Teaching and Mentoring Future Leaders in the Field

(ProQuest-CSA LLC: ... denotes formulae omitted.)Introduction: The Rabbit's ThesisOne sunny day a rabbit came out of her hole in the ground to enjoy the fine weather. The day was so nice that she became careless and a fox sneaked up behind her and caught her."I am going to eat you for lunch," said the fox."Wait!" replied the rabbit, "You should wait at least a few days.""Oh, yeah? Why should I wait?""Well, I am just finishing my thesis on 'The Superiority of Rabbits over Foxes and Wolves.' ""Are you crazy? I should eat you right now! Everybody knows that a fox will always win over a rabbit.""Not really, not according to my research. If you like, you can come into my hole and read it for yourself. If you are not convinced by my data, you can go ahead and have me for lunch.""You really are crazy!" But since the fox was curious and had nothing to lose, it went with the rabbit. The fox never came out.A few days later the rabbit was again taking a break from writing and sure enough, a wolf came out of the bushes and was ready to set upon her."Wait!" yelled the rabbit, "You can't eat me right now.""And why might that be, my furry appetizer?" said the wolf."I am almost finished writing my thesis on 'The Superiority of Rabbits over Foxes and Wolves.'"The wolf laughed so hard it almost lost its grip on the rabbit. "Maybe I shouldn't eat you. You really are sick ... in the head. You might have something contagious.""Come and read it for yourself. You can eat me afterward if you disagree with my conclusions."So the wolf went down into the rabbit's hole ... and he never came out.The rabbit finished writing her thesis and was out celebrating in the local lettuce patch. Another rabbit came along and asked, "What's up? You seem so happy!""Yup, I just finished writing my thesis.""Congratulations. What's it about?"" 'The Superiority of Rabbits over Foxes and Wolves.'""Are you sure? That doesn't sound right.""Oh, yes. Come and read it for yourself." So together they went down into the rabbit's hole.As they entered, the friend saw the typical graduate student abode, albeit a rather messy one after writing a thesis. The computer with the controversial work was in one corner of the room. To the right there was a pile of fox bones and to the left a pile of wolf bones. And in the middle was a large, well-fed lion.The moral of the story: The title of your thesis doesn't matter. The subject of your thesis doesn't matter. The research of your thesis doesn't matter. All that matters is: Who is your advisor? (Source: Taken from http://www.es .virginia.edu/malware/rabbit.html. Original author unknown.)Although Arthur Cohen himself may disagree with the rabbit's assertion that the title, subject, and research of a thesis do not matter, those of us who were lucky enough to have Arthur Cohen as a doctoral program teacher and mentor probably identify with this story. We knew we had a "lion" of a mentor. And there are many of us-almost 70, in fact. It is not a stretch to say that most advanced doctoral students consider their relationship with their advisor the most important aspect of their education (Zhao, Golde, & McCormick, 2005). Whereas most of this volume is dedicated to Arthur Cohen's contributions to the field in terms of research and scholarship, this article describes his tremendous contribution to the field through the students in whom he invested time, energy, and concern. Few members of the professoriate are able to put their stamp on the field through the sheer numbers of graduates who go on to become educational leaders in the way that Arthur Cohen has.I begin this article by noting the number of Cohen's doctoral advisees, a summary of the professional positions they have held, and the breadth of their dissertation topics. Next, I describe five characteristics that made Arthur Cohen a "lion" of a mentor: (a) frequent contact with students, (b) depth of understanding of the field, (c) passion for the work, (d) inclusion in a community of scholars, and (e) opportunities for research and writing. …