Welcome to Indiana University’s 30th Annual Preparing Future Faculty Conference. I am very excited to share with you all the line-up we have planned. One goal of this conference is to help prepare graduate students for their future careers after graduation, and this is reflected in this year’s conference theme “What’s Next?: Adapting and Thriving in Academia and Beyond”. Right now, many of you may be asking yourself what is next, whether that be for you, your career, or academia more broadly. We hope that the sessions at this conference may help you get just a little bit closer to finding your answer.
I have several people to thank for making this year’s conference possible. Each year this conference is planned by a committee of graduate scholars and would not happen without the dedication of these volunteers, who gave their time and ideas, in addition to their responsibilities as instructors and researchers. You will see them today as moderators and presiders, and there are many more who have assisted throughout the planning process. Therefore, I wholeheartedly thank the committee for their hard work in making today possible.
I would also like to offer a thank you to our sponsors, who you will find on the “sponsors” page of this website. A large thank you in particular to the University Graduate School for their outstanding support, both this year and many years in the past. This year’s conference would not have been possible without them.
Cassie Mead
2024-2025 Preparing Future Faculty Fellow