A Degree of Betrayal: the relationship between PhD students and mentors | Steve Caplan

A few years before I joined a laboratory at the US National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, for my postdoctoral training, I recall reading about a frightening incident of radioactive phosphorus-32 (P-32) poisoning on that campus. In this bizarre case, a married couple who were postdoctoral fellows working together in the same lab accused their mentor – the principal investigator (PI) of the lab – of poisoning the female postdoc by lacing her lunch with P-32. Why? The allegation was that the PI was unhappy that the pregnancy of his postdoc would slow down her progress at work – and of course, the PI’s progress en route to a scientific patent.

Ultimately, after a thorough investigation by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the PI was cleared of any wrongdoing. Although suspicion shifted to the postdoc’s husband for a variety of reasons, there was insufficient evidence to indict him.

I have always been intrigued by the touchy relationship between the mentor – someone with the power to make or break a PhD student’s career – and the student, who is entirely dependent on the mentor for success and a positive experience in the lab. I have been in the shoes of an undergraduate researcher, Masters student, PhD student, postdoc, and all ranks of academic PI positions, including the chair of our departmental graduate committee. So believe me when I say that I’ve seen just about every kind of issue crop up. Well, except for P-32 poisoning.

Armed with experience from all stages of my career in science, I wrote A Degree of Betrayal, a novel, to highlight the complexities of the PI-student relationship. Indeed, such a relationship is often further complicated by gender issues – typically a female student who is subordinate to a male PI. Although both my Masters and PhD mentors were women, the former combination is still more common, because there are still more male PIs, while – at least in our institute – the majority of graduate students are female.

With more women subordinate to men in research labs, in the course of my career I have come across actual cases of sexual harassment by the PI, as reported to me by fellow students. But the goal of A Degree of Betrayal was to address a subtler and more difficult form of betrayal by a mentor. In a position of power, an abusive mentor can find many ways to inflict harm on a student who does not satisfy his (or her) demands in the lab – whether they are legitimate demands or not. Such punishment includes an unwillingness to support the student’s research, failure to provide recommendation letters (in a timely manner), general lack of fairness in deciding when a student is ready to graduate, and so on. As many of these issues are highly subjective and often debatable, proving such allegations is an extremely difficult enterprise.

Like my first two novels, Matter Over Mind and Welcome Home, Sir, A Degree of Betrayal belongs to the growing genre known as “lab lit” (laboratory literature) that highlights the careers and day-to-day struggles of real-life scientists.

What options remain for a student or trainee who has been betrayed by her/his mentor? And how far would a student go to prevent such a mentor’s betrayal and protect her/his own interests? I’ll leave that to the imagination – or to those who might be interested in reading A Degree of Betrayal.

A Degree of Betrayal: the relationship between PhD students and mentors | Steve Caplan

Botzman: College Degree Still Best Investment You Can Make In Yourself

By Thomas J. Botzman, Ph.D.
President of Misericordia University 

Kearston T. Healey and David A. Baker know what it charges to graduate from school – both in terms of dollars and time. They are members of our May 2013 graduating class and also the very first in their families to graduate from school.

Weeks before graduating summa cum laude with her master’s degree in speech-language pathology from Misericordia University, Kearston accepted a occupation with Select Health-related Rehabilitation Providers as a speech-language pathologist. A number of weeks after obtaining his master’s degree in speech-language pathology magna cum laude, David started his profession with Genesis Rehabilitation Services as a speech-language pathologist.

Like most collegians, they worked odd jobs, took out numerous pupil loans, and sought scholarships to finance their undergraduate and graduate degrees from the 5-yr academic program. They also graduated with student debt.

The Healey and Baker households, even though, looked at the student loans and repayment schedule as an investment in their potential. The latest graduates also happen to be in a profession in which they get fantastic fulfillment out of helping people deal with or overcome their communication issues. The median salary for a speech-language pathologist nationally is $ 69,a hundred, in accordance to a latest report in U.S. Information &amp World Report.

