Source image credit: statue-of-libertWelcome to the December 2014 edition of The Doctor Is In, a recurring column on The GradPost where UCSB faculty answer graduate students' questions about life in academia. In this installment, three members of our outstanding faculty panel answer your questions about seeking out a mentor and balancing competing priorities.
About Our Faculty Panel
Miroslava Chavez-GarciaDr. Miroslava Chávez-García is Professor and Vice-Chair of the Chicana & Chicano Studies Department at UCSB. She received her Ph.D. in History from UCLA and is the author of the book "States of Delinquency: Race and Science in the Making of California's Juvenile Justice System" as well as articles on gender, patriarchy, and the law in 19th century California. She organizes and leads professional development workshops for UCSB and the Ford Foundation and is particularly passionate about helping scholars of color navigate academia.
Aaron EttenbergDr. Aaron Ettenberg is a Professor in the Psychological & Brain Sciences Department at UCSB. He received his Ph.D. in Psychopharmacology from McGill University and conducts research on the neurobiology of reinforcement and motivation with particular interest in the neural basis of drug abuse. He is a recipient of the UCSB Distinguished Teaching Award and the UCSB Graduate Mentor Award.
Susannah ScottDr. Susannah Scott is a Professor at UCSB with a joint appointment in Chemical Engineering and Chemistry and Biochemistry. She received her Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from Iowa State University and is currently the director the NSF-sponsored Partnership for International Research and Education in Electron Chemistry and Catalysis at Interfaces, a collaborative research program involving UCSB and several prominent catalysis research groups in China. She was also recently named to the Duncan and Suzanne Mellichamp Chair in Sustainable Catalytic Processing.
Q: How should graduate students ask a faculty member to be their mentor, especially if that person is not his/her academic advisor?
Dr. Scott: A graduate student’s thesis advisor expects to play a mentoring role throughout the entire arc of the thesis project and beyond. At the same time, many graduate students do not take full advantage of the mentoring opportunities that this relationship offers. A thesis advisor may assume that a student who doesn’t ask for help is not looking for advice. You should meet with your advisor regularly (e.g., every week or two), and these meetings are often student-initiated. The faculty member will be most receptive if you come well-prepared to meetings: be prompt, organize and bring your materials, and make a copy to leave with your advisor.
Asking a faculty member who is not your thesis advisor requires a little more planning. You can approach someone a few minutes before or after a class and break the ice by asking a casual (not too personal) question. Most professors are willing to chat with a student who appears thoughtful and interested. If the conversation requires more than a few minutes, you can say, “Would you mind if I contact you for more advice later?” and follow the cues that you receive.
Most likely, the faculty member will ask you to stop by her or his office or to send an email requesting an appointment. It’s best to spread your requests over time; if you bring a long list of questions that requires a considerable time commitment to answer all at once, you will likely scare your prospective mentor off. It is a relationship to build slowly, so be prepared to start small. Once you get to know each other, longer conversations will happen naturally and will not feel burdensome to either party.
Dr. Chávez-García: I would approach potential mentors as I would approach potential advisors: ask myself tough questions, do my homework, and then approach them. First, I would ask myself why it is I want a mentor when I already have an advisor? In most cases, they are the same person but not always, as mentors fulfill professional as well as personal needs.
To me, a mentor is someone who listens attentively, responds promptly, and provides practical answers to your questions and concerns. A mentor is also someone who guides and protects you for selfless reasons – not because they seek personal gain or self-promotion but because they want to promote you and your work. A mentor can be a role model – someone you wish to emulate – but they can also come from a different space or place (or career). As such, you shouldn’t limit yourself to one mentor. Rather, seek two or three who can provide you with a wide variety of insight on academia, including keys to publishing, the job market, expanding professional networks, and raising a family.
Second, I would ask myself why that individual? Is the choice based on what you heard or what you know? In other words, do your research, read their work, and identify common interests. Once you’re certain that they are the “one,” make an appointment and bring with you a set of prepared questions and list of common areas of interests and experience. Be prepared to discuss expectations (with permission, you might even contact their students for input). Professors want to engage in intellectually stimulating conversations.
