Introducing NCFDD: A Resource for Academic Success
The National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD) provides professional development for higher education, partnering with over 340 colleges and universities across North America. Since 2010, NCFDD has supported faculty, postdocs, and graduate students in successfully navigating their careers. NCFDD’s mission is to empower the next generation of academic leaders by offering resources that enhance productivity, build strategic planning skills, nurture healthy relationships, and promote work-life balance. Members have on-demand access to a variety of tools and support to help them thrive in both research and writing.
The best part?
Registration is free for most students at North American universities, as many schools are already partnered with NCFDD. Check if your institution is a member and take advantage of this valuable resource!
Join the 14-Day Writing Challenge in February Registration is now open for NCFDD’s 14-Day Writing Challenge, starting this February. This challenge encourages daily writing for at least 30 minutes, along with supportive accountability from an online community. DocSIG members have participated in the past and found it to be a valuable resource.
Here’s how it works: – Commit to writing every day for at least 30 minutes. – Log in to the online community, start the timer, write, and post your progress. – Spend 5 minutes supporting others by commenting on their progress. If you’re ready for a focused writing routine with encouragement from fellow writers, join the challenge today! Chances are high you are joining with fellow DocSIG members.
Register here: https://www.ncfdd.org/sessions/14dayspring2025
**Finding Scholarship, Grant, and Award Opportunities: A DocSIG Guide**
We often receive questions about where to find scholarship, grant, and award opportunities for doctoral students. While DocSIG disseminates information that other organizations explicitly ask us to share, and we also repost what we come across on LinkedIn, it’s important to note that we don’t have the resources to maintain a full scholarship registry. As fellow doctoral students, our service to the community is entirely unpaid volunteering. However, there is a fantastic resource you should definitely take advantage of: **ELMAR**, supported by the American Marketing Association. If you haven’t already, we strongly recommend subscribing to this service.
**What is ELMAR?**
ELMAR is a digital digest that provides news and updates within the broad marketing academic community. Most subscribers recognize ELMAR as the curated daily email that brings together relevant announcements, opportunities, and calls for papers. It’s free for both AMA members and non-members, supported by the American Marketing Association and run by a volunteer editor/curator.
**What kind of content does ELMAR share?
** ELMAR follows a consistent posting schedule: –
**Monday**: Revisits, awards, events, dialogues, journal news, obituaries
**Tuesday**: Tables of contents from journals
**Wednesday**: Job notices
**Thursday**: Awards, events, dialogues, journal news, obituaries
**Friday**: Calls for conferences, journals, and other outlets
You can search the full ELMAR archive at any time by visiting https://www.ama.org/listings/
**Why ELMAR is Essential**
In many North American PhD programs, subscribing to ELMAR is one of the first recommendations your PhD coordinator will make. It’s a reliable source of information that can help you stay informed about the latest opportunities in the field. And yes, while it may be tempting to delete yet another email in your crowded inbox, we at DocSIG encourage you to see those ELMAR emails as pure gold—because finding funding is always a hunt for gold, not something served on a silver tray.
**Pro-Tip** If you prefer to keep a tidy inbox and focus on emails from your co-authors, consider setting up rules for managing emails like ELMAR. You can create a separate folder and automatically redirect all ELMAR emails there. This way, you can review them in bulk when convenient, while keeping your main inbox focused on your research. We hope you find this guide helpful, and encourage you to keep exploring all the funding opportunities available out there!
Link to ELMAR: https://www.ama.org/about-elmar/