Hi beautiful people,

Here are a few questions I (Shamari Reid) asked myself when making decisions about who would join my dissertation committee. This list is not exhaustive and may not work for everyone given our different contexts, identities, needs, and situations. My intention is simply to share the questions that helped me put together a dope committee of kind faculty who were committed to me and my vision. In addition, I’ve added a few other ideas I have about this process. Take what you need, leave the rest.

Note: I separated the questions into 2 phases. I made sure I was clear about many of my answers for the questions in phase 1 before exploring the questions listed in phase 2. If you read this file in google doc, you’ll be able see the additional notes I shared using the comment function.

Reflection questions

Phase 1:

• What kind of scholar/practitioner would I like to become? Why? To what end?
• How do I want to show up in the academy and/or industry? The world?
• What are the (scholarly) questions that most speak to my heart, mind, body, and soul?^[a]
• What is my dream dissertation project? This project might flow from the questions that most speak to you and how you want to show up.
• What might I need to know with regard to theory, methodology, and practice to explore these questions and make my dream dissertation project a reality?
• What do I need from my committee members to successfully (and healthily) make my dream dissertation project a reality? Or what kind of advisement and guidance do I need?

These phase 1 questions really helped me gain clarity around how I wanted to exist in my field, and what exactly I desired to accomplish with my dissertation. Once I became clear about who I was, who I wanted to become, and my vision for my dissertation, I turned my attention to questions around who could assist me on my journey.

Phase 2

• Who are the faculty who show up in the academy and/or industry in ways that align with my values, beliefs, and habits of being^[b]?
• Who are the faculty who could help strengthen my understanding of the theories and fields of thought needed for my dream dissertation?
• Who are the faculty who could help deepen my understanding of the methodological approaches needed for my dream dissertation?
• Who are the faculty who have demonstrated a commitment to helping me develop as an emerging scholar?
• Who are the faculty who provide feedback in ways that I feel are useful to my growth?
• Who are the faculty who love me in ways that make sense to my heart?
• Who are the faculty who make time/space for me?

When exploring the questions in phase 2 I had to rely on personal experiences with faculty, anecdotes from other graduate students, faculty scholarship, and e-mail exchanges. Many of my answers to phase 2’s questions led me to faculty outside my institution. So, I sent cold emails to faculty whose work and ways of doing academia I admired. I used these emails to express my appreciation for their scholarship, introduce myself and my ideas for my dream dissertation, and request a virtual meeting. Many never returned my emails^[c]. Others lamented not having time to set up a virtual meeting. And a few were happy and available to share virtual space with me.

In the virtual meetings, I sought to identify kind faculty who expressed interest in me and my ideas, and demonstrated alignment. And I prioritized alignment across our values, commitments, habits of being, ideologies, and hearts over alignment between our areas of research. I was only able to have 1 committee member from outside my institution. Thus, I had to be strategic. I was intentional about making sure this outside member brought something I could not get from faculty at my institution. Across my committee, I made sure I had faculty who could assist me with theory, methodology, writing, moving through the academy without losing my sanity or spirit; and who loved me. And not every member of my committee checked off all these things. However, as a committee, I had access to everything I needed. Some might call these kinds of committees “the dream team” in which each committee member has unique things to afford doc students and their work. In collaboration with my committee, I created the dissertation of my dreams, and I learned how to move through the academy in ways that feel good to my mind, body, spirit, and heart.

Final thought: this is your dissertation. Own it. Stand in it. And with this sense of clarity and confidence, please ask potential committee members: how can you help me make my dream dissertation a reality? This question made it clear to my committee that I was open to feedback and growth, but that I needed them to prioritize pouring energy into helping me bring my dream to life, not trying to convince me to do/be something else.

Final (final) thought: advisors and dissertation committee members can be different faculty members with different roles in your journey. I had wonderful advisors who played an important role in my development who were not on my committee. I made sure not to burden them with dissertation work. Please be mindful of which faculty serve as advisors or third/fourth readers and do all the work and receive little to no credit. This is especially true for Black women faculty. Be careful not to abuse their kindness.