January 2020
Rackham North: Distress Signals—Supporting Students Facing Mental Health Challenges
Distress Signals unpacks a common interaction—Jade visits her professor during office hours to discuss an extension for a paper—into a complex meditation on mental health and instructor responsibility. The performance (which at first unfolds chronologically and then repeats certain interactions with different faculty behavioral choices) is interspersed with facilitated discussion. Together, audiences examine the productive and problematic behaviors and attitudes on display in the instructor’s choices, and receive research-based strategies and campus resources to help them better support students. This…
Find out more »Rackham North: Future Faculty—Cover Letter Writing for Faculty Positions
This workshop will address writing cover letters for faculty positions. The session is designed to serve students across Rackham's many disciplines, and will emphasize the structural, formal, aesthetic, and rhetorical characteristics of a strong letter of application. All participants will have an opportunity to work on—and potentially workshop—their own cover letters, so please bring your own materials with you. This workshop is designed for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Space is limited. For faculty and staff, please contact RackhamEvents@umich.edu to…
Find out more »February 2020
Rackham North: Establishing a Positive Relationship with Your Research Advisor
The advisor/advisee relationship is critical to graduate student success. Participants in this workshop will reflect on the roles that their advisor plays in their graduate education, as well as the importance of establishing a broader network of support. We will also discuss a process for developing and agreeing upon shared expectations with your advisor so that you set yourself up for a positive working relationship. This workshop is designed for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Space is limited. For faculty…
Find out more »Rackham North: Active Attacker Preparedness Training
An active attacker situation can cause panic and disbelief. Knowing what to do in advance increases your chances of surviving and your reaction matters. While you may have received ALICE active attacker training during your previous educational experiences, the university's training is very different. The university—unlike primary education settings—is an open environment in the middle of a city. In addition, the training you receive in this session will apply to how you respond to an active attacker in other contexts—at…
Find out more »Rackham North: Navigating Difficult Conversations
As a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow, you have likely already engaged in a number of difficult conversations throughout your life. Perhaps some of them went well, and others did not go as well as you had hoped. What distinguished these conversations from one another? In this interactive session, Rackham experts in conflict resolution will discuss how to navigate difficult conversations. You will leave with concrete strategies for productive dialogue and clear communication, able to approach difficult conversations with more…
Find out more »Rackham North: Racial Microaggressions
Racial microaggressions can be uniquely harmful to their targets, and yet we often times find ourselves skirting around this subset of microaggressions due to the discomfort of openly discussing race, racism, and white supremacy. In this workshop we hope to foster an intellectually humble environment within which to unpack racial microaggressions, address common barriers to intervening when a racial microaggressions is inflicted, and provide tools for successfully intervening in the future. This workshop is designed for graduate students and postdoctoral…
Find out more »March 2020
Rackham North: Investing Fundamentals
As you transition from student to professional, you are finally able to start saving. But how? In this session, Andrea Darden—financial planner and CEO of Darden Wealth Group—will go over basic principles to get you started investing successfully. This workshop is designed for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Space is limited. For faculty and staff, please contact RackhamEvents@umich.edu to see if we can accommodate your attendance. Registration is required at https://myumi.ch/O49Ex. We want to ensure full and equitable participation in…
Find out more »Rackham North: Writing a Diversity Statement for the Faculty Job Search
Increasingly, hiring committees are interested in how prospective faculty job candidates will contribute to diversity, equity, and inclusion. As a result, many academic employers have begun to request a "diversity statement" as part of the faculty job application process. In this interactive session, we will discuss best practices for writing diversity statements, examine sample statements, and work through activities designed to help participants start writing their own statement. This workshop is designed for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Space is…
Find out more »April 2020
Rackham North: Research-Based Strategies for Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
Have you often succeeded at an academic task even though you were afraid you wouldn't do well? Do you dread others evaluating your work? Do you tend to remember incidents when you haven't done your best more than those when you have? Thoughts such as these are the hallmark of imposter syndrome thinking. Imposter syndrome thinking can be compounded for those from underrepresented populations who may also be subject to discrimination and situations that prime stereotype threat. This interactive session…
Find out more »Rackham North: Designing Your Curriculum Vitae
Do you need a Curriculum Vitae (CV), but all you have is a resume? CVs are required to apply to research and academic positions, and very often to fellowships and scholarships. If you have had a resume for a while, but you are now pursuing research and you need to develop a CV, this workshop is for you. If you have a resume, bring a printout to the workshop. Bring a laptop if available. This workshop is designed for graduate…
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