“I usually desired to go to school,’’ David explained, a single day following getting the very first bill to start repaying his pupil loans. “If I didn’t go to school, I’d be operating some minimum wage task – something to make a buck. When you break down the cost of school, it is well worth the investment.’’

Another 376 undergraduate and graduate students had been awarded their diplomas at our 87^th yearly Commencement ceremony. In 2009-10 and 2010-11, 93 % of our graduates were employed in their area of examine or enrolled in graduate college 6 months right after graduation. I am assured we will soon be ready to report the same about our two most recent graduating courses.

I am sharing Kearston’s and David’s stories with you simply because as the nation’s economy continues to struggle an ongoing debate continues to rage about the value of a school education. Is it well worth it? What sort of occupation will I get soon after graduation? How will I pay for my degree?

“I really do not know what I would do with no it (school degree),’’ Kearston recently explained about the investment she created in her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at MU. “I want to go back for my Ph.D., so I can educate. I consider it is one thing that will constantly pay out me back. No one particular can get it away you are usually going to have debt someplace.’’

They are all valid queries. Although a university schooling is not for everybody, it nonetheless remains the surest path to earning a excellent living in today’s tough economic system. There are many reviews offered about the earning prospective of college versus higher school graduates. The Nationwide Association of College and University Company Officers (NACUBO) filed the report, “Lifetime Earnings: College Graduates Even now Earn More,’’ in 2012. A individual with a bachelor’s degree earns $ one million more above his or her lifetime than a particular person with a large college diploma. That disparity increases by one more $ one million when evaluating bachelor’s and doctorate degree holders, in accordance to the NACUBO report.

“I really don’t know what I would be performing with no my degree,’’ additional Kearston, a former commuter pupil who worked portion time in a nearby grocery keep even though attending Misericordia. “I was producing $ 7.25 an hour so I could place gasoline in my auto. It wasn’t gratifying or satisfying. There is no accurate advancement with that sort of job.’’

Additionally, in February 2013 the New York Occasions broke down the unemployment price among college and substantial college graduates in our demanding economy. In January, the jobless rate for bachelor’s degree holders was three.7 percent, although it was 8.one percent for folks with a high college diploma.

The Association of Independent Colleges &amp Universities of Pennsylvania (AICUP) examined the concern a little closer by focusing solely on the Keystone State. The 2013 report found the median earnings for all state residents with a bachelor’s degree was $ 48,366. Conversely, state residents with a higher school diploma earned $ 30,754 on regular.

Misericordia University’s mission is driven by its founders and sponsors, the Religious Sisters of Mercy, who have committed themselves to serving those who lacked accessibility to education and wellness care. We proceed to enroll students who have the drive and capability to excel academically, but who lack fiscal sources.

Almost 35 % of our 1st-year college students, or nearly 200 each year, enter the University with the backing of a federal Pell grant. These college students normally also receive significant institutional and donor scholarships in help of their training. Upon graduation, these college students acquire much better salaries, a “private good,’’ and also support their communities with improved economic output and social services, commonly known as “public goods.’’

Thomas J. Botzman, Ph.D.

Private institutions, like Misericordia, also are much more price powerful for taxpayers. In Pennsylvania, the state underwrites 39 percent ($ 22,572) of the complete cost for educating a pupil at a public institution, even though private help from the state is about 11 percent ($ two,752). Practically 300,000 students are enrolled in personal schools and universities in the commonwealth these days, offering the base for robust future financial growth at a price that would boost by $ 6 billion if all college students relied on full public subsidies.

In my view, public and private help are important parts of how we give the two the personal good and public very good of greater schooling. Operating collectively, the public and personal elements of greater schooling develop a new generation of skilled workers and community leaders. And, for the taxpayer, the assistance of personal institutions saves on the complete fees of educating students who will lead economic growth and a broadening of the tax base.

At Misericordia, the mission stays real to this day as more than 45 % of our undergraduate students are 1st-generation university students – which means that we really are able to open the door to far better outcomes for our students and for our communities.

