Seattle Arts and Lectures
Domke Research Group emphasizes teamwork and mentorship
When he became Department Chair a few years ago, Professor David Domke faced a challenge: would he be able to carve out time to continue mentoring the graduate students that he advises? He knew he needed to be creative.
And that’s how the Domke Research Group was born.
The Domke Research Group, or the DRG as the members of the group refer to it, is a tight-knit group advised by Domke, who is in his third year as Chair of the Department of Communication. It is currently made up of six graduate students and one undergraduate student. In the group, students come together once a week to read over each other’s work, provide feedback, and talk about what each person can improve in their research.
The DRG began in the spring of 2009. Before then, Domke advised his graduate students one on one. Once he was appointed Chair of the Department, Domke found that he didn’t have as much time to commit to the individual meetings as he used to. “I just wasn’t going to have the bandwidth to do these hands-on meetings and projects with students anymore,” he said. Domke decided that a research group with a focus on the team as a whole seemed like the best solution.
What started out as a time-saving resolution for Domke developed into an indispensable tool and asset for everyone in the group, Domke included. Students say that the conversational feedback has had a positive impact on their research as a whole.
“The DRG has been a blessing to all of us. It gives us an encouraging atmosphere in which we can develop, present and improve our research in progress,” said Jason Gilmore, a PhD student in the group.
Some students have found it to be not only a research group, but also a support system. It has evolved from a simple student research group to a group of students who can confide in one another while experiencing the difficulties of graduate school.
“Even more important than the intellectual benefit was the fact that we became a community. Grad school is extremely challenging. The DRG…really gave me a sense of security, place, and purpose in what can otherwise be the very insecure, isolating, and confusing world of graduate studies,” Fahed Al-Sumait said. Al-Sumait is an alumnus of the group. He graduated in spring 2011 with a PhD and has accepted a faculty position at the Gulf University for Science and Technology in Kuwait.
Domke has also noticed the mentoring among students that has added to the team-like environment. “There’s an awful lot of mentoring and support for each other, so it’s really much more of a team than it is a one-on-one advising,” he said.
The connections and skills that are developed through each cohort of the DRG has a strong impact on the quality of research that each student produces and will benefit the students well after leaving the group.
Penny Sheets is an alumna of the DRG who graduated in spring 2011 with a PhD in Communication. She is now a faculty member at University of Amsterdam. She said, “I'm now at an institution that heavily focuses on research, and the DRG training has been very useful. The ability to juggle multiple projects and coordinate with other researchers is a big part of my work here, and the experience of the DRG prepared me well for it.”
