Another first

This morning (actually in four hours from right now) I will attend my first thesis proposal defense. A student whom I inherited is finishing his thesis for the Master of Science in Theology. I have discussed his situation in other entries from time to time. But this is my first proposal defense not only as a professor, but period. When I was in graduate school, my institution did not require an oral defense of the proposal. Instead it got shipped off to my readers who approved it and then off to an interdisciplinary committee of the graduate school. This interdisciplinary committee rejected it the first time (which, incidentally, was the 15th or 16th actual draft) then accepted it the next time. By that point, I had already written a significant amount of the dissertation, so it was just a few months from approval of my proposal (March I think) to graduation (October). So this will be an interesting experience. This particular student is very talented and articulate, so he shouldn't have any problem...and if he does, it sort of becomes my problem because I am his adviser.