Finally, remember, these are long-term relationships that need cultivation but, ultimately, cannot be forced. In my experience, they have grown naturally from having similar work ethics, personalities, and goals.
Dr. Ettenberg: One can have multiple mentors – people whose guidance, advice, and support help promote one’s career – without jeopardizing one’s relationship with an academic advisor (who presumably is also a mentor). The easiest way to proceed is to ensure that potential mentors are members of one’s dissertation committee. In this scenario, you should discuss potential committee members with your advisor, who will have valuable input on who would be a good match for your project. Then make an appointment or drop by the prospective committee member’s office (don't do the request over email!) and present the invitation with an explanation of why you and your advisor think that the person would be a good mentor.
If, however, this question is referring to a situation where the academic advisor is not in fact the best match for you, then the matter becomes much more delicate. In that scenario, you should have a prospective faculty member in mind and confidentially bring the name to the department chair, who can provide input and advise you on department policies about such matters.
Keep in mind that such changes are easier early in your graduate career but are much more complicated down the line after the current advisor has already invested time, energy, and sometimes money in support of your career. Assuming that there are no obstacles identified by the chair, then you should – again, confidentially – approach the prospective new advisor and explain why he/she is being asked about assuming this new role.
Only after a suitable replacement advisor has agreed to serve in that capacity should you then have an open and honest discussion with your current advisor. Most professors I know would be understanding in this situation, and while they may not think that the move is a good one, they would not be vindictive or prevent you from making the requested change.
Q: How can one balance professional and/or creative pursuits along with graduate coursework and research?
Dr. Chávez-García: When I hear the word “balance” associated with academic life, I often cringe. I say this because, as we all know, what balance means to one person is sheer madness to another. I think what we really mean to say is “priorities,” that is, how do we prioritize our responsibilities as well as our desires? (We cannot forget to consider those things that keep us sane, energized, and motivated to do our work.)
I believe that prioritizing our professional and personal lives involves establishing short- and long-term goals and figuring out which ones are most important. As new students, we know that developing an original research project is at the top but we should also realize that creating a strong curriculum vitae and building a professional network are equally important.
Establish your goals on a yearly basis and break those down into smaller segments so that you know what your goals are for each month and/or week. Admittedly I don’t do this as often as I’d like, but I generally have a sense of what I want to achieve and what is expected of me.
Of course, we – especially as women and people of color – often run into the pressure of being asked to participate on some committee or event because of the need to appear to be inclusive across race, ethnicity, and gender. (In such cases, my suggestion is to be selective when you say “yes” and feel confident that you can say “no” by responding that you would be delighted to participate if you didn’t already have x, y, and/or z going on. Tell them, too, to ask you at another time so that you don’t burn any bridges.) There are ways to say no while still appearing collegial.
Dr. Scott: There is no doubt that graduate courses and original research are both intellectually demanding and very time-consuming for most people. These also often count as professional and/or creative pursuits. Doing them well requires a major investment of your energy and a substantial amount of inspiration, but they don’t (and shouldn’t) have to occupy all of your waking hours.
Most people find that they need to take periodic breaks from intense work in order to function at their best. Often a change in the type of pursuit can be just as effective at helping you to recharge. You will sometimes find that solutions to academic problems emerge while your brain is working on them in “background mode,” precisely because you are focused on something else.
Instead of feeling guilty about taking breaks, view them as necessary to your creativity. When I was a graduate student, I rehearsed with an orchestra (for no credit towards my Ph.D.), just because I liked to concentrate really hard on something that had nothing to do with my research several times a week. Your resume will also benefit from showing that you have broader interests than just your work.
You should check that you are using time off to recharge, and not just to avoid doing work that you dislike. The length of time you need depends on you, but a good strategy is to assess your productivity and recognize when it starts to decline.
You should also check in regularly with yourself and your advisor to make sure you are making good progress. Your research advisor should not count the hours that you put in at the lab or the library, if you are advancing steadily towards your research goals.
Got a question for our expert advisors? Email Shawn Warner-Garcia, Graduate Division’s Professional Development Peer, to submit your query.