations per year.

By the way, I just requested The Achievement Factors by Griessman through our library's interlibrary loan system.

Millennial Professor

*Has anyone else read this book?

Social Networking for Graduate Students

Why wasn't this website around when I was in graduate school?

One of my favorite research databases (Proquest) released a great website for graduate students. This website, Gradshare, enables graduate students to interact with one another by asking questions and sharing research interests. I imagine this website will play an important role in the graduate student job navigation process. Judging from the conversations I read on various message boards, I believe most colleges and universities will slow their hiring process during the next few months. As a result, such websites will prove themselves vital for graduate school students.

Link to the Gradshare website.

Millennial Professor

This Week is OVER! The To Do/Completed List

My goodness! I cannot believe that this week is over! *Yes, I am secretly excited! 

Here is the to do list for this week:

• Teach classes.
• Upload test and test reviews.
• Design test for the online course.
• Grade discussion questions using rubric.
• Contact second year, tenure track friend at SUNO.
• Write national conference proposals.
• Make journal editor's revisions to the article.
• Hold Tuesday/Thurs (7 pm to 8 pm) virtual office hours via Yahoo IM.
  
• Check e-mail and Bb mail. (6x daily)
  
• Distribute the "Black Undergraduate Student Study".
• Meet with [XYZ] University's Minority Student Leaders President.
• Attend with university-wide committee meeting.
• Attend departmental meeting.
• Attend student services focus group meeting.
• Contact faculty support services about Bb.
• Register for national conference.
• Purchase airline tickets for a regional conference in March. 
• Update blog.

I am happy that the weekend is here. However, I do have to grade papers and score tests over the next couple of days. Ah, the life of a second year, tenure track faculty member. I love it!

Sincerely,

Millennial Professor

Why I Became a Professor...From a Former Student Affairs Practioner's Perspective

Why did I become a professor? Well, it has been a long (from a millennial's point of view) journey that just became longer (with the tenure track). 

Timeline

• May 2003 - Graduated with a Master of Arts Degree. Served as a graduate assistant in the Office of Student Affairs.
• May 2003 -  Started my first full-time job as a Coordinator of Multicultural and International Student Services.
• May 2004 - Gained admission to a higher education doctoral program (cohort-based).
• August 2006 - Started serving as a full-time adjunct teaching six undergraduate-based classes at a community college and four-year institution in Texas. Began working on my dissertation.
  
• January 2007 - Gained a fellowship in my doctoral program, taught as an adjunct for two community colleges, and continued working on my dissertation.
• July 2007 - Defended the dissertation.
  
• September 2007 - Started the tenure track and a four:four teaching load.
• December 2007 -  Graduated with my doctorate degree.
  
• January 2009 - Projects galore! Can I really survive on eight committees?

I made the switch, because I have some wonderful mentors in student affairs and academia that always push me to my limit. Since I was an undergraduate, I have wanted to become a chief university officer. This dream was derailed when some of my close mentors told me that I could not achieve my dream unless I became a professor. 

So, academia became my new dream and mindset. Instead of fund raising for student affairs programs and planning events, I have to search for grants, publish scholarly papers, present at conferences, serve on committees, and (of course) teach wonderful undergraduates. I love my job. I would not change what I have been blessed to do for ANYTHING.I love it when the undergraduates experience that "a ha" moment when they truly get a concept. I adore the exhilaration that I feel when I receive letter of acceptance for a faculty institute or grant. Most of all, I enjoy the feeling of humility when I receive a rejection letter for a journal or a "revise and resubmit" offer from another journal. This job is challenging, but I would not trade it for the world.

Does Graduate School Prepare Millennial Professors for the Professional Environment?

I really enjoyed my break. I had a chance to visit family, to shop, to wrap gifts, to CLEAN MY HOUSE, and to spend time with my husband. In addition, I temporarily gave up my "24 hour professor syndrome" for three entire weeks. However, on new year's night, I responded to e-mail in my university inbox and I completed a information security training during the celebratory ball descent. 

The interesting aspect of my eventful new year's night is...I celebrated the new year in a completely different way BEFORE graduate school and becoming a professor. Today, I operate under the mantra of professionalism at all times. I never know when I will come in contact with a student at the local Chili's restaurant, Kroger, or at Wal-Mart. 

It is amazing how graduate school acculturates future professors for their teaching job. However, I was a student services practitioner before I joined the tenure track and I gained a wealth of experience in professionalism with undergraduate students.

Do you think that professors should have professional (or more relaxed) relationships with students? Does graduate school prepare millennial professors for the professional environment?

The 2009 Outlook -Tenure Track Goals...

I am too excited about this new year! It seems that 2009 is going to be one of the BEST years. I am finished with my doctorate, my family is settled in our community, and I am ready to write. Here are my goals:

a. To maintain work-related interpersonal relationships.

b. To write a scholarly article every two months.

c. To keep the blog updated at least two times every week.

d. To read at least two scholarly articles a week.

e. To keep an organized and updated calendar.

     This year's goals are smaller when compared to last year's goals. I shortened this year's goals to start on a focused path towards tenure. Last year, I gained wonderful mentors that I need to stay in contact with this year. In addition, I will try to attend as many academic conferences as I possibly can. Networking and organization are the keys to a successful 2009!

