August 2017 • v. 57, n. 4 NewsNet News of the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies Broadening Career Opportunities and Training for PhDs: A Discussion at ASEEES Melissa Bokovoy, University of New Mexico Editor’s note: This issue of NewsNet is dedicated to Over the last five years, there have been numerous helping SEEES specialists explore careers beyond the discussions and initiatives that seek to broaden the career professoriate and offering examples of career development horizons of humanities and social sciences doctorates. strategies for making themselves marketable in multiple Scholarly organizations such as the Modern Languages fields. With the guidance of the ASEEES Committee on Non- Association, the American Historical Association, the Academic Careers, we have assembled a variety of articles Council of Graduate Schools, the National Endowment for that address this issue from multiple angles, beginning the Humanities, and the Social Sciences and Humanities with Melissa Bokovoy’s article reporting on the efforts of Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) posit that the the MLA, AHA, NEH, and Mellon Foundation to prepare humanities PhDs for diverse career paths. Then, we feature public and private sectors benefit from the expertise and three Member Spotlights of ASEEES members who have values derived from advanced education in the humanities successfully shifted their careers from the university to non- and humanistic social sciences. As the SSHRC’s White academic or academic-adjacent fields. Taking a different Paper notes, a humanities PhD has not only mastered a perspective, Jonathan Larson’s piece looks back at a 2015 body of knowledge and written a dissertation but they ASEEES roundtable that discussed ways in which regional have engaged in “original, critical thinking, effective studies training, especially analytical skills of anthropologists communication, creativity, empathy, innovation, problem and sociologists of Central Europe, might be transferred to solving, project management, and leadership.” Thus, “the global” and to careers in and out of the academy. graduate programs in the humanities and humanistic social sciences need to sharpen these existing skills and To further assist our members, ASEEES announces a new program, Exploring Career Diversity, a service that add additional competencies to reflect how intellectual matches professionals employed beyond the professoriate, work is being conducted in the 21st century. with PhD students and recent PhDs who are interested in The Association for Slavic, East European, and broadening their career horizons The 2017 convention will Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) has responded to these again offer a roundtable on careers beyond academia. initiatives by establishing the Committee on Non- Inside this Issue • August 2017 • v. 57, n.4 Broadening Career Opportunities and Training for PhDs: Portable Practices of Critical Social Inquiry: A Discussion at ASEEES 1 Taking East Central Europe Global 12 by Melissa Bokovoy, University of New Mexico by Jonathan Larson, Grinnell College 2017 ASEEES Distinguished Contributions to Slavic, East European and 2017 ASEEES Convention Special Events 16 Eurasian Studies Award 5 2017 ASEEES Travel Grant Recipients 19 Member Spotlight: Elana Jakel, US Holocaust Memorial Museum 7 Publications 22 Member Spotlight: Faith Wilson Stein, Stanford University Press 8 Institutional Member News 26 Member Spotlight: Daniel Peris, Federated Investors 9 Affiliate Group News 28 Personages 31 August 2017 • NewsNet 1 Academic Careers, sponsoring panels and roundtables James Grossman summarized what the AHA that explore careers beyond the professoriate, and setting has learned from its focus groups, pilot programs, and up a network of mentors who work outside of the academy. interdisciplinary collaborations. He explained that the The intent of the ASEEES initiatives is to provide forums AHA’s work thus far has shown that, while individuals have and opportunities for graduate students and recent PhDs very different definitions of the problems in humanities to speak to and learn from professionals in different non- doctoral education, the solutions proposed by people academic fields such as government, finance, consultancy, situated in different places in the ecosystem demonstrate think tanks, global education offices, publishing, academic a remarkable level of consensus. Graduate curricula in the administration, and non-profits; to provide career humanities need to evolve in following way and based on information and online resources about career diversity; essential skills: and to advise those interested in such career options. • Students must be required to practice communicating Attendance at the career panels over the last few their knowledge and research to a wide range of years demonstrates that graduate students want practical audiences across a range of media, including a basic advice about how to transfer their skills, disciplinary familiarity with digital tools and platforms; knowledge, and degree to non-academic work. What often becomes clear in these discussions is that few PhD • Students must develop intellectual self-confidence, programs have focused on preparing their students to which is the ability to work beyond subject matter earn a living beyond the academy or contribute to public expertise, to be nimble and imaginative in projects culture in other ways. Thus, the issue of how to broaden and plans; PhD training emerges as one of the central challenges • Curricula must provide intellectually relevant of graduate training in the twenty-first century. This opportunities for students to work collaboratively challenge was addressed at the 2016 ASEEES Convention toward common goals with others, both within and by the roundtable, “Lessons Learned: Initiatives on beyond their discipline. Our consultants beyond Careers Beyond the Professoriate.” the academy emphasized the imperative to include Representatives from the AHA and MLA and internship opportunities whether on campus or off; their pilot programs discussed their Andrew Mellon • Graduates who lack a very basic threshold of Foundation sponsored programs that are examining how quantitative literacy are disadvantaged in careers to broaden career opportunities and training for PhDs in both within and beyond the academy. the Humanities. The roundtable participants were: James Grossman, Executive director of the American Historical In all cases, the AHA has observed, these key elements Association; Emily Swafford, Manager of Academic Affairs of curricular emphasis will enhance the professionalization of the American Historical Association; Stacy Hartman, of students who go into faculty positions, too. Project Coordinator for Connected Academics, Modern Languages Association; Lindsey Martin, Mellon Career Lindsey Martin and Melissa Bokovoy discussed the Development Officer for the Department of History at programmatic and curricular innovations and initiatives the University of Chicago; and Melissa Bokovoy, Chair piloted by each of their programs to systematically and Professor, Department of History at the University of incorporate these essential skills into graduate training, New Mexico. The latter two panelists are also members of from beginning to end. Each emphasized what changes ASEEES and represented two of the four pilot programs of might be of interest to graduate students, scholars, the American Historical Association-Mellon Foundation directors, and administrators in area studies. initiative on Careers beyond the Professoriate. • Seminars. Seminars are at the heart of graduate The roundtable was an opportunity to report education. In them, students begin to master fields on the work that is being done in the MLA’s Connected of study, learn research strategies, grapple with Academics project and the AHA’s Career Diversity methodology, and imbibe professional norms. program, and engage ASEEES members in the ongoing Enhancing the Seminar. To enhance the value discussion of how to broaden graduate training and o of these seminars in and beyond the academy provide support to PhDs who wish to pursue careers requires that instructors devote more space and beyond the professoriate. time to addressing different skills embedded within traditional assignments (book reviews, August 2017 • NewsNet 2 literature reviews, research papers). Instructors • Internships. Internships can provide the sites in which can also innovate new assignments within a graduate students broaden their experiences, tailor traditional seminar. Assignments can be as varied their knowledge, expertise, and skills to a different set as a five-minute TEDx talk, a one-page policy of work expectations, and to learn and practice more brief, or an op-ed piece based on the reading deeply the skills of cross-cultural communication, or a student’s research. This first approach can speaking to and with the populations they write be seen as enhancement; the second approach about, and build relationships outside of university. (below) requires more faculty, departmental, and A robust internship program can make community interdisciplinary input and resource allocation. engagement integral to graduate education as well as make better use of alumni who are working in o “Design and Develop” Seminars. This approach is non-academic careers. These alumni can mentor ideally suited for interdisciplinary and area studies current PhD students and address the stigma of non- seminars since many are often built around themes.