Workshop for Directors of Graduate Studies and Department Chairs

Note: Participation in this free workshop is limited to directors of graduate studies and to chairs of history departments with graduate programs. The contents of the workshop are subject to change, so please visit the 2005 Online Program for an updated program and list of presenters. Advance registration is required, no later than December 6, 2004. Contact Miriam Hauss at mhauss@historians.org to register or for more details.

Thursday, January 6, 1:30 p.m. Sheraton, East Ballroom.

• Welcome by Patrick Manning, Northeastern University, and vice president, AHA Teaching Division

1:45–2:30 p.m. Sheraton, East Ballroom. Session 1. Making Numbers Work for Your Graduate Program

• Data trends in graduate history education: What do the AHA, the federal government, and other investigators already know about your graduate program—and how can this information help you?
• An update on the National Research Council’s ranking of doctoral programs.
• Best practices in data collection at the departmental level.
• The new AHA clearinghouse of information about doctoral programs—what will it mean for your department?

2:30–3:15 p.m. Sheraton, East Ballroom. Session 2. Adventures in the Graduate Curriculum

• The challenge of the introductory seminar for graduate students.
• What do qualifying/comprehensive/general exams actually test?
• Making graduate curricula coherent.

3:15–3:45 p.m. Sheraton, East Ballroom. Break and Informal Discussion

3:45–4:30 p.m. Sheraton, East Ballroom. Session 3. Graduate Students as Partners in Graduate Education

• More effective mentoring and advising.
• Keeping the lines of communication open.
• Using student and alumni surveys to improve your graduate program.

4:30–5:00 p.m. Sheraton, East Ballroom. Session 4. The Role (and Future) of the History Department DGS

• What every DGS ought to know before s/he starts the job.
• Master’s programs vs. doctoral programs: What difference does it make to the role of the DGS?
• What can the AHA do for the history DGS in the future?

5:00 p.m. Sheraton, West Ballroom A. Reception

Orientation to the AHA Annual Meeting

Thursday, January 6. 3:00–5:00 p.m. Sheraton, West Ballroom B.

The AHA annual meeting can be overwhelming and even alienating for many first-time participants. If you would like a head-start on the meeting, some insight into what really happens at the annual meeting, and the chance to meet a few other historians facing the same challenges, we invite you to this special orientation session with many of the AHA members and staff who help put this meeting together.

• Introduction and Overview: Robert Townsend, AHA
• Topics:

  How the AHA Program Committee Operates and Develops the Annual Meeting Program,
  by Paul Freedman, Yale University, and chair, 2005 AHA Program Committee, and Barbara Weinstein, University of Maryland at College Park, and co-chair, 2005 AHA Program Committee

  Advice from the Local Populace: What to See and Do…and How to Live Cheaply,
  by Maureen Murphy Nutting, North Seattle Community College, and chair, 2005 AHA Local Arrangements Committee

   How to Navigate the AHA Job Register,
  by Richard E. Bond, recent PhD and former AHA Job Register staff

  Insider View: How an Annual Meeting Comes Together,
  by Sharon K. Tune, AHA convention director

The Social Side of the Annual Meeting,
by Debbie Ann Doyle, AHA convention assistant and recent PhD

• Questions and Comments: The Audience.