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Archive for September, 2010

My professional academic bio

Saturday, September 25th, 2010

I was asked recently to post my professional bio so that others can get an idea of how to format their own bios. I added one new thing to my bio, as I will be inducted into Delta Mu Delta in a few weeks. I added the bio to my thinkPhD “about” page as well.

Professional academic bios should include your educational milestones, honors, and relevant career information. I could have added some thing about articles published, but none of my articles so far are published in peer-reviewed journals.


My professional academic bio:

Cynthia J. Wolfe graduated from Troy University in Troy, AL, with an BS in Environmental Science, and later received an MBA from Troy University. She has obtained Doctoral Candidacy status at Northcentral University in Prescott Valley, AZ, where she is pursuing a PhD in Business Administration with a specialization in Management. She is a member of the Academy of Management (AOM), the National Business Education Association (NBEA), Delta Pi Epsilon (National Honorary Professional Graduate Society of Business Education), and Delta Mu Delta Honor Society, Lambda Eta Chapter. She is a manager at an international packaging company and an instructor with the University of Phoenix, Richmond, VA, campus, where she teaches business and general studies.

Reflections on Doctoral Candidacy

Saturday, September 18th, 2010

I received my “ABD letter” today…..

Dear Ms. Wolfe,

Congratulations, you have officially attained Doctoral Candidacy status at Northcentral University in the School of Business and Technology Management.

Candidacy represents a significant mileston in your doctoral studies. It is the point at which a Learner is formally recognized as a professional colleague. This notification will become part of your official records.

Best wishes for the successful completion of your dissertation.

Sincerely,
A. Lee Smith, PhD
Dean for the School of Business and Technology Management

I have been reflecting and chronicling my journey to a PhD here in my blog, thinkPhD. I enrolled at NCU on my 47th birthday in 2006 and began my first class on July 1. My first thinkPhD blog post titled “Why?” is dated July 9, 2006.

I had been out of grad school for five years and was working full time and teaching undergrad business classes. Some of my colleagues at the campus had just begun working on their terminal degrees. A friend suggested NCU…so I did my homework on accreditation and online learning.

I could never have attended a school full time because of family and working two jobs. NCU fit my needs exactly because it was self-paced online learning with single-student responsibility (no teams). The price was quite a stumbling block for me and eventually I ended up getting a loan to lock in tuition.

So why go back to school anyway? It’s simple – this is for me. I love to learn and to teach, and plan to do this until I can’t anymore. I love my students and enjoy encouraging them to be the best they can be. My plan is “retire” from my full time corporate job and teach as an adjunct professor. I also want to write and perhaps do some consulting related to higher education. I am a believer in achieving personal maximum attainment!

Today I have been downloading some of the papers that I have written and organizing my computer file system for these documents. It is a walk down memory lane when I think about the classes I’ve taken and the papers I’ve written. I really struggled with some of them and considered quitting more than once. But I didn’t quit – I kept going – and today I am ABD – “All But Dissertation.”

Passed Comps!

Thursday, September 9th, 2010

I turned in my comps exam on 08/30 and Dr. H had it graded and back to me the next day. I passed! One of the questions that I thought I did poorly on, he commented that it was my best. The question that I thought I did the best with, he commented that it was lacking! I thought this to be pretty strange. However, all I had to do was pass, and I did. So I am very happy!

I checked with my advisor and found out that they do not automatically send out the ABD “All But Dissertation” congratulations letters. I have to enroll in the next class, which is DIS9321B. That queues the letter to be sent out. My grade for comps will not post until after the class ends on 10/24. I plan to start DIS9321B on October 1st, so this weekend I will be working on my concept paper so that I can turn it in on the first day of class.

But for now, I am reveling in knowing I PASSED COMPS!!!