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How Prof. Dee Boersma Works

Dee Boersma, Wadsworth Endowed Chair in Conservation Science and Director, Center for Ecosystem Sentinels

Department/Program: Biology
Research focus: Seabirds and Conservation

Known as the Jane Goodall of penguins, Boersma is, by all accounts, a force of nature. At age 22, she spent a year living on the uninhabited Galapagos Islands, studying penguins. Since then, she has become a highly distinguished researcher of seabirds. Her research focuses on the well-being of penguins and what they tell us about the state of our environment. Boersma has received more than a dozen awards for her work, including a UW Distinguished Teaching Award in 1993.

Work

Give us a one-word description of how you work:     

Smart.

How do you manage your to-dos?  

Often with lists.

What are your essential apps, software or tools?

There are few apps I enjoy.

Where do you most often work?

Outside.

How do you manage your time?

I save some for something I want to do.

What is your best time-saving shortcut?

I use a canned letter for students interested in graduate school that is long, detailed, and should help them think about if they need to go to graduate school and where they should consider applying.

Life

What are you currently reading for pleasure? 

The AARP magazine.

How do you recharge?    

I get away from apps, email and other technologies.

What’s your sleep routine like?   

I go to bed at 10:21 each night.

Inspiration

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?    

It doesn’t matter where you go to graduate school as long as it is a PAC-12, Big 10 or Ivy League School.

Who’s your support system?

My friends.

What pitfall do you consistently see students falling into?

Not focusing on the problem they are trying to solve. They get distracted by technology and do not spend time thinking.

What do your most successful students do?

They use their time productively and work smart.

How UW Works was inspired by LifeHacker’s How I Work. 

How Prof. Shawn Wong Works

Shawn Wong

Shawn Wong, Professor
Department/program: English and Comparative Literature, Cinema and Media
Research focus: Asian American literature, fiction, screenwriting, creative writing

Professor Shawn Wong has taught around the globe — at Universität Tübingen (Germany), Jean Moulin Université (Lyon, France), University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) and at the University of Washington Rome Center (Italy). He’s been honored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Society of Professional Journalists. He is the author of several anthologies and novels; one of his novels, American Knees, was made into a movie in 2013. He is one of the founding teachers of The Red Badge Project, a collaboration with actor Tom Skeritt that uses the power of storytelling to help veterans process trauma. He’s given advice for first-year students at the UW, and now he’s giving us some tips and tricks for getting it all done.

Work

Give us a one-word description of how you work.

Creatively.

How do you manage your to-dos?

I write them down in a notebook, then try and remember where I put the notebook.

What are your essential apps, software or tools?

Word, Google, the New York Times

What is your best time-saving shortcut?

I work in my office rather than at home.

What are some of your productivity strategies you’ve honed over your years in academia?

Though it takes more time, I prefer to meet face-to-face with my students rather than send them an email so that we can have a conversation, debate, come to agreement, etc. I like to “see” that they understand something. I think it’s more effective to comment on their writing in person rather than write notes in the margin that they might not read. Also, I like my students to work collaboratively on almost everything from writing papers, doing research and even taking exams.

Life

What mundane thing are you really exceptional at?

Housecleaning.

What are you currently reading for pleasure?

Novels written by friends of mine (so I don’t have to lie to them anymore about having read their books).

What’s the last thing that made you laugh?

My son’s concept of the world.

How do you recharge?

I own a 1968 Plymouth Roadrunner muscle car.

Inspiration

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

My mentor, the American writer Kay Boyle, told me, “Writing is about belief.”

Who’s your support system?

My family.

What pitfall do you consistently see students falling into?

Choosing a path that they aren’t committed to, or choosing a path that’s chosen by their parents or someone else.

What do your most successful students do?

They find a path that satisfies their heart and their mind.

How UW Works was inspired by LifeHacker’s How I Work.

Did you enjoy this series? Check back Wednesdays during the Spring quarter for the latest mid-week motivation! While you wait, you can read more in this series, nominate a student or professor to be featured, or answer the questions yourself! (Students should answer the questions via this form; faculty should use this form. If you prefer to answer the questions over email, drop us a line at gradnews@uw.edu).

