As part of a Fall 2022 YouTube series from @McGillGradStudy at @mcgillu, I and other GPS Associate Deans recorded multiple video responses to questions we often receive from grad students. In this thread are a few clips providing advice and best practices on sensitive topics. 1/4 Grad students can be hesitant to approach a busy supervisor with updates/requests and often ask how to not feel like a burden when seeking support or feedback. This clip provides some advice on how to effectively/efficiently approach a busy supervisor: 2/4

Academic leadership should not be an exercise simply in risk mitigation, avoiding political recrimination, and financial self-preservation. We should not need to wait for painfully overwhelming evidence before we act, especially when we have leading experts under our own roof. It is hard to put into words how having academic leaders concerned principally with reputation and stability has eroded trust, collegiality, and well-being among students, faculty, and staff. Many feel helpless, forgotten, unsafe, and resent the choice btw health and education.

The problem with #McGill200 claims of “no transmission on campus” is such claims require systematic testing of asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals over an extended period. This did not happen. Lack of data is not evidence of safety, but instead indicative of a lack thereof. It is disappointing how our #McGill200 community of world-class researchers continues to be provided blanket reassurances re: campus safety based on non-data, and to see our public health and epidemiological expertise still not resulting in simple preventative health measures.

To be clear, below are readily implementable steps for mitigating the exponential increase in Covid this fall that @mcgillu senior administration have not taken.

1. #VaccineMandate. Lawsuits violating civil liberties are unlikely to outweigh those of families of sick students. 2. Preventing faculty from removing masks while teaching. This virus is aerosolized and not only transmitted through droplets. One instructor can infect an entire class if not wearing a mask. Instructor status should not trump the health rights of students.

For @mcgillu students who believe their health to be compromised by an instructor removing their mask while teaching, one workaround may be to sit within 2 m of them. Instructors are not permitted to remove masks unless 2 m away and can be reported to campus security. #McGill200 As @mcgillu does not require social distancing in classrooms, instructors cannot require that students relocate away from a closer seat to allow for mask removal. It is unfortunate that students must now protect themselves against unsafe #McGill200 protocols, but here we are.

I am not appreciating the misguided messaging from admin/colleagues to be patient with some faculty/students who are “not ready“ to come back, implying a lack of psychological resilience or unwarranted anxiety. Here is why. /🧵 I am not ready to see my colleagues and students get sick due to ill-informed policies prioritizing finances over well-being. I am not ready to see my 9-year-old in hospital due to administrators playing politics. I am not ready to get sick in the service of institutional pride.

This is an important point. I personally try to explicitly address the social norms and varied strategies involved in academic questioning during my lab meetings with graduate students, as this can otherwise be particularly stressful at conferences or thesis defences.

https://twitter.com/tabiwilbur/status/1115349709131063296

Some quick tips:
1. Have your codebook at the ready to answer Qs about measures or items
2. Prepare for Qs concerning moderation by demographic variables, particularly if mentioned in participants sections
3. Restating Q or asking to rephrase can buy time to formulate response

As part of a book project with @veletsianos on social media tips for early career scholars, I thought it might be interesting to share some thoughts-in-progress in this thread on online engagement strategies for academics. Feedback is welcome :) Some thoughts on self-promotion, writing, analytics, and crowdfunding on social media... 1/6