(Separate Fee Required) SSRPCB-2: Beyond Publications: How to Build a Scholarly Enterprise and Productivity in Social Work

The goal of the session is to help doctoral students and junior faculty understand that they can improve their ability to conduct sustained scholarship by viewing an academic career as being part of the creative economy, as being entrepreneurial, and as being a career focused on innovation. We will discuss how insights and perspectives from literature on the creative economy and innovation relate to an academic career. The session serves as a reaction to the growing focus on “productivity� in academia and in the evaluation of academics during hiring, promotion and tenure. The session will cover some of the financial realities of funding a research program through grants and contracts; the things students do not typically learn in a doctoral program. We will introduce the ideas that they will likely be responsible for, including budgeting, understanding Full Time Equivalents, fringe and IC, strategic investments, and negotiation of contracts and sub-contracts. We will focus on how to identify key funders and constituents for your industry; create brief informational material to share with key stakeholders; develop an elevator pitch to share with key stakeholders; and identify professional groups to partner with for enhanced visibility and credibility.

Dr. Rundle will discuss how publication is not the end of a scholarly process, but the beginning of a scholarly enterprise, and how he sees each publication as part of a larger story arc of publications that support his teaching, pursuit of grant funding and consulting work. He will discuss how for each publication, he develops strategies for the translation and dissemination of the work by considering graphic design, public relations, guerilla marketing and “merchandizing." Dr. Rundle will also discuss his experiences providing research technology services as a way to sustain a research team during gaps in research funding.

Dr. Keefe will share her experience in directing a self-sustaining Center at a large university. Topics will include the importance of identifying your strategy and vision for creating a Center, how to conduct an environmental scan of other institutions with similar Centers, and navigating the challenges and opportunities of academia. Key topics around funding through grants and other sources of income to build a self-sustaining Center will include the importance of creating a viable financial model focused on building relationships with funders. This session will cover how scholarship and income generated from a self-sustaining Centers are valued or challenged within academia and the need to broaden the perspectives from key leaders around these types of intellectual scholarship and revenue generation. Examples from Dr. Keefe will highlight how to position your Center to have the influence, value, and expertise within your own University. Questions around how to position yourself as a leader of Center to build outcomes that are aligned with the University will be discussed.