What is the purpose of the faculty Chalk Talk workshops? The Chalk Talks have two purposes. One is to make it easy for Biodesign faculty to learn about their colleagues and the colleagues’ research. Biodesign is very diverse, and we need to enable cross-center and cross-disciplinary communication. The Chalk Talks are key to achieving that goal. Two is to facilitate new collaborations by exposing faculty to what their colleagues do.
How has the series evolved? I think we are in our sixth year. This is my fourth year as Chair of the Chalk Talk committee, and I think the series began two years earlier. (You can check that fact.) Over the first few years, we “perfected” the pattern of two 30-minute talks. We allow only one PowerPoint slide, although the speaker is encourage to write on a white board. We shoot for a talk of 15-20 minutes so that that we have time for questions and discussion. The key here is to facilitate informal exchange within our very diverse Institute. Before this year, we provided a lunch, which surely was an encouragement to attend, as well as a good social interaction. I hope we can return to in-person events with lunch.
Why did you choose to lead the Chalk Talk committee for several years? I was asked to be the chair by Dr. LaBaer. I accepted the role because I am strongly committed to inter-disciplinary communication and finding ways to encourage collaboration. The Chalk Talks truly work toward those goals.
Who should attend Chalk Talks? Any Biodesign member with the term “professor” in her or his title is invited and encouraged to attend.
What will faculty come away with? Number one is knowledge about and appreciation for the tremendous range of research and researchers in Biodesign. This is intellectually stimulating and morale motivating. Number two is the opportunity to find new collaborators. Number three is the “free lunch” when we can do it that way.
How are speakers selected and paired? The committee actively seeks to find speakers who represent all of Biodesign. We seek diversity in terms of the centers (and research areas), gender, and senior versus junior. To the degree possible, we have a junior member paired with a senior member each time. (Scheduling does not always allow that.). We also try to have two speakers whose technical areas are different each time. I add that Biodesign staff (e.g., Kathy and Merielle) work with all speakers to ensure that they understand the Chalk Talks’ goals and protocols. We rarely have a speaker who missed the mark.
How is it making a difference at Biodesign? At ASU? We do surveys or Chalk Talk participants, and the Committee has documented that many new collaborations have arisen based on Chalk Talks. The surveys also tell us that Biodesign faculty appreciate the Chalk Talks for all the reasons I outline in my first and fifth answers. This reality is reinforced by our consistently good attendance.
What improvements do you have planned? We think that attendance can increase with our virtual (Zoom) format, and that ought to expand the benefits. Of course, we truly hope to get back to in-person meetings with lunch. Maybe our virtual experience will lead to more participants when we can return to in-person. We will be pleased to offer more food and a bigger venue!
You can find the full chalk talk story here!