Carnegie Initiative
on the Doctorate
It is a great pleasure
to highlight the fact that the History Department has been
chosen in a national competition
to participate
in the Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate. The
CID involves select Departments across the country whose programs are being
showcased by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
as it works to stimulate
and encourage a thorough review of the doctorate in six disciplines:
Chemistry, Education,
English, History, Mathematics and Neuroscience. Ten Departments
have been chosen in each discipline. Ohio State University has the distinction
of being the only university in the country with participating
departments in all six of the disciplines. The three-year
program runs
until the summer of 2006, and focuses equally on the research, teaching,
and stewardship dimensions of doctoral training.
Professors David Stebbene, James Bartholomew and Peter Hahn discuss
CID matters during lunch at the Holiday Inn
CID aims “to support departments’ efforts to more purposefully structure
their doctoral programs … and believes that it is timely to return
to first principles, and ask ‘What is the purpose of doctoral education?’”
Participation in the CID offers us fresh ways of thinking about
our Graduate Program and the nature of graduate education broadly. It
is a unique opportunity to compare our priorities, policies, and procedures
with nine other doctoral granting history departments nationally
and five other disciplines on this campus. It also enhances our visibility
in the profession and in recruiting, and provides us the resources of the
Carnegie Foundation in Palo Alto, CA, as well as support from the OSU
Central Administration and Graduate School.
CID Committee and Retreat
Volunteers |
Professor Kevin Boyle and Graduate Student Bonnie Rock discuss graduate
student teaching
For the past year, a Department CID
committee has been using CID support, resources, and comparative data
to explore possibilities and exchange ideas. Faculty and graduate student
members of the committee have participated in two “convenings” in Palo
Alto with the other nine history departments, and the Department as
a whole kicked off the academic year 2004-05 with an all-day CID retreat.
One of our first tasks was the distribution of a survey questionnaire
to alumni, current graduate students, and faculty. We are grateful
for the timely responses we received, and we look forward to
incorporating the results of the survey into future CID plans. Other
results will follow as the Department explores how best to shape our
Graduate Program to fit the 21st century goals
and demands of the profession.
Graduate Students Christine Lahue, Dustin Walcher, and Robert Robinson
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