Tips for Postdocs from National Postdoc Association Meeting

On March 18–19, 2017, leadership from OPA and UWPA participated in the 15th Annual National Postdoc Association meeting in San Francisco. Three members from the Fred Hutch Student and Postdoc Advisory Committee also attended, and a postdoc from  Center for Infectious Disease Research (CIDR) so Seattle was well-represented! There were many good working sessions and an opportunity to learn from our peer institutions and other postdoc-led organizations.  Here are just a few insights for postdocs gathered from the meeting – we will be sharing more in the coming weeks.

  • Seek experiences outside your primary research group. Peter Fiske, plenary speaker and consultant/entrepreneur, advised spending as much as 20% of your time exploring other resources and experiences on and off campus.  Academic training is good at providing deep expertise, and yet “you have a keel without a boat”. PhDs have a tremendous amount to offer, but need more experience in adaptability, collaborative problem-solving, leadership to be successful in future careers, in and outside academia.
  • All jobs come through relationships. Expand your network. Networking is about genuine relationships created through shared interests or connections; it is not about shallow schmoozing with dozens.  Use your existing network of peers and advisors to connect you.  Ask for help. Join our UW Postdoc LinkedIn group as one starting point, and seek out other online spaces (including Twitter) where your professional societies or disciplines connect.
  • Know your rights. As a pregnant postdoc, you have federal protections under the ADA and Title IX.  We will do a separate blog post on this to clarify rights of pregnant and parenting postdocs.  One national survey showed only 40% of pregnant postdocs requested some kind of accommodation during pregnancy (e.g. modifying schedules, avoiding lifting, limiting toxic exposures, etc.) as compared to 70% in other sectors. You need to ask – it is a protected right!
  • Build your Mentoring Plan: We heard advice from the NSF program officers that the culture is changing for postdocs from an apprenticeship model (where you learn by doing and watching) to professional training model.  Be explicit with your research advisor about the time you want to spend on professional development, how and why. And build your mentoring team also, so you have a broader base of input to guide your career development.
  • Include Work/Life Balance in your IDP. Resilience is coping with, bouncing back from, and adapting to difficult situations – and academic life is full of them. Resilience requires we invest in ourselves and the things that renew or sustain us. Set goals and milestones for dimensions of the “wellness wheel” that are important for you now (e.g. financial, physical, nutritional, relational, spiritual…).  Schedule yourself on your calendar to make sure these things happen.
  • Make your dollars go further. Apply for travel awards through professional societies and foundations. Ask your PI or department to match what you bring in.  Seek external sponsors for events you want to hold (e.g. donating pizza to a lunch gathering). Consult with the librarian who researches funding sources and can advise you on tailoring your searches (at UW it is the Graduate Funding Information Service).
  • Culture Fit: If you are considering a position, how do you find out about the organizational culture there? Culture goes beyond stated vision and values to daily practices, and how people engage with each other. Culture is “the way we do things around here”. Ask a range of people about it during your interviews and site visits. Also, do the self-reflection and assessment work to learn what is most important to you in a workplace culture (what makes you happy and productive?). Do your research and ask yourself: Will you thrive, personally and professionally in the organizational culture?

And don’t forget that all UW postdocs, faculty, and staff are eligible for a free membership with NPA because UW is a sustaining institutional member.  You get access to resources behind their firewall and also connected with their networks. Please email OPA if you are interested in the affiliated membership from NPA.

Dread and Taxes

This Guide post has been updated from a previous inquiry. Happy filing!

Filing taxes seems more complicated than it should be, and there seems to be no help from the university, despite the fact that many graduate students have very similar tax situations. What’s the best way to file to maximize our return (where do we put student fees and union dues and all of the other things that we can claim to reduce our tax liability)? Are there good tax help resources available?  —Anonymous

Why are taxes so complicated? Albert Einstein once said, “The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.” Anyway, yes, the UW does provide tax help! Student Fiscal Services is holding student tax workshops specifically for graduate students Wednesday, March 19, 2:30—3:30 p.m. and Thursday, April 4, 1:30–2:30 p.m. Additional workshops will be offered for U.S. Residents and Non-US Residents. All workshops are held at UW Seattle, Odegaard 220. Also, the Seattle Public Library offers one-on-one tax help at various branches. United Way offers help at a few additional sites, including at the UW in partnership with students in the MS Tax Program. No appointment necessary: drop by Mackenzie Hall Mondays and Wednesdays from 4–7 p.m. or Fridays noon–3 p.m.. to receive free help from United Way. (You must have made less than $66,000 in 2018 to be eligible for their free help. Probably not a problem for grad students?) Good luck!

