Professional development offered to grad students

Office offers professional development to enhance career prospects

In a new effort to help graduate students acquire and sharpen the professional development skills necessary for career success, the Graduate School has combined a new program of professional development with its Office of Outreach Services.

The new unit, the Office of Outreach and Graduate Student Professional Development, is intended to provide opportunities for graduate students in all disciplines to gain experience and insight into such broad skill sets as writing, public speaking, Web and software development, administration and ethics.

The office will continue its outreach function, overseeing such initiatives as the Wisconsin Ideas Seminar, Graduate School publications, special events for graduate students such as orientation and activities of the Graduate Student Council.

The idea of the combined office’s new professional development mission is to give students a resource to learn things outside of “the disciplinary silo,” says Terrence Millar, a math professor, Graduate School associate dean and faculty liaison for the new combined office.

“There was a feeling that we needed more muscle power in this area,” says Millar. “It is important that we further the kinds of skills that enhance the career prospects of our students.”

The new office will be directed by Miriam Simmons, Graduate School assistant dean for outreach services. The professional development program will be led by Eileen Callahan, Graduate School director of graduate student professional development and a leader of UW–Madison’s K-Through-Infinity Project.

“Graduate student and post-doc professional development is central to the Graduate School’s strategic plan,” says Callahan. “This will not only help our current graduate students, but it will help us continue to recruit the best and brightest graduate students to UW–Madison.”

According to Simmons, professional development opportunities for graduate students are available unevenly across campus, with some programs offering terrific professional development opportunities and other programs offering nothing at all.

“There is a recognition on the part of the Graduate School that this needs to be formalized,” she says, noting that the office will “enhance programs that some departments and schools already offer” and provide services for students who may not have access to professional development.