Otherwise, instead of enriching society, the fruits of their labor will wither like unharvested grapes. To address this problem, Cherwitz, in collaboration with JoyLynn Reed, communication lecturer and teaching assistant program coordinator in the Center for Teaching Effectiveness, created the UT Graduate School Professional Development Program to train the next generation of citizen-scholars.
Students are clamoring to get in.
I teach two classes per semester with class limits of 20 to 25 and they both have waiting lists. There are also three courses specifically for international students that deal with the culture of American academic and professional communication, teaching, and writing. The courses are very demanding but worth every bit of the effort, said several graduate students contacted by Next Wave. Students in the professional communication class give several videotaped talks based on their work. It was excruciating, but after that I was very well prepared for my first international conference.