Monthly Monitor: SSWR 2023 Annual Conference

SSWR 2023 Annual Conference

Guest Editor: Hannah Boyke, MSW, PhD Student (they/them)

In this issue, we explore topics related to professional development, self-care, and graduate student unionization. As well as share, upcoming SSWR conference events and past-newsletter suggestions for making the most out of your attendance at SSWR.

1. Editorial by Hannah Boyke, MSW (they/them)

2. Strategies for Accepting an Academic Job

3. Self-Care as Professional Development

4. Graduate Student Unionization

5. Call for Experiences: Neurodivergent in Doctoral Studies Survey

6. Upcoming Events: SSWR 2023 Student Panel & Luncheon

7. Social Work Snippets

Editorial

By: Hannah Boyke, MSW, PhD Student (they/them)

Welcome to the December 2022/January 2023 issue of the SSWR DSC newsletter. 

As we begin the 2023 with a new issue of the SSWR DSC newsletter, I want to take a moment to reflect on the doctoral student committee. 

SSWR DSC became an official committee in 2018 after starting as a task force nearly 9 years ago. Since then, DSC has connected social work doctoral students, offering a space for developing and refining professional and academic networks and cultivating bonds between social work doctoral students. We are excited to start 2023 with newsletter pieces that offer social work doctoral students tips to navigate the sometimes-opaque environment of academia. In doing so, we aim to provide a space that uplifts and celebrates social work doctoral students while promoting their personal and professional advancement. 

In this issue, we explore topics related to professional development, self-care, and graduate student unionization. 

The December 2022/January 2023 issue of the SWWR DSC newsletter offers insight on a range of themes: 

• The first newsletter article is Strategies for Accepting an Academic Job, which identifies strategies for navigating campus visits and reviewing job offers. This piece covers a myriad of aspects that can shape decisions to accept academic positions and offers vital insight that can assist in future employment-related decisions. 

•  The second newsletter article is titled Self-Care as Professional Development. This piece identifies strategies for engaging emotional, mental, physical, practical and social self-care.

• The final piece, titled Graduate Student Unionization, connects graduate student unionizing to social work practice, offers a brief history of unionizing efforts among graduate students, and illuminates the impact that unionization can have on graduate students. 

Additionally, this newsletter includes information about events at  SSWR’s 2023 Conference in Phoenix Arizona, such as SSWR Social Hour and the SSWR Luncheon and Panel. 

Strategies for Accepting an Academic Job

Navigating the Academic Job Market is a challenging time. Here we provide several considerations for the final stage of the job market process - accepting a job. First, congratulations as you get to the finish line.

Campus Visits 

Job candidates must navigate the processes of applying, screening interviews, and campus visits. Some candidates may, and may already or continue receiving campus visits and offers as the Spring begins. During or immediately after each campus visit write a broad pro-con list considering personal and professional aspects of the position/university/location that might impact your decision. 

Offers 

Typically, these offers will be delivered verbally, through a phone call or email from the dean or director, shortly following a campus visit. Timing can vary on when a response is accepted and there are several considerations for navigating these final stages of the job market process.

With this in mind, here are some timely tips with a compilation of resources below to help you prepare for offers, weigh your options, and ultimately choose what’s best for you, as a whole person. 

• When you receive an offer 

  • When you receive an offer, take time to mull it over and discuss it with your mentorship team to see what else might be available to you. You do not need to accept when you receive the offer call. Be sure to ask what date they’d like to hear back by, and advocate if you feel you need more time to decide. 

  • Two weeks to decide is typical and most institutions will readily grant you that time if not more if you ask.

  • However, the academic job market is increasingly competitive, with both job seeking individuals and institutions wishing to select and hire the best candidates in the most timely manner, before they are hired elsewhere.  

• Beware of verbal promises 

  • Beware of verbal promises. Formal job offers should always be made in writing, defining salary and terms of appointment. Wait until you have the written offer letter in your hands before making any decisions. 

Factors that may impact your decision 

• University and local community contexts

  • How many faculty and staff? Is it a stand alone college or school, school or departments within a larger college or school? What type of educational programs, and in-turn opportunities to mentor will you have? How does the university respond to attacks on academic freedom? What infrastructure exists at the college and University to support research, teaching, and service? 

