Community Engagement and the Befuddled Academic

Fighty Squirrel, PhD, Awe.Some.

When I wrote my first Op/Ed piece as a faculty member, I was scared of out my mind.  I read and re-read our faculty handbook, asked everyone I could find if ‘it was okay’ to speak about the need for unbiased science education in my state. A bill was being put forth to talk about climate change […]

Being Really You and Really Professional on Social Media

The Edge for Scholars

Is there a difference between what you’d post for your colleagues versus what you’d post for your group of close friends? Is censoring yourself on social media difficult for you to do? Do you try to filter yourself at all? These are all questions that Alice E. Marwick discusses in her Chronicle article, “In Defense […]

Academic Social Media Tangles: The Evolving Tale of Jennifer Berdahl

Fighty Squirrel, PhD, Awe.Some.

An interesting thing is happening to our northern neighbors. Several prominent academics have been asked by their universities to “ix-nay on the talky-say about work-hey”. Academics are built to gather information, learn, test and improve. Indeed, conversations about our bosses, colleagues, culture and university policy help us to define who we want to become professionally. […]

What Folks Want to See on Your Lab Website

Fighty Squirrel, PhD, Awe.Some.

Your colleagues, current and potential trainees, collaborators and yes, study sections are doing internet searches on you with greater frequency. Knowing that people are looking, why not show them what you want them to see? Here’s a list, in no particular order, of things these folks want to see on your first lab website. A picture […]

Creating and Maintaining a Professional Presence Online

Rebecca Helton, MA

I recently ran a workshop for students in Northeastern University’s English Graduate Program on “Creating and Maintaining a Professional Presence Online.” This is an essential topic for scholars entering the field today, but it’s rarely addressed in any formal way by departments. The decision to take one’s scholarship online (or the decision not to) both […]

Checking Social Media Phobia for Academic Parents: Awesome Teen Eden Lytle Offers Her Help!

Fighty Squirrel, PhD, Awe.Some.

This week we have a special guest posting genius, Ms Eden Lytle, who is sort of amazeballs at everything she does (trust us!). Eden is a senior at Brentwood High School in Nashville TN, and she kindly indulged us in a chat about how hard it is for academic parents to get a sense of what’s frightening and what’s […]