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Follow the Red Brick Road:�From CCI to your �Wildest Dreams!

Joseph Winberry, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

School of Information and Library Science, UNC Chapel Hill

46^th Annual CCI Research Symposium

ALUMNI CHAMPIONS

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The red brick road from UTK to UNC for me is perhaps best encapsulated by an example from my own research. While a Ph.D. student I wrote a paper which looked at how MSLIS students felt about older adults in their curriculum. My findings were that while we live in an aging society, MSLIS students could see various representations of younger people in their programs’ curricula but often not older adults. They were open to learning more, however, about serving this population. I was shocked when this paper won a best conference paper award at an ALISE conference but was grateful for the recognition and the attention that the award brought to the important topic. The findings have since been the foundation of an IMLS grant to improve MSLIS training of librarians for work in an aging society. It is too early to know if the grant will be successful or not, but this journey has reminded me of the value that we each have within us. Or as Glenda the Good Witch might put it, you had the power all along but had to discover it for yourself.

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Your Circus, Your Monkeys

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See What Only You Can

Joseph

Gerontology

LGBT+

Community Organizing

History

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Listen To What You Don’t Want To Hear

Second, listen to what you don’t want to hear. When I decided I wanted to become a professor, I knew the road would be more than friendly scarecrows and delicious apples. But I wanted to get a better sense of what it would take to be successful. For me, Karen Kelsky was the voice of reason shouting alone in the wilderness about how to turn my Ph.D. into a job despite the difficulties of the job market. I had a great amount of luck on my job search to be sure, but Karen’s advice in her book and in her lectures I found online (including this one offered at UTK a few years back) gave me a fighting chance to be lucky. Whether you see yourself being a professor or working in some other capacity, take charge of your future and seek out those who will tell you what you need to hear not necessarily what you want to hear.

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Speak Good Into Existence—�For You and For Others

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Thank You!

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Follow the Red Brick Road:�From CCI to your �Wildest Dreams!

Presentation By:

Joseph Winberry, Ph.D.

jwinber@unc.edu

X: @joseph_winberry