  • What is the state of existing community-university partnerships? How is community-engagement prioritized (is this mirrored in T&P)? What types of communities surround the local area? Are there work opportunities for family (if needed)? Are there activities/hobbies you can do in the area? Will you be able to thrive inside and outside of work in this community?

• Employment benefits that may impact your decision

  • Do employees pay part of the insurance premium? When does health care take effect? Can health care coverage begin in the summer before the appointment starts? Does the plan cover your partner or dependents? Does the health care package include vision, dental, orthodontic, and psychological services?  Also, how are retirement plans structured? 

  • Does the university offer college tuition support for your children? Can you or your family members take classes at a discount? Does the institution have a fitness center for use by faculty and their families?  Does the institution have child care services available to faculty and staff?  What are the institution’s family leave policies? 

• Terms of your appointment that may impact your decision

  • Is your appointment defined as a 9-month or 12-month position? Can you have your 9-month salary distributed over a 12- month period? 

  • Is summer support separate from academic year salary? Is summer teaching available? Could research support for one or more summers be included as part of the start-up package? 

  • If your appointment is split between departments or duties, is the division of responsibility well-defined, particularly related to matters such as teaching responsibilities, office location, performance evaluation, and home department for tenure review? 

• Tenure and Promotion standards that may impact your decision 

  • What are the standards the department would expect you to meet in order to recommend tenure? What are the publication requirements? Are these reasonable and well-defined in relation to the teaching load? 

  • Have most recent hires achieved tenure, or have they left before achieving tenure? If so, what might this mean? 

  • Is the institution making the commitment and investment in you to help see you to tenure? Does the department and/or university have a faculty mentoring program for young faculty members?What resources are available for your research? Are start-up funds available? Are they adequate to secure your successful path to tenure? If you are anticipating having children, you should ask questions about the tenure clock—does the tenure clock stop for a discrete period of time for childbirth, adoption, early childcare?

If you have received multiple offers 

If you receive an offer from an institution, but have accepted additional campus visits or are waiting on possible offers from multiple institutions, you may consider multiple outcomes:

1.  Accept the job that is an offer in hand. (see negotiation considerations)

2. Consider passing on the offer, and wait for the possibility of additional offers from other/future campus visits. The risk here is three-fold, one is that this could be your only offer, and on the other hand you may receive a “better” or more fitting offer from another institution after you said “yes, or third you may not receive offers from other institutions (meaning you’ll have to continue the academic job market search next year).

In the second situation, you could consider requesting more time from the institution making an initial offer. After you’ve received an offer, you may wish to contact the institution(s) that you have completed campus visits for and ask for additional details or an earliest date when you might receive their decision. 

Negotiation 

• Determine an appropriate entry-level salary in your field

  • First, make an effort to determine what is an appropriate entry-level salary in your field, not only at the national level, but the regional level. Cost of living varies across the country. All salaries are public at public colleges and universities. If a faculty at an institution is unionized, you may contact the union representative to review the fairness of your salary offer. Talk to peers in your discipline and your mentors about your salary! While the offer letter will consist of more than simply the salary, if the institution is public you can see all salaries for faculty/staff and it may be helpful to look at the starting salary for a newly hired individual in the position to which you applied. 
    

• Negotiation after a formal offer 

  • Second, consider what aspects to negotiate after an institution has given you a formal job offer.The time between when you are given an offer and when you accept the offer is your prime window of opportunity for negotiation. At this point, think about what is most important to you (e.g., reduced teaching, increased time for mentorship, research space, etc.), rather than asking for additions to each aspect of the offer letter. Don’t expect to know the details of their terms or certain jargon of the letter. Reach out to your different mentors, recently hired past doctoral students, and others to help you consider the offer.
    

• Negotiate more than just salary 

  • Third, negotiate more than just salary: Moving expenses, spousal or partner assistance, benefits and health insurance, housing, start date, teaching load, and startup package (Research tools such as office space, laboratory facilities, computer(s) and software, secretarial or research assistant support, funds for research and conference travel, time off for research during the first year or two, sabbatical leave and funding for copies, books, and other materials can sometimes be negotiated). 
    

Choose to Accept or Decline the Offer. 

