tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post1239578149246899029..comments2024-03-25T02:33:41.590-05:00Comments on FemaleScienceProfessor: GiftedFemale Science Professorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15288567883197987690noreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-58962972294511807892010-02-04T09:39:28.159-06:002010-02-04T09:39:28.159-06:00I've never been really comfortable with verbal...I've never been really comfortable with verbal expressions of gratitude, though I appreciate them from other people. I'm not sure why, it's just a personality thing that I prefer to express my heartfelt affection and appreciation through gifts I make myself. The time and effort my advisor spent on me was such than a note seemed like a fairly lame way of saying 'thanks,' though I did bind my diss for him and thank him profusely in the acknowledgements. So, I ended up handknitting a custom sweatervest for him after conspiring with his wife on the design and fiber. I suspect he's cut from the same cloth, since he and his wife got me a decorative pin made by artists in his New Mexico community. He still wears my sweater proudly whenever we see each other, I wear my pin on my interview suit, and we remain close. <br /><br />I think there might be a culture issue at play here - I'm from Appalachia, and there you make people things (food or handcrafts) to express affection and gratitude. Cards and such are considered something you just pick up as an afterthought - nice, but hardly commensurate with a professor's guidance on a dissertation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-89126790514547874222009-12-31T20:49:20.249-06:002009-12-31T20:49:20.249-06:00As a undergrad graduate, i feel really good when i...As a undergrad graduate, i feel really good when i have given mt thesis adviser a gift or just a simple dinner out to appreciate her effort help me with my thesis. Furthermore, my thesis adviser is the reason why i am graduating this sem!.aileenhttp://www.grinderschool.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-23131777093134339562009-12-27T21:16:18.989-06:002009-12-27T21:16:18.989-06:00How do you feel about a gift of a small donation t...How do you feel about a gift of a small donation to the charity of the recipient's choice? (This is to thank letter of reference writers).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-89975959038923864182009-12-08T18:11:50.910-06:002009-12-08T18:11:50.910-06:00For what it's worth at the end of this long li...For what it's worth at the end of this long list of comments, I gave my PhD prof a hardbound copy of my dissertation (not exactly cheap) and a handwritten thank-you note. I didn't even think of getting a gift not related to work, even though I was extremely thankful for all his help and said so.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-38667993945971875272009-12-08T13:47:56.629-06:002009-12-08T13:47:56.629-06:00Comrade PhysioProf would have loved to advise me. ...Comrade PhysioProf would have loved to advise me. The evening after my defense, my advisor invited the department to his house for a congratulatory party he hosted in my honor. (It was a very small department). There, I presented my advisor and committee members with high quality bottles of their drink of choice. Most of them were consumed that evening. <br /><br />I left pretty much immediately to start my postdoc, but I came back to walk in graduation and my mom and grandmother were in attendance. My PhD advisor treated us to a very nice dinner out. <br /><br />I really appreciated his thoughtfulness, and though we had some rough times during the course of my project, it was nice to get an acknowledgment of my hard work.Dr. Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10554181162530375275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-71407718479901778112009-12-07T12:19:27.470-06:002009-12-07T12:19:27.470-06:00If to give or not to give a gift to your advisor i...If to give or not to give a gift to your advisor is a doubt then don't give anything. Giving a gift has to be a personal choice that will make both the student and the advisor comfortable. I think that the gift will be considered a bribe only if the student is a lazy one and doesn't have enough background and results that support his/her defense.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-31563858264801111832009-12-07T11:00:19.092-06:002009-12-07T11:00:19.092-06:00I have both given and received gifts from my advis...I have both given and received gifts from my advisor. He has gotten me things ranging from a t-shirt to something I collect. I have gotten him things when I travel / or things I make (food to paintings). I do take gifts even now when I visit.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-74331246667310805402009-12-07T07:10:19.130-06:002009-12-07T07:10:19.130-06:00yes, being an advisor is part of the job. But, so...yes, being an advisor is part of the job. But, some go above and beyond. Mine does. I will be getting my advisor a (small, meaningful) gift when I finish. And writing a heartfelt thank you note. When a labmate gets their PhD, the whole lab goes out for dinner, advisor buys for the graduate.