Creating An Ad Hoc Early Career Committee

Creating An Ad Hoc Early Career Committee. Day/Time: Thurs, March 28, 12:15PM-2:15PM; Description: This session will address the utility and structure of an ad hoc Early Career Committee to represent the needs of early career bioanthropologists. Organizers: Kimberly Congdon (congdon221@gmail.com); Melanie Beasley, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, (melmbeasley@gmail.com). Sponsor: AAPA Career Development Committee.

Description: Bioanthropologists who have recently completed their PhDs struggle to find continuing mentorship, understand and navigate the job market and tenure process, develop independent research programs, and learn to mentor students. As our fastest growing group of members students transitioning into early career status, the importance of addressing the needs of this group will only grow.

This session will address the utility and structure of an ad hoc Early Career Committee (ECC) to represent the needs of this growing group. The discussion will be led by a mix of previous Early Career and Student Liaisons, all of whom are pre-tenure anthropologists within 10 years of their PhD. The panel will guide an open discussion to propose the following deliverables to the AAPA Executive Committee for approval:

  1. a definition “early career bioanthropologist”,
  2. a structure for the ECC (e.g., officers and terms),
  3. a mission statement of the ECC,
  4. a membership survey to assess the needs of “early career bioanthropologists”,
  5. a first activity to be held at the 2020 Annual Meeting.

This committee does not intend to replace the Biological Anthropology Developing Investigators Troop (BANDIT). While BANDIT would continue to organize the annual informal “happy hour” social event, the ECC would serve as an organizing body to sponsor workshops at the Annual Meeting, co-organize events with other AAPA committees and conduct outreach in the form of online resources for early career members. Annual meeting activities might include workshops on developing mentoring skills, managing job searches while working, navigating the process of developing a field site, or cultivating a healthy research/teaching balance. Collaborations with the Committees on Diversity and Career Development to ensure intersectional representation would also be a priority.

Audience: Approximately 30% of AAPA members are individuals with PhDs who finished their degrees less than 10 years ago and are pre-tenure. These are voting members occupying postdoctoral research positions, temporary positions, non-tenure track positions, and this initiative would help to better serve their professional needs in biological anthropology