IN THIS BULLETIN:
Did You Know?
Did you know that the Office of Recruitment, Diversity, and Inclusion has launched a series of monthly virtual discussions focused on recruitment and retention support for graduate students called Jigsaw Connect? See the Recruitment page, https://graduateschool.vt.edu/recruitment.html, for more details.
Did you know that graduate students can get COVID-19 tests at Schiffert Health Center? The center now is offering tests seven days a week. More information is on the VT Ready site.
Did you know that Virginia Tech now has a COVID-19 information hotline that is staffed seven days a week? The number is 540-231-7600.
Meetings, Workshops, & Events
1. Graduate Program Director’s Meeting
2. I Belong Here: Women’s Sense of Belonging in Academia and Society
3. Jigsaw Connect: Recognizing and Supporting Students in Distress
4. Virtual 2020 HBCU/MSI Research Summit: October 29 and 30
5. Juggling Graduate School and Family Caregiving Responsibilities During Covid-19
Deadlines & Dates to Remember
Policy Updates
1. TOEFL and GRE Testing Updates
Administrative Announcements
1. Graduate Honor System Recruiting Faculty Panelists
2. Accepting Nominations for Graduate Alumni Achievement Award
3. 2021 IBM PhD Fellowship Award Program Nominations
Meetings, Workshops, & Events
1. Graduate Program Director’s Meeting
The next Graduate Program Director’s Meeting has been set for Thursday, October 8th from 10:30 am – 12:00 pm. Please register at the link below if you plan to attend:
https://gs.vt.edu/gpd
2. I Belong Here: Women’s Sense of Belonging in Academia and Society
Friday, October 2, 12:00 pm-1:00 pm, Zoom
We would like to invite you to join us at this year’s Women’s Connect event with Dr. Letticia Ramlal-Lamble, the Director of Assessment and Data Analytics for the College of Engineering. All are invited to join us and attend. Please register at https://virginiatech.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2fOeedaTw00GCG1by October 1 to receive the Zoom link. For accommodations, please contact ordi@vt.edu at least 72 hours in advance of the event.
3. Jigsaw Connect: Recognizing and Supporting Students in Distress
The Graduate School invites you to join: Jigsaw Connect! Jigsaw Connect is a monthly discussion series focused on recruitment and retention support for graduate programs. Join us for our next session on Thursday, October 22nd at 11AM ET featuring Rita F. Klein, Ph.D., LCP, Senior Staff Psychologist of Thomas E. Cook Counseling Center. Register at https://virginiatech.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcvdOCuqTkqG9QBSDJVKtWC93cw0CH6RtLAand feel free to invite others in your unit who may find this information useful. For more information, please email shernita@vt.edu.
4. Virtual 2020 HBCU/MSI Research Summit: October 29 and 30
The Graduate School’s Office of Recruitment, Diversity, and Inclusion is hosting a virtual summit this year and would like to invite you to participate if you are seeking research collaborations with faculty from HBCUs or MSIs and/or have an interest in recruiting students. Info about this free event can be found at https://graduateschool.vt.edu/about/diversity/hbcu_research_summit.html. Please email ORDI@vt.eduif interested, and more information will be provided.
5. Juggling Graduate School and Family Caregiving Responsibilities During Covid-19
Dean Karen DePauw and Christine Smith of the Women’s Center invite any graduate students who are currently trying to manage graduate school and caregiving responsibilities for children, aging parents and/or other family members to join them in discussion during two open Zoom sessions. These are intended to be open discussions to share current information and resources, support one another, and address the additional concerns caused by Covid-19. Registration links and discussion times are available below:
Wednesday, October 14 at 2:00 pm
https://virginiatech.zoom.us/s/309707943
Thursday, October 15 at 10:00 am
https://virginiatech.zoom.us/s/98287900691
Dean DePauw, in a joint effort with Vice Provost Jack Finney and Vice President Bryan Garey, would also like to invite caregivers to complete the following survey, which will allow for better resource development. The survey will be available through Friday, October 23
Deadlines & Dates to Remember
Policy Updates
1. TOEFL and GRE Testing Updates
Due to the continued need, availability of the TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition and GRE General Test at Home will be extended through October, with a possible further extension. Students in China will be able to access an expanded number of test dates and testing centers through the end of September. Please see below for the relevant links.
TOEFL: Web page for TOEFL® Institutions and TOEFL Test Takers. Those testing in China can access information on in-person testing here: https://toefl.neea.cn/. Those unable to test in-person are encouraged to register for the TOEFL ITP Plus for China Solution, for which details can be found here: www.ets.org/toefl/itp-plus.
GRE: Web pages for GRE® Institutions and GRE Test Takers. Those testing in China can access information on in-person testing here: https://gre.neea.cn/.
Administrative Announcements
1. Graduate Honor System Recruiting Faculty Panelists
The Graduate Honor System is recruiting faculty to serve as panelists who review the evidence and determine the outcome of GHS cases. To be eligible, you need to be a non-A/P faculty member working with graduate students in any capacity (teaching, research, or extension and service). The overall time commitment is 3-4 hours a semester based on the number of cases and panelist availability. If you are interested in serving as a faculty panelist, please contact the GHS Chair – Anurag Mantha (ghs@vt.edu) to set up a brief meeting to discuss the role. Once the meeting is complete, you will be added to the GHS email list and are free to volunteer to serve on any panel based on your availability
2. Accepting Nominations for Graduate Alumni Achievement Award
The Grad School is accepting nomination for the Graduate Alumni Achievement Award. This award recognizesoutstanding national and/or international achievement and exemplary contribution by the winner to his or her profession, discipline, community or society. Nominees must be engaged in efforts that enhance the reputation of Virginia Tech to a national and/or international audience.Only alumni who have obtained a graduate degree from Virginia Tech are eligible. Submission deadline is October 16, 2020. For more information on nomination requirements and to submit a nomination, visit: https://graduateschool.vt.edu/about/awards/alumni.html.
3. 2021 IBM PhD Fellowship Award Program Nominations
IBM has announced the 2021 Two-Year Worldwide IBM PhD Fellowship for the academic years of 2021-2022 and 2022-2023.
The IBM PhD Fellowship Program advances this collaboration by recognizing and supporting exceptional PhD students who want to make their mark in promising and disruptive technologies. Focus areas include the following topics of particular interest:
• Hybrid Cloud
• Quantum Computing / Quantum Systems
• Artificial Intelligence
• Cloud / Open Source Technologies
• Security / Cyber Security
• Data Science
• Systems
Students must be nominated by a doctoral faculty member. The nominator provides the supporting documentation (resume, list of publications, thesis topic, etc.), categorizes the student’s initial career interests, and submits the nomination for evaluation.
All IBM PhD Fellowship awardees are matched with an IBM mentor according to their technical interests and are encouraged to participate in an internship at least once while completing their studies. Students receiving a comparable fellowship or internship from another company or institution during the same academic period may not be eligible for an IBM PhD Fellowship.
Students should have three years remaining in their graduate program at the time of nomination. For example, nominees that are enrolled in a four-year graduate program should have completed two years of their graduate program as of summer 2021 in order to benefit the most.
The nomination deadline is October 23, 2020. More information can be found here: www.ibm.com/university/phdfellowship.