IN THIS BULLETIN:
Did You Know?
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 Education Week
2. Virtual Writing Series: How to be a Good Collaborator
3. Jigsaw Connect: Library Services and Support for Graduate Students
4. Uncovering Your Values Seminar
5. Facilitating Entering Mentoring
6. Jigsaw Connect: Financial Wellness for Graduate Students, Faculty, and Staff
Deadlines & Dates to Remember
Policy Update
1. Graduate Committee Service Approval Form Process Update
2. Updates on the Diversity & Inclusion and Ethics Requirements
Administrative Announcements
1. Commencement Celebrations Extended Through Kudoboards
2. 2020-21 Grad School Handbook and Planners Available for Prospective Students
3. Graduate School Funded Fellowships
4. Powell Fellowship
Meetings, Workshops, & Events
1. Graduate Education Week
Monday, March 22nd – March 26th
Graduate Education Week highlights the importance of graduate education; increases the university community’s awareness of the contributions of graduate students to teaching, research, and service; and enhances the graduate student experience through professional development programs and celebratory events.
The schedule for each day and registration information for virtual events can be found here:
https://graduateschool.vt.edu/student-life/graduate-education-week.html
2. Virtual Writing Series: How to be a Good Collaborator
Tuesday, March 23rd from 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Dr. Monique Dufour, Assistant Professor in the Department of History, and Dr. Justin Grimes, Assistant Director of the Office of Recruitment, Diversity, and Inclusion will lead this virtual writing session. Students will have opportunities to learn about ways to negotiate authorship and establish a healthy writing collaboration. This event is free. Register at https://virginiatech.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_d40IfMLy5bEJHGB by March 22 at 11am.
3. Jigsaw Connect: Library Services and Support for Graduate Students
Wednesday, March 24th from 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Our next session will feature Lisa Becksford-Online and Graduate Engagement Librarian, Nathaniel Porter-Social Science Data Consultant, and Data Education Coordinator, and Ginny Pannabecker-Director, Research Collaboration and Engagement. Register at http://bit.ly/VTGSJigsawconnect8.For more information, email jgrimes18@vt.edu.
4. Uncovering Your Values Seminar
Thursday, April 8th at 4:00 pm
Join the Graduate School for a seminar to learn tips about uncovering your core values. Registration form: https://bit.ly/Uncovering_Your_Values
Contact the Graduate School Office of Recruitment, Diversity, and Inclusion with questions: ordi@vt.edu
5. Facilitating Entering Mentoring
Monday, April 12th – April 16th
Registration is now open on a first-come-first-served basis for Facilitating Entering Mentoring, hosted by the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER). This 6-session online facilitator training workshop is designed to increase the capacity for research mentor trainings offered at colleges and universities, research institutes, and governmental organizations. The National Academies report The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM recommends Entering Mentoring as one form of mentorship education that can help improve mentoring relationships. Faculty, instructors, staff and administrators are encouraged to register for one of the limited spots available.
Registration Details:
Registration is $1,495 per participant.
This workshop is limited to 24 participants. We highly encourage teams of two or more (but no more than four) people from an institution or organization to attend together. Each individual needs to register.
The deadline to register is March 29, 2021 and is on a first-come, first-served basis. If the workshop is full, we will add you to a waitlist and notify you if a spot becomes available.
To secure your spot at this workshop, complete the following steps:
Step 1: Pre-register by completing our brief 10-15 minute Google Form for your preferred dates (link below). You will need to upload a professional photo or headshot as well as a brief bio (max 250 words) describing your title, research focus, mentoring experience, and interest in facilitating mentor training. This information will be shared with workshop participants during the training.
Step 2: Once you have completed pre-registration, you will receive an email from Julia Vander Meer, CIMER Program Manager, with a link to pay the $1,495 registration fee. Your registration will only be complete once we receive your payment.
6. Jigsaw Connect: Financial Wellness for Graduate Students, Faculty, and Staff
Tuesday, April 20th from 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Our next session will feature Kevin Sutton, Assistant Director of Financial Wellness for Hokie Wellness, who will be sharing some resources students, faculty and staff can use on such topic areas as budgeting, credit, and debt management. Register at http://bit.ly/VTGSJigsawConnect9. For more information, email jgrimes18@vt.edu.
Deadlines & Dates to Remember
Policy Updates
1. Graduate Committee Service Approval Form Process Update
The process for requesting Graduate Committee Service Approval on behalf of students’ prospective advisory committee members is migrating to an online Google form, available now. As of March 1, 2021, the Graduate School will be processing committee service requests exclusively via the Google form. Until that date, we will continue to receive and process the pdf version. A downloadable guide to completing the online request form can be found here.
2. Updates on the Diversity & Inclusion and Ethics Requirements
The Graduate School has launched new, updated web pages with links to current plans for each department. A link has also been integrated into the Faculty and Staff Resources webpage.
Inclusion and Diversity Website:
https://graduateschool.vt.edu/academics/programs/inclusion-diversity-req.html
Ethics Website:
https://graduateschool.vt.edu/academics/programs/ethics-requirement.html
Administrative Announcements
1. Commencement Celebrations Extended Through Kudoboards
The Graduate School wants to provide several options for celebrating our graduates this May. One way to congratulate them is to leave a message on one of our online Kudoboards. We have two: one for our Northern Virginia and D.C. Metro area graduates and one for Blacksburg/Roanoke area graduates.
The D.C. Area Kudoboard is at:
https://vt-commencement-spring2021.kudoboard.com/boards/uqhiCGCv
The Blacksburg/Roanoke area Kudoboard is at:
https://vt-commencement-spring2021.kudoboard.com/boards/vmrwpDiw
The board can accept text messages, images, and short videos. We will share news about the boards with students in the last week of April. In the meantime, please consider adding a short congratulatory message for the graduates to one of the boards and share the addresses with graduate faculty members.
2. 2020-21 Grad School Handbook and Planners Available for Prospective Students
The handbook and planner includes 20+ pages of custom information tailored for VT graduate students regarding programs, services and other topics of interest that may help prospective students get an idea about the graduate community at VT. If you would like a supply of planners, let us know by emailing to grads@vt.edu with “planner request” in the subject line.
3. Graduate School Funded Fellowships
Nominations for Graduate School Fellowships are currently being accepted for 2021-22. For eligibility, nomination information, and deadlines, please visit each opportunity listed on the Funding Sponsored by the Graduate School page.
4. Powell Fellowship
Applications are currently being accepted for the Powell Fellowship. For eligibility and nomination information please visit https://graduateschool.vt.edu/funding/types-of-funding/funding-sponsored-by-the-graduate-school/powell-fellowship.html
Deadline March 26, 2021 at 11:59PM. Please contact Shernita Lee at shernita@vt.edu with questions or concerns.