Professional Development Blog 2.0

The Graduate School has a new website! This will provide a more central location for all your professional development needs at Duke, including this blog. So, welcome!

What’s New?   

There are a few other changes worth mentioning besides our new look. With this post, I am officially taking over for Abbie Langston as the blog’s co-editor. I’m excited to continue the great work Abbie did here along with Dean Melissa Bostrom and blog co-founder Dean Hugh Crumley.

Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I’m a seventh-year PhD in musicology, where I research and write about jazz history. Over the years, I’ve contributed to several professional development initiatives within my home department and served on both the Humanities Writ Large Steering Committee and the Graduate Student Advisory Board for Duke Libraries. I’m excited to bring this experience to Graduate Student Affairs this year. Please feel free to get in touch with me anytime at darren.mueller@duke.edu.

What Can You Expect?

Much of our content will be similar to last year. This includes:  

• Alumni Profiles that showcase what some of our alumni are up to and the role of professional development in getting them to where they are today
• Reflections on professional development activities here at Duke and beyond
• Resource Descriptions of tools, web pages, or events that have potential to help students meet their professional goals

We also have some new ideas that we will be rolling out in the coming months, including two new series. Why I Blog will highlight Duke students who use their blogging to shape their professional identity and brand.

Our second new series, Think Like a Dean, will present conversations between graduate students and leadership at Duke. These interviews will highlight the roles of different administrators and expose students to potential career paths in university administration. This series will also explore how deans’ offices evaluate job candidates and junior faculty on the tenure track.

Want to be involved?

This is a student-driven space, which means we need you!

If you are interested in writing something for us, please visit the “Become a Contributor” page. Writing for this blog is an opportunity to contribute to a growing community here at Duke and a way to increase your online portfolio. As a contributor, you will also get a headshot to use on LinkedIn, Twitter, Academia.edu, or your other web profiles.

Do you use Twitter and Facebook professionally? Do you keep an active blog or contribute regularly to someone else's site? We are especially eager to hear from students who already have a well-developed online presence related to their professional activities. Please feel free to email us anytime with comments, suggestions, or reactions at grad-profdev@duke.edu.

Author

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Darren Mueller, Ph.D.

Darren received his PhD in musicology from Duke University in 2015. He is currently visiting faculty at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts where he teaches music history.