As a new member of the Doctoral Futures Intiative, Shelome Gooden will have the opportunity to channel her passion for advancing graduate education. As Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research in the Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences, and Related Fields within Pitt Research, Gooden brings to the table vast expertise in bridging the gaps between different academic areas.
The Doctoral Futures Initiative, formed by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), American Historical Association (AHA), Modern Language Association (MLA) and Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), aims to evaluate and reimagine humanities graduate education to better prepare the next generation of scholars. As a member of the Graduate Programs Committee, led by the MLA, Gooden will evaluate existing policies and academic cultures. “It’s all about preparing for the future—we need to rethink how our upcoming graduate students will use their education out in the workforce so we can better equip them with the necessary tools and knowledge,” Gooden says. “We need to support a wider range of students taking different paths to diverse career outcomes.”
The committee’s core focus areas are advising and mentoring practices, retention strategies, curricular innovation and dissertation structure beyond traditional models.