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We are offering a one-week FREE trial of the STANDOUT Professor Confab from January 13th through 17th!

The STANDOUT Professor Winter 2025 Confab

—January 27th through March 21st—

The STANDOUT Professor Confab is designed to enhance productivity and wellbeing for academic researchers, from postdocs to senior scholars. Whether you’re struggling to carve out time for solo projects, feeling isolated in your department, or seeking tools to enhance your career and life, we hope you’ll consider participating and inviting others to join you.

The STANDOUT Professor Confab

provides critical support, structure, and community through:

  • ✺

    Focused work sessions every Monday through Thursday for enhanced accountability and productivity

  • ✺

    Group coaching sessions for camaraderie and encouragement

  • ✺

    Workshops for continued professional and personal development

FOCUSED WORK SESSIONS

These drop-in sessions are for focused, independent work. Sessions take place Monday through Thursday. The detailed program schedule can be found below. You are invited to attend as many sessions as you wish.

We begin each focused work session by greeting one another and sharing goals. Participants then work independently on projects that require concentration, with a quick progress check at the halfway point, and time for celebrating our accomplishments at the end. 

You may arrive late or leave early as needed. You are encouraged to stay for the full two-hour session when you are available.

GROUP COACHING SESSIONS

Ample research documents the importance of social support, yet many of us feel isolated within the academic environment. These structured conversations are designed to reduce that sense of isolation by coming together to share ideas and encouragement. Each session will focus on a different topic and will include group discussion as well as reflections and guidance from a facilitator (usually Elizabeth). Everything shared during these sessions is confidential. 

Sessions take place on select Fridays at noon ET. The detailed schedule, with topics, can be found below.

WORKSHOPS

Workshops take place monthly, at noon ET on the second Friday of the month. These gatherings provide opportunities for continued learning and positive interaction.

Recordings of past workshops are available here.

The title of the February workshop is “Doing what we love, and loving what we do.” The topic for the March workshop will be determined based on input from participants.

The detailed program schedule can be found below.

Pricing and registration deadlines

Register by December 23rd for early-bird pricing of $179.

Registration closes on January 31st, 2024 (one week after the start of the STANDOUT Professor Confab).

The fee for the program is $249.

We are committed to making the Confab accessible to all. Please contact drew@nodramaturg.com for more information about a partial scholarship.

Who runs the sessions?

The STANDOUT Professor Confab was developed by Elizabeth Odders-White, a former academic researcher and leader and current professional coach. Group coaching sessions and workshops will be facilitated by Elizabeth, or possibly by a guest facilitator with particular expertise. Some focused work sessions will be run by Elizabeth; most will be run by STANDOUT Professor staff (Drew).

Contact drew@nodramaturg.com with any additional questions.

SCHEDULE

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  • Focused work sessions

    You may come and go as needed during these sessions.

    • Every Monday from 2-4pm ET

    • Every Tuesday from 11am-1pm ET

    • Every Wednesday from 1-3pm ET

    • Every Thursday from 11am-1pm ET

    Group coaching sessions

    • F Jan 31 at noon ET — Managing professional relationships

    • F Feb 7 at noon ET — Considering moving to another institution?

    • F Feb 21 at noon ET — What’s on your mind? (an open conversation) 

    • F Feb 28 at noon ET — What does real self-care look (and feel!) like?

    • F Mar 7 at noon ET — TBD based on participant input

    • F Mar 21 at noon ET — TBD based on participant input

    Workshops

    • F Feb 14 at noon ET — Doing what we love, and loving what we do

    • F Mar 14 at noon ET — TBD based on participant input

  • Focused work sessions

    You may come and go as needed during these sessions.

    • Every Monday from 1-3pm CT

    • Every Tuesday from 10am-12pm CT

    • Every Wednesday from 12-2pm CT

    • Every Thursday from 10am-12pm CT

    Group coaching sessions

    • F Jan 31 at 11am CT — Managing professional relationships

    • F Feb 7 at 11am CT — Considering moving to another institution?