“Taxation with representation ain’t so hot either.” —Gerald Barzan, humorist

Ask Your Grad School Guide is an advice column for all y’all graduate and professional students. Real questions from real students, answered by real people. If the guru doesn’t know the answer, the guru will seek out experts all across campus to address the issue. (Please note: The guru is not a medical doctor, therapist, lawyer or academic advisor, and all advice offered here is for informational purposes only.) Submit a question for the column →

Strategies to Create Learning Environments for All

The UW Office of the Provost sent an e-mail to faculty and teaching assistants outlining concrete recommendations for sustaining “vibrant classroom discussions at a time when current events have produced sharp political differences among us.”  The goal of the message was to equip all of our instructors with best practices to “establish… respectful class discussions in which students from across the spectrum may fully engage.”  As we all wrap up the Winter Quarter and prepare for Spring, there might be a few ideas from that message to consider.

While designed for instructors, the Provost’s recommendations can be shared and practiced by all UW students—as we all have the capacity to foster inclusive learning environments.  We at Core Programs have adapted and expanded upon these tips as you’ll see below.  If you are interested in learning more, check out these resources curated by the UW Seattle Center for Teaching and Learning.

Engaging Each Other.  Collaborate with your peers to come up with discussion guidelines that will help you down the road, if a discussion feels challenging or becomes heated. UW Professor Gino Aisenberg and doctoral student Ada Onyewueni provide excellent examples of guidelines for engagement from their course syllabi:

  • Listen well without interrupting
  • Practice being present to each member of the group
  • Notice if you’re speaking a lot, then step back to make room for peers to speak
  • Assume that you might miss things that peers see and see things that peers miss
  • Surface your feelings in such a way that makes it easier for peers to surface theirs
  • Regard your views as a perspective onto the world, not the world itself
  • Reiterating these discussion guidelines periodically can help ensure that all students’ voices are heard

Creating Norms. Fundamental to any inclusive learning environment is honoring the belief that disagreement is okay, but disrespect is not.  This is accomplished by setting up and practicing norms for intentional, respectful dialogue. Consider these practices offered by the University of Michigan:

  • Criticize ideas, not individuals in your group
  • Avoid blame, speculation, or derogatory language
  • Avoid assumptions about members of your discussion group
  • Avoid generalizations about social groups based on race, gender, sexuality, ability, religion, or citizenship
  • Do not ask individuals to speak for their (perceived) social or cultural group

This Takes Practice.  Creating intentional and respectful dialogues among peers takes consistent and sustained practice.  There will be discomfort, yet in discomfort there is also the possibility of learning.  As we work together, we will all make mis-steps in different ways and need to recover.  There is a lot going on in any one person’s history and life, and it can help to give a generous read to see where a person might be coming from.  Depending on how much energy you have in the moment, you can choose what to do with a conversation mis-step.  Each day will be different.  Consider what could work for you and your peers.

We hope that as the new quarter begins, you may try out something from these recommendations and see what works for you and your peers.

Best,

Kelly, Jaye, and Ziyan
Core Programs Team

Additional Resources

Watch a recent panel discussion on the meaning of free speech in the context of a public university called Speech and Counter Speech: Rights and Responsibilities, sponsored by the UW Race & Equity Initiative.

Postdoc Resolution Passes Faculty Senate!

On March 2, 2017, the UW Faculty Senate voted unanimously in support of this Class C Resolution which will be sent to all faculty as a notification this week. The Resolution was drafted by the Faculty Council on Research in consultation with the UW Postdoc Association and the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. We are happy to share this important step toward greater institutional support and wider recognition across the faculty and administration of the essential roles postdocs play in our research, teaching and service missions at UW. We share the full text of the Resolution here and will also post a copy on our OPA website. One proposed next step is to form a Task Force to address key policy and practice issues across the UW postdoc population. If you have input for this group to consider, please contact us at uwopa@uw.edu.

