🚀 go-pugleaf

On Thursday, 17 March 1994, Eduardo wrote:

> I am a doctoral candidate from SUNY Buffalo working on the last chapters
> of my dissertation.  Although I did all my graduate work in the U.S., I
> have been doing my research work in Chihuahua, Mexico.  I have been in
> contact with my advisor using e/mail and phone for the last two and a
> half years.  If you think that I can provide useful information for what
> you are doing, please contact me personally.

***************

Hello, Eduardo and others reading this post--

I appreciated your reply to my request for individuals interested in
research on doctoral candidates and recent recipients.  I hope we can
stay in touch, however I do respect the time constraints of the doctoral
process and understand your limits.

My research on doctoral students derives from many personal and
professional experiences while doing graduate work at the University of
Oregon from 1984 to 1991.  To put it simply, I'm convinced that the
impact of tight budgets in academic institutions is having profound
impact on the ability of doctoral students to make substantial progress
toward their degrees and obtain satisfying professional employment after
completing the doctorate.  I am interested in factors that influence
recruitment of new professors in this era of tight budgets, and the
quality of graduate students' lives is a fundamental element of my focus.
For a hint at my research findings, see the excerpt from my dissertation
published in the May/June 1993 Journal of Higher Education.  It's
entitled, "For Richer, For Poorer: Faculty Morale in Periods of Austerity
and Retrenchment."

I hope to develop a combined quantitative and qualitative paper that
looks at the diversity of circumstances affecting today's advanced
graduate students and recent doctoral recipients (like myself).  My hope
is to present it next year at ASHE, AERA, or AIR as a descriptive study
of the many factors influencing the quality of the doctoral experience.
I am working in consultation with two higher education research faculty
who work at graduate institutions here in the Seattle/Tacoma region.

I would very much appreciate it if you could take some time to ponder the
following questions and then write back to me with your answers.  I
promise anonymity in my final study; I only want to find out about the
issues you are experiencing.  In the end, I want to weave together the
range of responses to "paint a portrait" of contemporary graduate
education issues from the perspective of today's students:

1.   In your years as a doctoral candidate and graduate student, what
     have been the greatest challenges you have faced?

2.   How have current academic labor market trends affected your personal
     career development objectives?

3.   What has been the impact of your graduate education on (a) your
     emotional and physical health; (b) the quality of your relationships
     with other close friends and family members; and (c) your financial
     circumstances?

4.   Generally speaking, how would you rate the quality of your graduate
     educational experiences?  Why?

5.   What is most lacking OR most outstanding in your present life, which
     has the single greatest impact on your commitment to finishing your
     doctoral work?  (i.e. What sustains you during the ups and downs of
     the doctoral process, and do you have it in sufficient supply?).



I hope these questions will help you focus your thoughts and reflect on
your journey through graduate study.  Please feel free to reply in
whatever format you feel most comfortable expressing yourself.  And if it
is helpful to write for writing's sake, do not be concerned about the
"quality" of your response.  I assure you that all feedback will be valuable!

Kind regards, and best wishes with your continued graduate study,

Scott Kerlin, Ph.D.

**************************************************************************
        Dr. Scott P. Kerlin

        Institutional Planner & Researcher/
        Educational Research Consultant
        North Seattle Community College
        9600 College Way North
        Seattle, WA 98103

        External Doctoral Student Advisor
        Oregon State University
        College of Education
        Corvallis, Or. 97330

        (206) 527-3694  SCAN 446-3694 (WA only)
        FAX (206) 527-3606  SCAN 446-3606 (WA only)
        email skerlin@seaccd.ctc.edu
        MEMBER: AAHE, AERA, AIR, PNAIRP
**************************************************************************

P.S.  Please let me know if you will be attending AERA in April.  I will
be there from Wednesday afternoon (4/6) through the weekend.