Ultimately, you will have to either accept or reject every job offer that you receive. The dean/director may provide their contact info and request you call them with questions or your decision. You may choose to call the department/school to deliver your decision, since that will allow them to know of your answer in a timely manner. Email may also be sufficient in communicating your acceptance or rejection of their offer.

For more information, you can check out these resources for support with academic offers. 

1. “Academic Job Offers” Adapted by the APA Division 12 Education & Training Committee from a presentation by Michael J. Zvolensky, Ph.D., University of Houston. https://www.div12.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Academic-Job-Offers-and-Negotiation_Sept-2017-2.pdf

2. Louis Jr., , B. M. (n.d.). To accept or not to accept? navigating academic job offers. HigherEdJobs. Retrieved December 28, 2022, from https://www.higheredjobs.com/Articles/articleDisplay.cfm?ID=2980  

3. Perlmutter, D. D. (2013, April 1). The etiquette of accepting a job offer. The Chronicle of Higher Education Jobs. Retrieved December 28, 2022, from https://jobs.chronicle.com/article/the-etiquette-of-accepting-a-job-offer/ 

For those of you preparing for next year’s academic job cycle, check out this guide for social work doctoral students and their mentors: 

1. Elizabeth Lightfoot, Cynthia Franklin & Raiza Beltran (2021) Preparing for the Academic Job Market: A Guide for Social Work Doctoral Students and Their Mentors, Journal of Social Work Education, 57:1, 153-164, https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2019.1671263

Self-Care as Professional Development

2023 is here – Happy New Year and new semester/quarter! As we continue on our Ph.D. journey, we need to remember the importance of self-care as a part of our professional development. With all the challenges we may face while in school, we need to be intentional with taking care of ourselves to maintain a healthy work-life balance, manage our stress, and avoid burnout. 

While there are typical types of skills we associate with professional development (such as communication, management, leadership, and organization), self-care is rarely considered. Self-care is the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one’s own physical, mental, and spiritual health. It is a daily and long-term practice. Additionally, “practicing self-care is considered an important professional development activity that will help you to cognitively, physically, and emotionally ‘bounce back’ each day” (Self-Care for Professionals). 

There are six types of self-care you can incorporate into your life. When making a self-care plan, you do not have to integrate all six types in one day. Spread them throughout the week or month and/or focus on the ones you feel are more important for you at that given moment. Self-care is a practice, and it takes practice, so try to engage in some type of self-care activity regularly, no matter how big or small. Here are brief descriptions and suggestions of the six types of self-care:

1. Emotional:

   These are activities that help you connect, process, and reflect on your emotions. Common examples of emotional self-care are journaling, playing or listening to music, dancing, and creating art. Other examples include seeing a therapist, helping others, and smiling.

2. Mental:

   These are activities that stimulate your mind. Different ways to practice mental self-care include reading a book or a self-help book, solving puzzles, going to a museum, and taking a break from social media. You can also practice mindfulness, gratitude, self-compassion, and self-acceptance to help maintain a healthier inner dialogue. These practices are often done through journaling, mediation, or using mediation apps (e.g., InsightTimer and Calm). Check out these links for additional techniques and tips on how to carry out these practices: How Mindfulness and Gratitude Go Hand in Hand and How to Practice Self-Compassion: 8 Techniques and Tips. 

3. Physical:

   These are activities that help to improve the well-being of your physical health. Practicing physical self-care can look like getting enough sleep, staying hydrated/getting enough water, maintaining a healthy diet, and working out/engaging in physical activities. It could also be taking a walk during lunch breaks or between classes, if you are able to walk, and/or choosing to rest instead of checking another item off the to-do list. 

4. Practical:

   These are activities you complete to fulfill core aspects of your life in order to prevent future stressful situations. Some examples of practical self-care are creating a budget, saving money when you can, organizing your home (e.g., your closet), and engaging in other areas of professional development.

5. Social:

   These are activities that nurture and deepen the relationships with people in your life. Take time to meet with friends, make time for your family, and call loved ones. Other ways to practice social self-care are setting healthy boundaries with people and learning to say no.

6. Spiritual:

   These are activities that nurture your spirit and allow you to think beyond yourself – it does not have to be religious, although, for some, it is. Typical spiritual self-care practices include meditation, yoga, and going to a place of worship. Additional activities include being in nature, hiking, dedicating time for self-reflection, and getting in touch with your values. 