Class C Resolution

The Faculty Council on Research recognizes the invaluable service provided by postdocs to both the research and education missions of the University. Post-doctoral researchers are a critical part of the University’s research enterprise, and provide key mentoring and education to UW graduate and undergraduate students.

The postdoctoral experience is nationally recognized as a temporary and transitional period of advanced mentored training toward an independent career. As an institution and as individual faculty advisors, it is vital for us to commit to recognizing that postdocs are on a pathway to career independence. The National Academies of Sciences has studied the postdoc experience extensively and put forward clear recommendations in 2000 and in 2014. With this resolution, the FCR outlines the commitments and practices that would strongly support the UW in achieving parity with national guidelines and peer standards.

Further, by improving our support and services for postdocs, the UW can continue to recruit and retain the best and the brightest. Prior to the re-opening of the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs in 2015, the UW was missing a go-to place for resources, guidance, professional development programming, policies, and coordination of diverse services across many UW units relating to postdoctoral affairs. Centralizing some of these services will provide efficiencies in that faculty supervisors and departments will be able to utilize and adapt rather than building anew, which will additionally help reduce inequities and inconsistencies in our treatment of postdocs at UW.

WHEREAS, the National Science Foundation Survey shows University of Washington ranked 9th nationally out of 323 institutions by total numbers of postdoctoral appointees in science, engineering, and health in 2014;

WHEREAS, several national bodies, including the NIH, NSF, the federal Office of Management and Budget, the National Postdoctoral Association, and the National Academies have defined the role of postdoctoral researcher as “a temporary position of advanced mentored training in research,” and recognize the “dual role” of postdocs as employees and trainees;

WHEREAS, we must, as a university employing over one thousand post-doctoral researchers, commit to fulfilling our obligations toward these vital members of our research and learning ecosystem and align with national guidelines and peer institutions.

BE IT RESOLVED that the Faculty Senate urges the Provost’s Office to make the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs within the Graduate School a permanent part of the University organization with the responsibility of coordinating policies, practices, and procedures for postdocs;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the University recognizes the University of Washington Postdoctoral Association (UWPA) as an organization of interest for the postdoctoral research body of the University and for the University. The University should support, promote and respect the independence of the Association.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Faculty Senate urges the Provost’s Office to create a Task Force for Postdoctoral Affairs to include members from key unit responsible for postdocs, such as: Academic HR, the Graduate School, the Office of Research, the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, the Faculty Senate, School of Medicine, and the UW Postdoctoral Association.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Faculty Senate urges the Provost’s Office to charge the Task Force for Postdoctoral Affairs to develop the policies and practices that would bring UW in line with national guidelines and peer institutions, including but not limited to the following issues:

  • Limiting the years possible under the various job titles encompassing postdoctoral researcher training, with the goal of promoting postdocs into more independent and permanent positions in a timely manner;
  • Enforcement for the dual role of postdoctoral researchers as both employees and trainees with reasonable release time and support for professional development including workshops, travel to conferences, or teaching opportunities;
  • Commitment to faculty mentorship for postdocs, including advising on Individual Development Plans and diverse career trajectories;
  • Identification of point people within each unit serving postdocs to serve as coordinators with the central Office of Postdoctoral Affairs;
  • Consistency with offer letters extended to postdocs to include clear reference to salary, benefits, terms of appointment, grievance options, role expectations, and connections to university resources;
  • Streamline the job classifications used for postdoctoral research fellows to facilitate tracking and accountability from first hiring to exit;
  • Centralize data collection and tracking of postdocs, including the satisfaction with their training and tracking of employment after leaving in order to quantify the quality of research training received at the University;
  • Through relevant policy, faculty code, or by-laws changes, include postdoc representation on relevant University bodies such as the Research Advisory Board, the Faculty Council on Research, and others.

Approved by the Faculty Council on Research, January 2017
Approved by the Senate Executive Committee, February 13, 2017
Approved by the Faculty Senate, March 2, 2017

Friends Wanted

How do you make friends in grad school? I feel like I missed a crucial seminar where everyone else got paired up. I hear about things that happened on the weekend in passing and the middle schooler in me that followed me all the way up to graduate education is so hurt. Part of what I’m worried about is that I’m pretty outspoken, and I look pretty different from a lot of my classmates. I feel like I’m missing out on the camaraderie and networking connections that are half the point of grad school. What should I do? Arrive to class early and try and chat people up?