“I feel obtaining a certificate or degree in one thing gives you an advantage in discovering employment,’’ David has concluded. “It opens doors and opportunities you otherwise might not have.’’

I could not have stated it much better myself.

Thomas J. Botzman, Ph.D., is president of Misericordia University in Dallas, Pa., the 1st four-yr college in Luzerne County.

Botzman: College Degree Still Best Investment You Can Make In Yourself

National Briefing | Education: Online Courses Attract Degree Holders, Survey Finds

About 80 percent of men and women who enrolled in a massive open on-line program, or MOOC, from the University of Pennsylvania had previously earned a bachelor’s degree, in accordance to a survey of 34,000 college students who had at least began a single of the 24 programs the university presented on the Coursera platform. Although Coursera’s founders have presented their MOOCs as a way to democratize greater schooling by producing it accessible on the web, totally free, to anyone in the planet, the Penn survey located that in the United States and developing nations alike, most Coursera students had been well educated, employed, youthful and male. Penn’s courses account for 20 % of Coursera’s enrollment.

National Briefing | Education: Online Courses Attract Degree Holders, Survey Finds

P-Tech High School Unveils Combination Degree Program Focusing on Technology

Pathways in Technological innovation Early University Large School (P-Tech) in Brooklyn, New York, is providing a six-12 months program of academic, technical and workplace skills that is garnering focus nationwide.

The rigorous 6-year system, starting with the ninth grade, has a focus on science, technologies, engineering and mathematics courses. Mentors will assistance students as they progress by way of the programs, and after effective completion, students would have the two a large college diploma and a value-totally free associate’s degree, writes Eric Anderson of Instances Union.

President Barack Obama not too long ago visited the IBM-supported prototype in Brooklyn. Following his check out, educators, company and government officials gathered at the School of Nanoscale Science and Engineering in Albany to figure out how to spread the model statewide.

IBM, GlobalFoundries, Cisco, GE Healthcare, Wegmans, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Microsoft and dozens of other businesses have committed to hiring the graduates.

“From the minute college students walk into ninth grade next September, they are going to school,” mentioned Robin Willner of the P-Tech Leadership Council, who moderated the morning programs. “When our college students are ready for higher-ability jobs,” Willner stated, incorporating that “we’ll entice organizations, we’ll grow companies.”

The local colleges districts, Troy and Ballston Spa, are getting ready to participate in the plan.

In August, Gov. Andrew Cuomo picked sixteen winners statewide to form public-personal sponsorships.

In manufacturing, GlobalFoundries, SUNY Adirondack, Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex BOCES, and Hudson Falls College District were chosen, whilst GlobalFoundries, Cisco, TRC, Hudson Valley Neighborhood University, Ballston Spa School District have been chosen in Clean Technologies.

In advanced manufacturing, Center for Financial Growth, GE Healthcare, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, HVCC, Questar III BOCES and City College District of Troy were picked.

P-Tech “will greater put together students for the workforce of the potential,” mentioned F. Michael Tucker, president and CEO of the Albany-based Center for Financial Development, a regional economic advancement organization. “Certainly the organizations we operate with in manufacturing and technological innovation have concerns about the qualified technical workforce.”

Revolutionary approaches to blending academic and job preparation with shifting 21st century skills are becoming piloted not just in New York, but throughout the world. In the United Kingdom, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has announced the launch of an initiative to promote coding and other IT abilities for a new generation.

The plan comes right after issues were raised by the government and professionals over schools’ capability to provide critical computing skills. Many organizations and authorities have come out to help the initiative, as there are fewer people working in the technologies sector in an economic system that is increasingly turning out to be digital.

The initiative to promote computing expertise comes thirty many years right after a BBC push to make computing mainstream by putting BBC Micro personal computers in the bulk of colleges. Tony Hall, BBC’s general director, in a speech to his employees, stated that the initiative would be launched in 2015.

P-Tech High School Unveils Combination Degree Program Focusing on Technology

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