Building a Better World through Information Systems

ICIS 2014 Mid-Career Consortium

Sunday, 14 December 2014, 8:00 am – 4:30pm

University of Auckland Business School

Senior Advisor: Sandra Slaughter, Georgia Institute of Technology

Download the call for participation here. 

This consortium is designed to facilitate career development for those IS academics who are at a mid-point in their career, neither beginning professors nor senior professors.  In North America they are generally called “Associate Professor” after having been tenured or they hold titles such as “Senior Lecturers“ in other regions.  Professors attending this consortium are at an inflection point in the career of an academic and will make decisions about choices that will have a critical impact on the remainder of their careers.  Some faculty members will assume new service responsibilities, some will pursue new research topics, some will seek an administrative position, some will seek new teaching challenges, and others will raise their academic profile within the academic community in a variety of ways.

If this generic profile fits you, you will want to consider attending the ICIS 2014 Mid-Career Consortium on December 14^th, 2014 in Auckland, New Zealand.  (There is no fee to attend the consortium.)

Consortium participants will gain perspectives on career management, including new opportunities, new demands, and new pressures in various potential career tracks that an academic may follow.  They will hear perspectives on how to balance tasks to achieve career goals.  A diverse panel of scholars, administrators, educators and entrepreneurs will share their views on the decisions and pursuits of mid-career academics and respond to questions such as --

·         How can you improve your stature within your institution and within your academic discipline?

·         How can you develop a strong international reputation?

·         What are the trade-offs between various choices you may make in the next few years?

Morning sessions will identify various career track options that participants may consider in their future (see below).  Speakers who have pursued various career track options will present their experiences and identify strategies for achieving related goals.  They will also address the advantages and disadvantages of these tracks, and suggest alternative considerations.  After lunch, break-out teams hosted by faculty mentors will enable participants to freely discuss various career choices and to seek personalized guidance from colleagues.  The topics for breakout teams will be various academic career tracks (identified below), and participants will be able to rotate to two or more such teams to maximize the value-added from their participation.  Participants will engage in some role-playing situations, present scenarios for your future career, have Q&A time with our track leaders, and utilize a diverse set of activities to engage each participant.

Career Track Options

(Note each track is coordinated by one individual, and will also include speakers, panelists, and facilitators from various universities around the world.  Final details to be available later.)

A. Research Leadership.  Guidelines for raising your research profile and having greater impact on the academic field.  How to establish roles at conferences and journals.  How to choose high-impact research projects, how to seek new research partnerships, how to develop long-term research streams, how to become more involved in editorial roles and officer roles within professional organizations.  This track will be coordinated by Varun Grover, William S. Lee Distinguished Professor of Information Systems at Clemson University.

B. Pedagogical Development and Curriculum Leadership.  Post-tenure, how can you establish a strong program of curriculum leadership at your school, and also pursue new goals in teaching pedagogy?  Developing new courses.  Learning new teaching methods.  Team-teaching, online teaching, graduate teaching, executive teaching, international study tours, textbook authorship.    This track will be coordinated by Roger McHaney, University Distinguished Teaching Scholar at Kansas State University.

C. Administrative Leadership.  Some faculty members are attracted to the roles of Department Chair, Dean, or other administrative positions.  We will hear from several MIS faculty who have pursued that career route and hear the “inside story” of the rewards and pitfalls of this path.  This track will be coordinated by Moez Limayem, Dean of the College of Business, University of South Florida.

D. Service (Public, IS field) Entrepreneurship, Consulting.  Now that you have tenure, perhaps you want to devote more time to starting your own company, to serving companies as a consultant, or to other entrepreneurial goals.  We will hear from several MIS faculty who have succeeded (and failed?) in this area.  Perhaps you want to pursue funded research, grants, and contracts.  Or you are interested in Fulbright scholarships.  Some faculty members find that they want to apply their abilities in service of their local community or some global community.  MIS faculty have helped third-world universities start programs, organized campaigns to donate MIS textbooks for Africa, helped community members with web design, and others who have explored the rewards of devoting time to these goals. This track will be coordinated by Richard Watson, J. Rex Fuqua Distinguished Chair for Internet Strategy at the University of Georgia.

Application Process

There is no fee to attend the consortium. However, enrollment is limited. Mid-career academic professionals who are interested in attending this consortium should apply before September 15, 2014. Applications must include a current CV and a brief statement describing the applicant’s current academic status and potential future career goals.  All application materials should be emailed to the co-chairs at mwarkentin@acm.org and Rajiv.Kohli@mason.wm.edu. 

Tentative Agenda

Plenary Morning Session

8:00 am-8:30 am Continental Breakfast (come early and network with others)

8:30 – 8:45 Welcome and Introductions – Summarize themes emerging from survey questions

8:45 – 9:15 Introductory Panel: What’s next? Making the most of your academic career – In 5 minutes each, speakers prime the audience as to the importance of a mid-career reflection?

The morning speakers (one primary speaker for each track, plus one or more supportive speakers) will address the following suggested topics for their track: Briefly discuss how the speakers chose this career path.  What are the key considerations for success? What are the risks or downsides? How can you prepare yourself for success? What resources and skills do you need to cultivate? 

9:15 – 9:45 Speaker(s): Research Leadership

9:45 – 10:15 Speaker(s): Pedagogical Development and Curriculum Leadership

10:15 – 10:30 Coffee break

10:30-11:00 Speaker(s): Administrative Leadership

11:00 – 11:30 Speaker(s): Service (Public, IS field) Entrepreneurship, Consulting, Grants

11:30 – 12:00 Roundtable panel Q&A of morning speakers and others

12:00 to 1:00 Lunch and Networking

1:00 – 1:15 Presentation of scenarios or career path situations or dilemmas for discussion

1:15 – 1:45 Breakout discussions of scenarios among groups at tables

1:45 – 2:00 Debriefing of scenarios

2:00- 3:30 Afternoon Breakout Tables

Breakout tables will be led by a variety of experienced academic leaders in each area, comprised of morning speakers and others who will share further perspectives and lead discussions and exercises designed to facilitate in-depth explorations of career path options and strategies.  Participants are encouraged to bring questions, bring CVs, and explore their options as they move from table to table.  Note that Coffee will be served concurrent with the breakout tables, to be taken to the various tables to continue.

3:30 to 4:20 Panel Discussion/Summary from Breakout Team Leaders – Key themes that emerged (10 minutes each). Unresolved issues, Identify next steps (with interaction from audience) (40 minutes)

4:20 – 4:30 – Closing Comments, Wrap-up

Morning Speakers

The morning speakers will address the following suggested topics for their track: Briefly discuss how they chose this career path.  What are the key considerations for success? What are the risks or downsides? How can you prepare yourself for success? What resources and skills do you need to cultivate?

Research Leadership

Varun Grover

Pedagogical Development and Curriculum Leadership

Roger McHaney, Tony Clear

Administrative Leadership

K.K. Wei

Service (Public, IS field) Entrepreneurship, Consulting, Grants

Steve Elliot

Afternoon Session Leaders and Facilitator

Exercises, scenarios, dilemmas, discussions.  Participants will rotate among many tables.

Research Leadership

Edgar Whitley

Pedagogical Development and Curriculum Leadership

Ramesh Venkataraman

Administrative Leadership

Paul Lowry

Service (Public, IS field) Entrepreneurship, Consulting, Grants

Kevin Desouza