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out. I’m sorry that you’re struggling to make friends, but please know you’re not alone. About a year ago we fielded a similar question about struggling with isolation, and studies have shown graduate students are more likely than the general population to experience depression – in part due to a lack of social support.

The fact that you’ve committed yourself to making connections in grad school is a great first step. While chatting with fellow students in class (maybe even forming a study group) can be a great way to make friends, there are on-campus resources that might help you branch out and meet new people:

Best of luck!

Ask Your Grad School Guide is an advice column for all y’all graduate and professional students. Real questions from real students, answered by real people. If your Guide doesn’t know the answer, the guru will seek out experts all across campus to address the issue. (Please note: Your Guide is not a medical doctor, therapist, lawyer or academic advisor, and all advice offered here is for informational purposes only.) Submit a question for the column →

Published: March 2017 // Updated: February 2019 

An app for dissertation writing

The free Gingko app combines the functionality of outlines with the fluidity of mind-maps and index cards. One reviewer wrote if the app had existed previously, “it would have saved me two years off my Ph.D.”

Strengthening Yourself for the Last Leg of the Quarter

We at Core Programs recognize and respect all the hard work you’ve been doing as graduate students during this winter.  We know that Winter quarter can be especially challenging given the weather, the darkness, and the usual stressors of navigating a graduate program. The good news is that the light is returning and the quarter is coming to a close!  For this final push, we offer a few strategies. Maybe one or more will serve you:

Saying “Not Right Now”.  We know that many of you are balancing personal and family time, school, and work responsibilities, and we encourage you to take a pragmatic look at your schedule for the next few weeks.  What can you absolutely hold off on doing for now (that you can then return to later)?  What do you absolutely need to make room for?  Whom do you need to say no to?  With the rhythm of the quarter system, there are time intensive moments where you have to keep your head down and focus. There’s a lot to do, but it will pass by quickly.  Then you can once again say “yes” to other things after the quarter is done.

Schedule your needs. Put the most important things you need to accomplish in your calendar, including self-care practices. When it comes to working on those final seminar papers, consider setting aside 30-60 minutes a day to work on a draft versus trying to do it all in one sitting.  Writing in smaller chunks will help you feel better knowing that you are making regular progress. Believe it or not, scheduling yourself for 30 minutes of exercise, or connecting with someone important, can make a difference in your overall productivity.  So can getting enough sleep!  While many people do gain energy from looming deadlines and big pushes of work, suffering isn’t a requirement of graduate school. We just can’t do our best work, if we are constantly in a stressed and exhausted state of mind.

Ask for help.  Now is as good a time as any to reach out for help.  Do you feel stuck on an individual project and don’t know how to move forward?  If you haven’t done so already, connect with peers in your program who are further along in their graduate work.  More often than not, they have strategies that worked for them, that you can then try out for yourself.  If you are having a hard time finding someone in your department, get a list of peer referrals from your Graduate Program Advisor or a student organization on campus that you relate to.  Or maybe you need to reach out to your professor for an extension all together—because life happens. There is no shame in this at all.  Asking for what you need is a sign of honest self-assessment and shows you are taking responsibility for yourself. But you have to act fast.  Either drop in during your professor’s office hours or send them an email with your extension request, with a reasonable deadline for when you plan to submit your work (this may have to be negotiated depending on your professor’s upcoming schedule).  If you’re communicating by e-mail, you can put “Time Sensitive Request” in the subject line and follow up with your professor as needed.

Reward yourself.   Make room in your schedule to celebrate yourself for all the work you’ve done—however small or big the milestone.  Recognizing your achievements is so important, as no one else will make time in your schedule to do so except for you.  When you have many important deadlines at the end of the quarter, consider allowing yourself a small celebration after a project is done–before you turn to the next task or project.  Plus, it really allows you to be present with your progress in graduate school.  You are doing a ton of work!  Go for a walk with a friend.  Make yourself a nice dinner.  Go dancing (and get to the venue before the cover charge).  Take a short dive into Netflix.  Schedule a game night in with friends, or 21 other affordable examples of treating yourself.

We love hearing from you!  Let us know your strategies for getting through Winter Quarter!

Best,

Kelly, Jaye, and Ziyan
Core Programs Team