Professional Development Programs

Professional Development and ISA 2006 Regional Meetings
Andrea K. Gerlak, Director of Academic Development
September 2006 Newsletter

Typically, ISA regional meetings occur in the fall semester.  Regions often collaborate with ISA sections, international organizations, and universities to offer a richly diverse conference that spans well beyond the region’s geographic boundaries.  In 2006, ISA’s regions offer many professional development activities for graduate students and faculty alike. 

At the ISA West regional meeting this fall (September 29-30, Las Vegas ), Women in International Security (WIIS) will sponsor a panel titled, “Nonproliferation and Arms Control Issues.”  Ambassador Tom Graham, former head of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, and Dr. Bill Potter, head of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute, will participate.  The idea to connect WIIS with ISA’s regional meeting was developed by a group of University of California , San Bernardino students who sought to bring some of the networking and programming features of WIIS, a traditionally Washington, DC-based organization, to the west coast.  In addition, ISA West will sponsor a publishing workshop for graduate students.

Meanwhile, ISA South demonstrates their commitment to graduate students and junior faculty at their upcoming meeting in Birmingham , Alabama on October 20-21.  Because they realize conference presentation is an integral part of socializing students to the profession, they are making travel grants available to graduate students presenting a paper of up to $150 each to defray the cost of attending the conference. ISA South conference organizers awarded 19 grants for this fall’s meeting. In addition, they’ve organized a workshop on "International Studies and the Profession" to help young professionals network and be exposed to job acquisition tips and skills. Topics include curricular development and the internet, the status of women in the profession, and tips on landing the first academic job.

ISA Midwest has organized a workshop on how to publish books in the profession with representatives from major publishers in International Relations and Comparative Politics.  At their November 3-5 meeting in St. Louis , MO , they have also created a special roundtable on the status of women in the profession.  Similar to the ISA South, organizers of the ISA Midwest meeting also support graduate student participation by defraying hotel costs for graduate students at the conference hotel.

Finally, ISA Northeast is featuring a graduate student workshop titled “Interpretive and Relational Research Methodologies” at their annual November 9-11 in Boston , MA .  This workshop aims to bring together faculty and graduate students in a pedagogical environment to discuss both interpretative and relational methodologies.  The tutorial sessions will be followed by sessions in which graduate student participants will have an opportunity to receive feedback from established scholars and from their fellow workshop participants.

The Active Learning in International Studies (ALIAS) Section of ISA has linked with the regional meetings this fall.  At ISA’s Midwest meeting there will be a workshop entitled, "How to Design IR Simulations" led by Carolyn Shaw and Bob Switky.  At ISA Northeast, there are two workshops scheduled entitled "Constructing Good Courses: From Learning Goals to Assessments" and "Engaging the Millennials:  Techniques in Active Learning for a New Generation of Students," coordinated by David Reilly and John O'Rourke.  Finally, Doug Becker will lead a workshop at ISA’s West regional meeting entitled "How to Design an Active Classroom.”

Special thanks to John Ishiyama, Patrick Thaddeus Jackson, Fran Pilch, Carolyn Shaw, Laura Sjoberg, and Nikolaos Zahariadis for providing valuable information pertaining to their respective regions and sections.