Black in America?

I am watching the first day of the CNN special "Black in America" and I decided to blog during the two day special. After these two days, I will post a couple of posts related to: (a) the impact of gas prices and higher education, and (b) how to engage students on the content management system websites.

"The Black in America" Blog Special:

Paying Students to Learn
The African American drop out rate. This aspect of the special was heartbreaking. I feel that I am so far removed from the secondary school environment that I do not know about the startling statistics pertaining to the high school graduation achievement gap. One professor had a solution (grant funded, I believe) to increase the high school graduation rate for African American students. His solution was to pay students to stay in school and to achieve. I think that the average student received $65.75, but these students were in elementary school. I wonder how this would work at the high school level.

My Take
Interesting enough, I am launching a weekend-based college prep academy for junior and senior level high school students. This academy will teach students about college admission secrets, scholarships, and SAT/ACT preparation. After the workshop, I want the students to have access to my personal e-mail address and cell phone number. Most of the students will come from underrepresented populations, but I want EVERYONE to have access to this workshop.

While watching the CNN special, an interesting thing has happened tonight. I received 10+ telephone calls and text messages from friends/former students who wanted to make sure that I was watching the special. My husband wondered if people of other races were watching the special. Were they? Not sure.

Potential Impact
However, I think that this special will result in a preponderance of scholarly articles and newspaper articles on this issue. In addition, this will be an interesting issue for my Intercultural Communication course in the spring. I hope that CNN has a Hispanic American special as well.

We shall see. Any thoughts?

MP

Writing Dates! - What a GREAT Idea!

The Writing Date

The Chronicle of Higher Education had an interesting article yesterday pertaining to scholarly writing. It was called "The Writing Date" and it was written by Rachel Toor. This article was centered around the concept of "writing dates" or the weekly/monthly dates that we schedule with ourselves to write our scholarly work. I will definitely adopt the "writing date" concept for my daily writing (this blog) and my weekly writing (scholarly research).

I have to dedicate some time to the scholarly article concepts that I listed in the prior blog. If I schedule dates with myself, then I might get a few articles complete by the summer. A few articles are currently under review and I hope to hear back from those editors soon. I pray that the outcome is positive.
To keep myself accountable, I will do the following:
a) Contribute at least three blog posts a week.

b) Schedule at least two "writing dates" a week.

c) Read at least one book a week.

Please do the same. We will keep each other accountable. :)

Publishing Revisited...

Publishing is important...they say. I intrapersonally reply, "Important eh? I need to research something that has future implications in my life and in the lives of others... Can publishing accomplish this?"

Sure it can, publishing is important. Important enough for me to spend 7:30 a.m. - 9:50 a.m. polishing my faculty evaluation packet with current publications.

Believe it or not, I have almost 10 publications "in process". Now the term, "in process" is relative and can be misconstrued, thus begins the clarification process... For me, the term "in process" means that I have a Word 2007 document for the following topics (included by not limited to):

1. Engaging business and professional speaking students in a small group-based business plan competition.

2. Supports for and barriers to on-time graduation as perceived by Hispanic American undergraduate students attending historically black colleges and universities and historically white colleges and universities.

3. Student engagement and the high school science classroom.

4. Service learning and the intercultural communication classroom.

5. Communication among African American undergraduate students and academic advisers.

6. Undergraduate students’ perceptions of the future implications of facebook and myspace.

Academic Journal Submissions = The Job Search

I am slowly learning that submitting a scholarly papers to a journal is like the academic job search. A preponderance of jobs exist on the following websites (http://www.higheredjobs.com, http://www.chronicle.com, and http://www.highered.com), but many of these jobs are NOT for everyone. A strong and specific fit has to exist. The job/journal has to find the correct fit for them and the job/journal has to be the correct fit for you.

I have the correct job, but the academic journal fit is the current problem. Maybe one day, I will discover the correct fit for my scholarly paper submission. The first academic journal rejection letter/e-mail is a humbling experience, but I received some great comments and applied knowledge that I gained from my favorite book of the moment, "Write to the Top: How to Become a Prolific Academic".

"When the decision letter arrives and if the decision is negative, or should major revision be required, tuck the reviews in the file folder containing the manuscript and put the folder away for a few days...Frame these documents as free and valuable feedback (constructive response is truly a gift) designed to improve your work and enhance your chances of publication. Recognize that you are getting an opportunity to improve as a write while collecting crucial intelligence about the journal and the preferences or "personality" of the specific editor (Johnson & Mullen, 2007, p. 71).

Using the wealth of knowledge that I gained from "Write to the Top", I will definitely revise and resubmit the article. This book is absolutely amazing!

MP

"Write to the Top! - How to Become a Prolific Academic"

"Write to the Top! - How to Become a Prolific Academic"

I actually read this book over the winter break and it was very helpful. As a new faculty member, there were many items introduced in the book that I did know about (i.e. - book buyers). I was in student services for a long time and I never knew that these people existed!

Also, I especially liked the section about the ideal letter from a journal editor! This was the best publication ever written, etc. I wrote a few articles over the break and I REALLY needed the humor in that section!

I STRONGLY recommend this book!

MillennialProfessor