For additional resources related to self-care and creating a self-care plan, check out Self-Care Starter Kit. And remember, “self-care is how you take your power back” – Lalah Delia.  

Graduate Student Unionization

Across the country, graduate workers have been labor organizing at our institutions. Why? Put simply, we’re organizing because we are workers who want the rights and protections afforded by an organized labor union and a contract!

Graduate employees at many public universities have benefited from strong unions since the 1960s. The University of Michigan, for example, has had a graduate workers’ union since 1974! In more recent years, private university graduate employees have gotten organized, too. Columbia, Harvard, Brown, and Georgetown have all bargained contracts with administrations at their respective institutions. There are many others who are building campaigns right now at Indiana University, Northwestern, Dartmouth, and Johns Hopkins. Most notably, the University of California has been in a massive strike struggle around a new contract for its graduate workers.

As social work doctoral students, it is important to contextualize labor organizing efforts on our campuses in the broader labor movement. For those of us who research things like job quality for healthcare workers, income assistance programs, health insurance policies, or domestic labor, unions may be a part of our academic areas of study. For others, unions might be relatively removed from our expertise or interests. Either way, it is important to be informed about the role that organized labor can play in shaping the conditions of our work as graduate students.

Graduate students have been able to achieve some major wins thanks to union organizing. At Harvard, for example, graduate workers won substantial child care subsidies in their most recent contract. Rutgers graduate workers won substantial raises in salaries and protected parental leave. Graduate workers at the University of Michigan have free dental insurance plans. While universities can opt to offer these benefits to us at their discretion, the power of organizing and bargaining a contract is that a minimum standard is established for all graduate workers at an institution. 

Given that social workers are also increasingly engaged in labor organizing, paying attention to graduate worker organizing is a mechanism for social work doctoral students to participate in democratic organizations, community practice, and advocacy on behalf of our colleagues to fight for better working conditions for all.

Student Survey Reminder

In our September/October Monthly Monitor, we launched a survey about experiences with neurodiversity, disability, and mental health in academia. We appreciate everyone who has responded so far. We’re doing one last call online and during SSWR before we share a summary of the results in our next newsletter. 

If you are a doctoral student, faculty, or staff within academia, and are neurodivergent, disabled, and/or have lived experience with mental illness (however you define any of the above), we would like to hear from you! What strategies and resources have helped you throughout your time in academia? What support is still needed? The anonymous, brief survey can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/sswrdscndsurvey

We wrote our article from our own perspectives and experiences! Now, we want to open the discussion to get more input from a variety of voices. We plan to write up a summary of results in a future newsletter to share any tips, tricks, and strategies that others might find useful, and share challenges/barriers to raise awareness, let folks know they aren’t alone. We will not use this for publication or other dissemination.  

Feel welcome to disseminate widely! Please complete the survey by Saturday, January 21 2023.

SSWR 2023 Doctoral Student Luncheon & Panel

At the 27th Annual Conference for the Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR) in 2023, the SSWR Doctoral Student Committee (DSC) will hold its yearly Student Luncheon panel on Saturday, January 14, 2023 from 12:30pm-1:30pm MST at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel. The purpose of the luncheon is to convene social work scholars, educators, and organizers to discuss a topic that is timely and relevant for our community. The Student Luncheon panel this year is titled: “Social Work’s Role in Combating Anti-Transgender Legislation and Promoting Trans Rights” and is open to all students attending the conference. We look forward to seeing you in Phoenix, Arizona in January!

SSWR DSC Programs at a Glance

(Reprint from 2021)

Coffee with a Scholar

Signing up for Coffee with a Scholar gives doctoral students the opportunity to connect with a scholar who is willing to share their insight and perspective into the field. To get the most out of this connection, it is important that doctoral students come to the meeting prepared with questions and specific topics that they would like advice on. This can include how to navigate the academy, prepare for the job market, get published, and obtain advice on any current research projects they are working on. Last year was the first year that students and scholars were matched based on identity. This year, the program is working to match based on the student’s preference of either research interest or identity. Two years ago, one of our SSWR committee members was matched based on research interest. She asked him what the most important considerations hiring committees made when recruiting prospective candidates. He informed her that publishing was one of his school’s top priorities. When he found out that she wasn’t getting publishing opportunities with faculty members at her university, he connected her with another academic in their field who worked with a team that published often. Since this meeting, she has been welcomed onto the team and published several articles with them, leading several of the projects.  

