Dissertation Submission Procedures

Today I started looking through the Formatting guidelines for doctoral dissertations here at USC, alongside the rest of the paperwork that is required for submitting one's dissertation. I'll be defending my dissertation in the early part of the spring semester, and I am especially glad I found out now about how many different forms and documents I'll need to have ready so that I can officially submit the dissertation and receive my degree in May.

APA Committee On the Status and Future of the Profession

A while ago, I nominated myself for consideration as a member of some of the APA's committees. Today, I received notice that I have been selected for a three year term (from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2014) as a member of the APA Committee on the Status and Future of the Profession:

The Committee is charged with studying and making recommendations to the Board of Officers concerning trends in graduate and undergraduate education in philosophy and conditions relevant to the employment of philosophers in academic and non-academic work. To this end the Committee conducts periodic surveys of philosophers and philosophy departments and monitors changes in higher education in the humanities as reported by the learned societies and by government agencies, working closely with other APA Committees when appropriate.

I had actually been assuming that I had been rejected for a position on an APA committee, since I hadn't heard anything about it since nominating myself last June. Which made this news quite a pleasant surprise.