Your Career: A Guide to Conference Going

How to make the most of professional meetings, whatever the format. ADVERTISEMENT [Academe Today Logo]( Did someone forward you this newsletter? [Sign up free]( to receive your own copy. How to make the most of professional meetings, whatever the format. Sometimes everything falls into place at a conference, and a beautiful attendee Zen allows you to be in the moment, fully present, and part of the conversation. Most of us never reach that enlightened state, however, because we’ve sabotaged ourselves — by, for example, reading and replying to work emails during conference sessions. We grumble about distracted students in our classrooms, but look around the next time you are at a conference and notice how many of your colleagues appear to be dividing their attention. Don’t be one of them. Here are a few strategies to help you focus on the conference and navigate this strange environment with a measure of grace: - Know when to stick to your plan for the meeting, and when to follow your gut and veer off course. Are colleagues talking excitedly about a speaker or a workshop that you’d planned to skip? If the thing on your schedule is a “maybe yes, maybe no,” then be curious and follow your instincts. - Take lots of notes. Academics continue to debate whether students learn better when they take notes by hand or on a laptop. What isn’t in doubt is that the act of taking notes — of any depth, format, or type — helps us to stay engaged, take in and remember key ideas, and take action later on. - Be sure about why you want to bail from a presentation. Some of the best sessions come from people new in their field who have really interesting ideas but are either very nervous about being onstage or are just monotone speakers. Neither of those are good reasons to walk out on a speaker; they’re good reasons to stay seated and see what you can learn. Continue reading: “[How to Make the Most of an Academic Conference]( by Thomas J. Tobin Share your suggestions on the newsletter with Denise Magner, an editor at The Chronicle, at denise.magner@chronicle.com. If you’d like to opt out, you can log in to our website and [manage your newsletter preferences here](. ADVERTISEMENT SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHRONICLE Enjoying the newsletter? [Subscribe today]( for unlimited access to essential news, analysis, and advice. Latest Career Advice, Opinion, and News THE REVIEW [The Quiet Crisis of Parents on the Tenure Track]( By Maggie Doherty [STORY IMAGE]( Parenthood can be punishing for academics. Too often, colleges fail them. SPONSOR CONTENT | UNIVERSITA CATTOLICA DEL SACRO CUORE [A Shift Toward Collaborative Online International Learning]( ADVERTISEMENT ADVICE [3 Ways to Train Leaders and Why Your Campus Should]( By Rob Jenkins [STORY IMAGE]( A lot of administrators could benefit from leadership training. Here are the pros and cons of different options. LIVE CORONAVIRUS UPDATES [More Than 50 U. of Georgia Professors Say They’ll Defy Rules and Require Masks]( By Emma Pettit [STORY IMAGE]( “The absence of these requirements has led and continues to lead to infections and outcomes that were avoidable,” their letter says. ADVICE [Why Don’t We Teach Ph.D.s to Be Mentors?]( By Maria LaMonaca Wisdom [STORY IMAGE]( Adding mentoring skills to doctoral training is a key to graduate-education reform. THE REVIEW [Shrinking Graduate Cohorts Is a Bad Idea]( By Greg Afinogenov [STORY IMAGE]( It won’t fix the jobs crisis, and it could exacerbate the damage. FROM THE CHRONICLE STORE [Today's Mission Critical Campus Jobs]( Explore how key campus positions are growing in strategic importance compared to how they have traditionally functioned, why they've recently grown more essential, and how they're continuing to evolve. [Order your copy today.]( SPONSOR CONTENT | uNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA [What Actually Happens When Your Mind Wanders?]( Learn how a combination of philosophy and cognitive science can help us better understand both ordinary thought processes and disordered thinking that can contribute to depression, anxiety or ADHD. What we’re reading. Here’s more on career issues and trends from around the web. See something we should include? [Let me know](mailto:denise.magner@chronicle.com?subject=Your Career feedback). - An [opinion essay]( in The New York Times argues that “the fight over tenure is not really about tenure.” - From the Times Higher Education: “Why is investment in higher education [not paying off]( for women?” - In the Harvard Business Review, two writers look at the [workplace fallout]( from Covid and say “our brains were not built for this much uncertainty.” More Career Resources PRESIDENTIAL PAY [Executive Compensation at Public and Private Colleges]( By Dan Bauman, Julia Piper, and Brian O’Leary [STORY IMAGE]( The Chronicle’s database includes the latest salary information, plus years of data, on more than 1,700 chief executives at more than 600 private colleges and nearly 290 public universities and systems. DATA [Faculty]( [STORY IMAGE]( Learn about faculty pay and faculty diversity, who makes up the professoriate, and more in this year’s faculty data. LIVE CORONAVIRUS UPDATES [Here’s a List of Colleges That Require Students or Employees to Be Vaccinated Against Covid-19]( By Andy Thomason and Brian O’Leary [STORY IMAGE]( More colleges are mandating vaccinations. Here are the ones we know about. ADVICE [Advice Finder]( [STORY IMAGE]( Want to advance your career? Improve your institution? Our academic experts have guidance for you, and we’ve made it easy to find. JOB OPPORTUNITIES Apply for the top jobs in higher education and [search all our open positions](. [Executive Director: Graduate Fellowships for STEM Diversity]( Graduate Fellowships for STEM Diversity [Mathematics - Assistant Professor]( St. Lawrence University [Tenure-track or Tenured faculty positions]( University of South Carolina [Chief Financial Officer]( Mohave Community College [Director of Enrollment Management]( Moorestown Friends School [Tenure-Track Professor in French and Francophone Studies]( Harvard University_Romance Languages and Literatures [HIRING FOR COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES DEAN AND 52 OTHER POSITIONS]( Illinois State University [Full-time Faculty Positions]( Saginaw Valley State University [Assistant/Associate Professor, non-tenure track, in School Counseling, Clinical Placement Coordinator]( University of Alabama at Birmingham [President]( Lake Forest College [Computer Science - Assistant Professor]( St. Lawrence University [Health and Counseling Center - Counselor]( St. Lawrence University [President]( University of South Carolina [A. B. FREEMAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS Tenure Track Positions]( Tulane University [A. B. FREEMAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS Non Tenure Track Positions]( TULANE UNIVERSITY [The Water School at Florida Gulf Coast University Faculty Positions]( Florida Gulf Coast University [Language and Literacy Faculty Position]( Georgia State University [Search other jobs.]( NEWSLETTER FEEDBACK What did you think of today’s newsletter? [Strongly disliked]( | [It was ok]( | [Loved it]( This newsletter was sent to {EMAIL}. [Read this newsletter on the web](. [Manage]( your newsletter preferences, [stop receiving]( this email, or [view]( our privacy policy. © 2021 [The Chronicle of Higher Education]( 1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037