New Attendee Program

The new attendee program at SSWR gives new conference attendees the ability to connect with other graduate students who have prior experience attending the SSWR conference. Although networking and connecting with faculty in one’s areas of interest or expertise is important during graduate school, the wisdom of peers is an incredibly valuable and underappreciated resource. Connecting with peers during flagship conferences can help cultivate a sense of community within the field, allow new graduate students to tap into the Hidden Curriculum of academia and graduate school norms and expectations, and facilitate lasting bonds in the form of both research collaborations and friendships.

Here are what some past attendees and mentors have said about the New Attendee Program: 

“I loved it. It made my SSWR experience so worthwhile.” -New attendee SSWR 2020

“I signed up to orient to SSWR and meet other doctoral students.” -New attendee SSWR 2021

“I signed up to learn from other advanced students who have been there before.” -New attendee SSWR 2021

“I signed up to get more comfortable with the SSWR environment, network and make connections in the field, and understand more of the ‘unwritten’ rules about conferences.” -New attendee SSWR 2020

“I signed up because I felt I could have used something like that my first time at the conference.” -Student mentor SSWR 2020

“Because my first conference attendance was a little awkward, and I thought I could help someone else have a less awkward/isolating first experience.” -Student mentor SSWR 2021

Here are a few tips for the mentors and mentees attending the SSWR 2023 conference and participating in the new attendee program. 

Tips to Mentors:

• Brainstorm the questions you had from your early conference attendances to be ready to field questions from mentees.

• Prepare to discuss your research interests or other interests.

• Carve out time to check in with your mentee throughout the conference, especially during breaks or meals.

• Listen first, then ask and advise.

• Be honest about your experiences.

• If you have a good match, keep in touch!

Tips to Mentees:

• Come prepared with a list of questions and/or areas regarding the conference or the field in general.

• Be prepared to discuss your research interests or other interests with your mentor. 

• Make sure to schedule time for 1:1 conversations during conference down time. 

• Don’t be afraid to ask questions. 

• Ask for specific feedback and be receptive to input. 

• If you have a good match, keep in touch!

SOCIAL WORK SNIPPETS:

Call for Papers

New Perspective on Trauma-Responsive Care

Deadline: March 23, 2023

Abolitionist Perspectives in Social Work

Deadline: Ongoing 

Special Issue in Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development: Practice Research in Asia and the Pacific: Practice-based evidence and knowledge

Deadline for Abstracts: Rolling 

Disability Justice in Social Work - Special Issue Proposal for the Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare

Deadline for Abstracts: February 6, 2023

The State of Palliative Social Work Across the Globe in the Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life and Palliative Care

Deadline: March 1, 2023

International Journal of Social Welfare - Large Families: Prevalence, Poverty and Policy

Abstract deadline: March 1, 2023 Full paper deadline: July 1, 2023

Trauma-informed Hospice and Palliative Social Work in the Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life and Palliative Care

Deadline: March 15, 2023

Additional Student Resources

Resources for newer conference presenters and atttendees

How to Give a Scientific Talk: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07780-5

Video on How to Confidently Present your Research at Conferences: https://asiaedit.com/webinar/how-to-confidently-present-your-research-at-conferences-in-person-and-online

Not following “SWRnet”?

Formerly known as the IASWR Listserv, SWRnet (Social Work Research Network) was launched in October 2009 to continue serving the social work research community by providing regular updates on funding opportunities, calls for papers, conference deadlines and newly published research. SWRnet is administered by the Boston University School of Social Work.

Disclaimer: This newsletter is created as free service by SSWR Doctoral Student Committee Communications Subcommittee members: 

• Tasha Childs

• Riley Hostetter

• Isaac Akapnitis

• DeShara Doub

• Hannah Boyke

• Alauna Reckley

• Paulette Nance

• Brianna Suslovic

• Julisa Tindall

• Kiley McLean

The opinions expressed in this newsletter are the opinions of the individuals listed above alone and do not claim to represent the opinions of SSWR or the SSWR Doctoral Student Committee.