The Empowered Professor: Finding Purpose in Academia
Friday, March 11, 2:00-3:30pm – virtual via Zoom
to Zoom recording
Dana Mitra, Professor of Education Policy Studies at Penn State, certified leadership coach and author of “The empowered professor” (2022), will present on how to find success and fulfillment in academia throughout the career lifespan. The interactive session builds on a framework of the ABCs of faculty development—agency, belonging and competencies. Dr. Mitra examines how to push past self-doubt by connecting purpose to scholarship and focuses on how to interrogate and understand the unspoken rules of academic institutions. Participants will have opportunities for self-reflection and planning. The program is open to faculty, post-doctoral fellows, and doctoral students who are interested in faculty careers.
The program is co-sponsored by Education & Counseling, Office of the Provost, VISIBLE, ODEI, VIRS and VITAL
Dana Mitra is Professor of Education Policy Studies at the Pennsylvania State University. She recently released the book The Empowered Professor: Breaking the Unspoken Codes of Inequity in Academia. Dr. Mitra works as a leadership coach and offers workshops and coaches faculty on finding one’s purpose as an academic and navigating the unspoken rules of the profession, including publishing and career advancement. to D. Mitra’s site.
Dana Mitra is founding editor of the International Journal of Student Voice and Co-Editor of The American Journal of Education. The second edition of her textbook—Educational Change and the Political Process is forthcoming with Routledge. Previously published books include Civic Education in the Elementary Grades: Promoting Engagement in an Era of Accountability and Student Voice in School Reform: Building Youth-Adult Partnerships that Strengthen Schools and Empower Youth.
Dana Mitra holds a PhD from Stanford University in Educational Administration and Policy Analysis. She has served as a Fulbright-Nehru Scholar in 2012 to study child participation and educational reform in Bangalore, India. Her prior work experience includes teaching elementary school in the Washington, DC area and serving as the coordinator for two White House Conferences on Character Education.