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-11667489882243013612009-12-06T22:53:25.996-06:002009-12-06T22:53:25.996-06:00Doesn't seem like a big deal to me. People of...Doesn't seem like a big deal to me. People often give gifts and/or thank you cards to co-workers / bosses / etc's to thank them for a job well done. If you think your adviser/student qualifies as having done a good job by teh time student defends, then by all means exchange gifts and/or cards. Otherwise, it shouldn't be required (although some verbal acknowledgement at least would be appropriate)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-60981472978732503982009-12-05T23:55:43.040-06:002009-12-05T23:55:43.040-06:00Another vote in favor of the sincere thank you!Another vote in favor of the sincere thank you!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-84082392803136411272009-12-05T18:17:41.689-06:002009-12-05T18:17:41.689-06:00I'm an Asst. Prof. - I would prefer a meaningf...I'm an Asst. Prof. - I would prefer a meaningful note written to my dept chair or Dean. Either undergrads or grads, but especially the undergrads. If it has to be a gift - the edible kind is best. I don't like throwing away gifts, and the non-edible are just one more thing I have to dust.AsstFemaleProfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07470039357270029522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-19955667290259004292009-12-05T09:09:41.378-06:002009-12-05T09:09:41.378-06:00I gave my advisor an expensive and symbolic gift. ...I gave my advisor an expensive and symbolic gift. It seemed to be the culture in our department. I liked the humorous part of the defense where we present the gift in front of the audience and explain the symbolism. Hopefully it distracted a little from some of the goofy data before the questions. :)<br />p.s. it was an American university.PUI profhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-49663546119323454112009-12-05T07:19:54.561-06:002009-12-05T07:19:54.561-06:00Has anyone else noticed a gendered pattern with gi...Has anyone else noticed a gendered pattern with gifts? When my husband gets a gift from students, it's often wine or whiskey. I get given tea, chocolate, jam - but rarely booze. Perhaps it's that he teaches fewer international students, perhaps this a more general phenomenon?<br /><br />Generally I accept gifts so as not to avoid hurting people's feelings, but ones from students I hardly know or who I've not yet graded make me feel very uncomfortable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-23722811039479053582009-12-05T02:10:34.476-06:002009-12-05T02:10:34.476-06:00Are you kidding me?? There are children dying of ...Are you kidding me?? There are children dying of starvation, women tortured and opressed...and your big concern is this? Graciously accept your gifts-be thankful you can, auction them on ebay and donate the proceeds.Kirahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07910472474109042843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-61052130866064226072009-12-05T01:14:10.266-06:002009-12-05T01:14:10.266-06:00I can't speak from the point of view of an adv...I can't speak from the point of view of an advisor as I am still a graduate student, but I spent the summer mentoring an undergraduate "minion." At the end of the summer, he brought in a tray of cheesecake for the lab, and wrote me a very long, heartwarming thank you note. I don't remember if I even ate a piece of cheesecake, but I keep the note in my desk drawer and pull it out to reread whenever I am particularly frustrated and can't remember why I am doing the whole science thing.Julie @ Bunsen Burner Bakeryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16279523327409654066noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-68931608877353606532009-12-05T00:49:14.567-06:002009-12-05T00:49:14.567-06:00I did not give my advisor a gift nor thank-you not...I did not give my advisor a gift nor thank-you note when I finished my PhD. But, when I took my dog to obedience class and he 'graduated' with his Canine Good Citizen certificate (from the American Kennel Club), I did give our trainer a gift AND a thank-you card!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-35765737860027366122009-12-05T00:16:06.156-06:002009-12-05T00:16:06.156-06:00I have both a handmade item and thoughtful e-mails...I have both a handmade item and thoughtful e-mails from PhD students that I have advised, and hold both very dear. I hope the adviser who will receive the knitted Klein bottle appreciates the wonderful gift.