The Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership is pleased to introduce Nexus: Leading Thought in Practice. Nexus is still in its conceptual stage but will have several different forms and functions for students and alumni of the program. The primary goals of Nexus are to

1. support publication and presentation of research and research-based practice programmatically so that it is built into the structure and process of the Mid-Career Program and Alumni Network; and
2. develop a culture of publishing and presenting work from the program.

Potential sources of material to publish include course assignments, dissertations, preliminary exams, and alumni work in the field.

Nexus will take multiple forms. One form will be online, providing a space for

• exemplary work from the program;
• links to published work and presentations from students, alumni and faculty of the program, including access to dissertation briefs across cohorts, thematically linked; and
• an active exchange of ideas including the posting of drafts for comments, ideas for development, and possible presentation ideas.

Another way we want to support students and alumni in cultivating your work is by hosting regular Nexus Writing Support Sessions at The Saturday Commons. These group sessions are a dedicated space for students and alumni to work on the development and preparation of writing for publication and presentation with a dedicated mentor. Dr. Sharon Ravitch, as the new Director of Executive Leadership Development, will assume this role starting at the first session in November 2009.