The Graduate School cordially invites you to attend a set of workshops for Graduate Studies Chairs and Chairs of Graduate Admission Committees on "Designing for Entrepreneurial Scholars" with guest speaker and facilitator Dr.Ilana Horwitz, Assistant Professor in the Department of Jewish Studies and the Fields-Rayant Chair in Contemporary Jewish Life at Tulane University. Dr. Horwitz will offer strategies to thrive in academia with limited resources and in the face of uncertainty, while embracing an entrepreneurial mindset that entails viewing yourself as a knowledge producer, enhancing collaboration, creatively identifying resources, and effectively sharing your ideas. Read more about Dr. Horwitz.
There will be a virtual pre-workshop on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, from noon to 1 p.m. via Zoom. In this pre-workshop, Dr. Horwitz will share how graduate programs can cultivate entrepreneurial mindsets that empower graduate students to thrive amid academia's uncertainties. Drawing from her book The Entrepreneurial Scholar, she shows how graduate programs that shift students from knowledge consumers to producers better prepare them for unpredictable career paths. Her framework empowers early-career scholars to create meaningful careers within and beyond traditional academic boundaries.
The main day of workshops will be on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, with two sessions, the overall theme of which is Designing for the Entrepreneurial Scholar. Lunch will be provided. Both sessions will be in-person only.
Agenda for the Workshop
- 8 a.m. – Workshop Registration and Breakfast Opens
- 9 a.m. to noon – Admissions Redesign Workshop
- Noon to 1:15 p.m. – Lunch
- 1:30pm – 4:30pm – Program Assessment and Learning Outcomes
The first session will be on Admissions Redesign from 9 a.m. to noon During this workshop, you will work alongside Dr. Horwitz and colleagues from Ohio State to review pre-built rubrics for evaluating entrepreneurial potential across applications, materials, and a bank of questions designed to assess agency, producer mindset, and navigation of uncertainty. Dr. Horwitz will also walk attendees through how to apply the pre-built rubric to application materials and how to consider that admission criteria do not disadvantage any applicant. Attendees will leave this session with a fully developed example rubric and interview questions that can be customized to your home units and appropriate timelines.
The second session will be on Program Assessment and Learning Outcomes from 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. During this session, Dr. Horwitz will walk through how to map learning outcomes to the three shifts and then work in small groups to draft discipline-specific outcomes for your programs using sample assessment tools for key milestones during the student’s academic career. Dr. Horwitz will also provide suggestions and feedback for piloting and implementing new assessment practices. Attendees will leave with a complete set of example frameworks that you can take back to your home units to adapt internally for your best practices and implementation.
Please submit your interest and RSVP using the link below. We ask that you please submit your RSVP no later than Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, by 5 p.m. Attendance for both in-person sessions on Friday, Sept. 19, 2026, is limited to 100 attendees and will be first come first serve. It is expected that we will be at capacity for this event and a waiting list will be kept for any RSVPs that are after the first 100 registrants. The Graduate School will contact registrants if spaces are made available.
Additionally, the first 100 registrants will receive a copy of Dr. Horwitz’s book The Entrepreneurial Scholar, that will be available for pick at the Graduate School located on the second floor of University Hall, at 230 North Oval Mall, Columbus, OH 43210 starting on Aug. 3, 2026 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
If you have any questions, please reach out to TJ Carpenter, Executive Assistant to the Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate School, who would be happy to assist.