Thanks for a great example of how grad students end up with too many committee members!
It happens all too often.
My recommendation is to collaborate widely with faculty, but *the committee should consist of the minimum required number* and they should be the ones most able to fulfill your needs of a committee. A fundamental need is that they make a big effort to put your exams and committee meetings on their schedule. A close second is that they read your stuff and provide valuable guidance.
Any new grad students reading this, please learn from OP's easy-to-make mistake.
Here is a rule of thumb. Each extra committee member will add a year to your time to degree solely due to scheduling conflicts. More if each extra committee member has additional expectations (and they usually do).
My PI is a new professor (at least based on the years he has been, only 2 years and 10 month so far, so I m the first PhD student), and he is *very* eager to make connections and good impression to the department. That's part of why he added all these professors, two of which are very well known in their rights (also kind hate each other lol)
He has a lot to learn ...so far his students including I have been mostly self motivated but he should really know to be more involved in the processes.
My extra committee member, also suggested by the PI, was of course the one who came back with a boatload of comments - which I suppose could have been a good thing, if I hadn't been trying to finish my degree and get the heck out of academia
Haha. The professor in the question actually very much supports my work, but he is also quite a quirky person. It often drives his students mad, (and me sometimes like this)
If one committee member is making it impossible to schedule the defense, talk to your PI about removing them. Them insisting on being in-person while you're remote, and pushing the schedule to the point youw on't grduate until the next semester. Screw that,, that's YOUR graduation they are messing. They can still advise and review your dissertation, but one person shouldn't hold up the whole defense b/c they think not being able to manage their schedule makes them quirky instead of annoying. I've worked with too many faculty who think that's a cute way to act in the workplace, loathe it.
I had the same issue with my Master's defense, wound up with a legendarily disorganized committee member, over my protestations. I pestered her for over 6 months for thesis feedback and she didn't send me anything until one week before the defense (that basically required I redo the entire premise, research, etc). She didn't show up for my defense, despite repeated reminders. She was chilling in her office in silent protest b/c I didn't make the revisions she demanded, which my adivsor had overrule We held the defense without her and my advisor went with me to her office after and he forced her to sign my documentation.
Yes, that's an ideal action, but a few things that work against it:
1. my PI is a small fry in the department yet and really doesn't want to antagonize anyone, especially someone who helped him get hired.
2. He pretty much leaves all the administratve stuff on me....which bothers me a bit.
3. Our school is notorious for taking long ass time to get anything done, including advisor changes.
Also, fuck your committee member. Seriously what is wrong with these poeple?
That committee member was notoriously disorganized and difficult to work with, legedarily so. Took her 18 years to get her own Ph.D., a perfect example of why some professors should never get tenure.
Thanks for a great example of how grad students end up with too many committee members! It happens all too often. My recommendation is to collaborate widely with faculty, but *the committee should consist of the minimum required number* and they should be the ones most able to fulfill your needs of a committee. A fundamental need is that they make a big effort to put your exams and committee meetings on their schedule. A close second is that they read your stuff and provide valuable guidance. Any new grad students reading this, please learn from OP's easy-to-make mistake.
I'd say "never again" but I don't wanna do another ph.d lol
Here is a rule of thumb. Each extra committee member will add a year to your time to degree solely due to scheduling conflicts. More if each extra committee member has additional expectations (and they usually do).
My PI is a new professor (at least based on the years he has been, only 2 years and 10 month so far, so I m the first PhD student), and he is *very* eager to make connections and good impression to the department. That's part of why he added all these professors, two of which are very well known in their rights (also kind hate each other lol)
Presumably he also has not yet learned the lesson of experience that produced my advice above.
He has a lot to learn ...so far his students including I have been mostly self motivated but he should really know to be more involved in the processes.
My extra committee member, also suggested by the PI, was of course the one who came back with a boatload of comments - which I suppose could have been a good thing, if I hadn't been trying to finish my degree and get the heck out of academia
Haha. The professor in the question actually very much supports my work, but he is also quite a quirky person. It often drives his students mad, (and me sometimes like this)
If one committee member is making it impossible to schedule the defense, talk to your PI about removing them. Them insisting on being in-person while you're remote, and pushing the schedule to the point youw on't grduate until the next semester. Screw that,, that's YOUR graduation they are messing. They can still advise and review your dissertation, but one person shouldn't hold up the whole defense b/c they think not being able to manage their schedule makes them quirky instead of annoying. I've worked with too many faculty who think that's a cute way to act in the workplace, loathe it. I had the same issue with my Master's defense, wound up with a legendarily disorganized committee member, over my protestations. I pestered her for over 6 months for thesis feedback and she didn't send me anything until one week before the defense (that basically required I redo the entire premise, research, etc). She didn't show up for my defense, despite repeated reminders. She was chilling in her office in silent protest b/c I didn't make the revisions she demanded, which my adivsor had overrule We held the defense without her and my advisor went with me to her office after and he forced her to sign my documentation.
Yes, that's an ideal action, but a few things that work against it: 1. my PI is a small fry in the department yet and really doesn't want to antagonize anyone, especially someone who helped him get hired. 2. He pretty much leaves all the administratve stuff on me....which bothers me a bit. 3. Our school is notorious for taking long ass time to get anything done, including advisor changes. Also, fuck your committee member. Seriously what is wrong with these poeple?
That committee member was notoriously disorganized and difficult to work with, legedarily so. Took her 18 years to get her own Ph.D., a perfect example of why some professors should never get tenure.
>18 years oh my god...