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-87546531320490433472009-12-04T23:55:48.790-06:002009-12-04T23:55:48.790-06:00Definitely culturally determined. Where I'm fr...Definitely culturally determined. Where I'm from (Netherlands) the whole gift-giving is a definite yes. I think it also has to do with how much more official an ordeal the whole PhD defense itself is. E.g. the fresh PhD usually throws a big party somewhere where at least his/her whole family and lab are invited, usually more. Similar for the gifts: in order to give the fresh PhD a gift, money is usually collected not only at his/her own lab, but also at surrounding labs and floors and whoever knows him/her. Advisors definitely get gifts in return. I gave something that I put a lot of effort in and that symbolized our time together, but bottles of wine are always welcome. A gift goes with the speeches that are made back and forth too! As long as everything is done after the fact I really don't see how any gift could be seen as a bribeuniversity/researchAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-88566288976172713922009-12-04T20:45:09.015-06:002009-12-04T20:45:09.015-06:00I like thank you cards that I can display in my of...I like thank you cards that I can display in my office! You can look at them on frustrating day and feel good :)<br />So if given a choice I would prefer a thank you card.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-77954893667592899522009-12-04T20:03:10.036-06:002009-12-04T20:03:10.036-06:00I can't believe I read all these responses. R...I can't believe I read all these responses. Really running out of topics.<br /><br />Anyways, I gave my advisor a text and a note.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-21388110113755835612009-12-04T19:13:39.143-06:002009-12-04T19:13:39.143-06:00I have gotten small presents from students (like a...I have gotten small presents from students (like a coffee cup hand painted by the student). These tiny tokens of thanks are welcome but unnecessary. More welcome are letters or e-mails from students years later.<br /><br />I did have one non-student who worked with me (and for whom I paid publication charges) send me a box of steaks a couple of years later (after he had landed a real job). This did strike me as excessive (and not well thought out, since I'm not particularly fond of steak---my wife ended up eating them).Kevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14528751349030084532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-31891017629970068132009-12-04T19:05:07.237-06:002009-12-04T19:05:07.237-06:00I'd rather have the sincere note, but also app...I'd rather have the sincere note, but also appreciate unique gifts.<br /><br />The most unusual expression of thanks was from a former staff member who gave me a beribboned gift package composed of white wine and a can of vienna sausage (a favorite of field biologists). Very thoughtful...and appropriate pairing!DrDoyennehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01923421604660796579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-20602428604156222572009-12-04T16:43:12.172-06:002009-12-04T16:43:12.172-06:00I much prefer thank you letters - especially ones ...I much prefer thank you letters - especially ones that come years later to the tune of "OMG, you were right about X!". I try to turn down the chocolates and red wine, although some have been insistent.<br /><br />The very, very best present was a Tower of Hanoi that a group of students bought at a handwork fair for me after we had discussed it in class. I use it every year on the topic of conversion, in between it sits on my window sill with all the geek toys.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-63714400012483701712009-12-04T16:22:02.186-06:002009-12-04T16:22:02.186-06:00Where I come from it is customary to exchange gift...Where I come from it is customary to exchange gifts, the avisor gives something and the PhD student gives something. Nothing supermuch but something that symbolises the time together... one of the people in the group before me got an outdoor game since we usually played that game at his house with the research group. Another one got a necklace.<br /><br />and the advisor got some car stuff since he was into cars.<br /><br />I guess it is all about where you come from? I gave my former post doc mentor a nice bottle of bubbly when I left since he'd be super helpful with a visa application I needed. Then again, I have never gotten anything from him, which is perfectly fine!swede in usnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-76685565603712328442009-12-04T16:22:02.185-06:002009-12-04T16:22:02.185-06:00I see no reason for students to give their PhD adv...I see no reason for students to give their PhD advisors gifts. It's the advisor's job, they are just doing their job. Plus, the advisor's name goes on all the students' papers anyway, and they are usually acknowledged in the dissertation. And the professor gets to add one more name to their CV as "students advised". Thus, since the professor is benefitting from the student as well, I see no reason for the student to give the advisor a gift.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com