    • F Feb 21 at 11am CT — What’s on your mind? (an open conversation) 

    • F Feb 28 at 11am CT — What does real self-care look (and feel!) like?

    • F Mar 7 at 11am CT — TBD based on participant input

    • F Mar 21 at 11am CT — TBD based on participant input

    Workshops

    • F Feb 14 at 11am CT — Doing what we love, and loving what we do

    • F Mar 14 at 11am CT — TBD based on participant input

  • Focused work sessions

    You may come and go as needed during these sessions.

    • Every Monday from 12-2pm MT

    • Every Tuesday from 9-11am MT

    • Every Wednesday from 11am-1pm MT

    • Every Thursday from 9-11am MT

    Group coaching sessions

    • F Jan 31 at 10am MT — Managing professional relationships

    • F Feb 7 at 10am MT — Considering moving to another institution?

    • F Feb 21 at 10am MT — What’s on your mind? (an open conversation) 

    • F Feb 28 at 10am MT — What does real self-care look (and feel!) like?

    • F Mar 7 at 10am MT — TBD based on participant input

    • F Mar 21 at 10am MT — TBD based on participant input

    Workshops

    • F Feb 14 at 10am MT — Doing what we love, and loving what we do

    • F Mar 14 at 10am MT — TBD based on participant input

  • Focused work sessions

    You may come and go as needed during these sessions.

    • Every Monday from 11am-1pm PT

    • Every Tuesday from 8-10am PT

    • Every Wednesday from 10am-12pm PT

    • Every Thursday from 8am-10am PT

    Group coaching sessions

    • F Jan 31 at 9am PT — Managing professional relationships

    • F Feb 7 at 9am PT — Considering moving to another institution?

    • F Feb 21 at 9am PT — What’s on your mind? (an open conversation) 

    • F Feb 28 at 9am PT — What does real self-care look (and feel!) like?

    • F Mar 7 at 9am PT — TBD based on participant input

    • F Mar 21 at 9am PT — TBD based on participant input

    Workshops

    • F Feb 14 at 9am PT — Doing what we love, and loving what we do

    • F Mar 14 at 9am PT — TBD based on participant input

What participants have to say…

  • “I was more productive writing with the group than writing by myself. Knowing that others have (similar) challenges, the informal groups also made me feel less lonely and isolated.”

  • “It helped me schedule out time to work on writing and research. It also gave me a group of colleagues that aren't at my school that I began to get to know. These folks are going through similar issues, questions, and concerns and it was nice to get to know them through this process.”

  • “It was great to feel not alone. It also functioned as a great accountability mechanism for getting research done.”

  • “The focused work sessions were particularly useful. It served as a good self-enforcement mechanism and actually helped me stay focused over those periods. I also found the slides for the workshop to be helpful even though I couldn't join the session.”

  • “It gave me hope that cordial interaction with other academics is possible.”

  • “It was motivating to see others work, see others struggle but still persevere, and to have their encouragement. We seemed to all have good and bad days. There was always someone having a good day that could act as our inspiration! It allowed me to be a bit less [hard] on myself.”

  • “I gained a group of colleagues that aren’t at my school who are going through similar issues, questions, and concerns.”

  • “Got a lot more work done than I would have on my own.”

  • “Great to see challenges other professionals are facing in their career [and] learn how others handle them.”

  • “Learned from others on issues that they are facing that are similar to my own. Networking and building connections with other junior scholars. I feel like I could reach out to several people that I met through the program for advice, a listening ear, etc.”

  • “I LOVED having these work sessions on my calendar and the workshops help me think about my career (they got me out of the trees so I could see the woods!).”

  • “Participating in the pilot program allowed me to clock-in more time dedicated to my research. I have struggled with accountability, and the program helped with that.”

Register here