Oh hey…the Committee Plan
So, I have a Committee Chairperson or as we call them, Dissertation Mentor. This process seems to me more individual than traditionally thought of programs where candidates do the research of their chairs or committee.
In the past my mentor has indicated that she would rather have the proposal ready to go and then bring on the other committee members. This seems like it might add time to the process, a commodity I am short of these days. So how to meet her expectations and still keep on my time line?
I suspect the process of finding committee members might take a few weeks of mutual interviewing and finally selection. It sure did for the mentor position. If it is all similar for the committee members it will be like finding a gem in a field of coal. I was fortunate to find a mentor once and then twice when my first had to step aside for another job. But in that process was a lot of no replies, odd replies, and some outright rude replies (something I am still disappointed with today some years later). I think I should expect some of the same.
Fortunately, as my mentor has explained, it is the mentors job to manage the committee and mine to be the expert and get the work done. In talking with some other doctoral students it would seem that being a committee member is a little more fluid than being a mentor and that is perfectly alright. What I am looking for is sound advice, respectful support, and someone to sign off on the proposal, research, and final product.
There are a few weeks of time before I begin the session with my mentor and I think I will use that time to search the available committee members and make a short list of possible candidates for the job. As I finish up my proposal with my mentor I would like to be bringing on committee members along the way. Perhaps this is a two-pronged approach. We’ll go up the middle and flank them too.
Lots to think about as I come into the hoe stretch on this dissertation.
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