The Versatile PhD started as a listserv called WRK4US (Work For Us). WRK4US was an email discussion list founded in 1999 on a volunteer basis by Paula Chambers, then Paula Foster, while she was dissertating in Rhetoric and Composition at Ohio State. After graduating in 2000, she continued to manage the list while pursuing her own successful non-academic career as a grant writer. Thanks to a supportive tone and great discussions featuring PhDs working outside the academy, subscribership grew from 42 initial subscribers in 1999 to 2,200 in 2010.
In a 2008 subscriber survey, 98% of WRK4US subscribers reported having benefitted in some way after subscribing to WRK4US for at least 6 months.
- 67% discovered at least one interesting career path they didn’t know about before
- 49% received an emotional boost and felt more positive about their futures
- 41% discovered they have more skill than previously realized
- 34% received advice that helped them through a specific career situation
In May 2010, WRK4US became The Versatile PhD and migrated to its new and permanent home here on the Versatile PhD website. The name and format changed, and it became a “social enterprise”-type business rather than a volunteer endeavor, but the mission and leadership are the same. Chambers is no longer writing grants; managing The Versatile PhD is her full-tme job.
Dr. Chambers’ efforts to support and develop this community have been supported by many institutions over the years. Special thanks are due to The Ohio State University, where the WRK4US list was created using university technological resources; to the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Foundation, which provided server space, technical support and modest financial support from 2002-2005; and Duke University, which adopted the list in 2006 and provided similar support until May 2010 when Versatile PhD was launched. Today The Versatile PhD is supported by the many fine institutions that subscribe to the premium content service. The first five institutions to subscribe–the “Founding Five” to which special thanks are due–are Michigan State University, University of Pennsylvania, Duke University, Yale University and Harvard University.
Special thanks are due to the late Kitty Locker of Ohio State, who supported the list’s creation by signing on as faculty advisor; Hadass Sheffer, who reached out with a well-timed offer of support from the Wilson Foundation; Anne Mitchell Whisnant, who successfully advocated with Duke University to adopt the list when the arrangement at Woodrow ended; and Virginia Steinmetz, who kept loving watch over the list after Anne left Duke. Many others have contributed to the growth and development of WRK4US, by telling others about it and in innumerable other ways. Thank you so much.
To read Guest Speaker Discussions from WRK4US, click here.