Managing the Dissertation Committee

Rajshree Agarwal, Professor and Dean’s Chair in Entrepreneurship and Strategy, University of Maryland

Choosing your committee members Know what you want from your committee

members Expert knowledge in theory, data or methods Overall “wisdom” in positioning “External” committee member

Some schools require member outside of department Some schools regulate the number of outside school

members you can have Co-chairs?

Consult with your dissertation advisor Collaborative decision You’ll need your advisor to help out in case conflicts

arise be aware of ex ante conflict situations

How to reduce nasty surprises at the end? Make sure that you connect with your committee members

often The more engaged they are in your dissertation…

The more you benefit from their insights and expertise The more they know of what you are doing before your defense The less likely they will be to introduce thorny issues at a very

late stage Help them help you…

Be cognizant of their time pressures Prepare ahead for meetings

Provide them with materials ahead of time, but don’t always count on them reading these.

Have summary slides, and directed questions, so their response burden is not high

DO NOT provide them with documents incomplete information, un-edited text, incorrect grammar, etc. Small issues that lead to major impression management problems