Hi Helen - thanks for your response relating to your experience with the
Smithsonian's Fellowship Program - this program seems well suited to the
needs of mid-career professionals in that it builds on your experience,
allows you to pursue your particular interests in a supportive and informal
environment, and actually provides some compensation!! I'm hoping to be
talk with Nancy Fuller about the Program and will be interested in the
kinds of activities, feedback and participation that they receive. How long
were you involved with the program? Did you spend all your time in
Washington? Did you take leave from your job, and did you find it difficult
to walk away from your work for that period? Were your employers
supportive? Did they replace you during your absence?

I appreciate your input and - with your permission - will include your
response with the others that are trickling in as I try to summarize and
make sense of the range of attitudes and experiences that people have with
CPE.

Best wishes, Joy



>Having recently completed one of the Smithsonian Institution's
>Fellowships in Museum Practice, which is targeted for mid-career people
>at small institutions, I can say that the experience was very valuable to
>me on a number of levels.  There is a real need for more programs aimed
>at people who are neither entry level nor senior scholars.  Since paid
>vs. unpaid is on all our minds lately, I don't mind saying that the $4000
>stipend that came with the fellowship made it possible for me to justify
>the time, travel expenses, and juggling of child care arrangements
>necessary to pull this project off.  The other factor which was important
>in my case was that I do live within a reasonable commuting distance of
>Washington, DC (1 hr. 15 min.).  Like many mid-career people, I have
>young children at home and a working spouse, and so I can't even consider
>opportunities which require extended residencies out of town.
>
>The fellowship is structured so that you work under the supervision of a
>Smithsonian sponsor on a project that you design, and your sponsor helps
>you shape the project and facilitates the cooperation of other staff.
>That mentoring relationship was fundamental to the success of my project
>and was the most rewarding aspect of it. (Zahava Doering, take a bow.)
>One-person bands at small institutions, like me, often don't get that,
>and being a woman, it's even harder to find mentoring.  Programs that
>facilitate that kind of interaction will have the most profound impact on
>professional development.
>
>If you have more detailed questions for me Joy, feel free to contact me.
>For anyone who wants more information about the fellowship in museum
>practice, call Nancy Fuller at (202)357-3101.
>
>--Helen Glazer, Exhibitions Director
>Goucher College, 1021 Dulaney Valley Road, Baltimore, MD 21204 USA
>(410) 337-6073  fax: 337-6405
>[log in to unmask]


Joy Davis
604 477 0072