IN THIS BULLETIN:
Meetings, Workshops, & Events
1. Graduate Program Director Meeting
2. Jigsaw Connect: “Creating Belongingness: Effective Ways to Engage with Students”
Deadlines & Dates to Remember
1. COVES Fellowship Applications Now Open
2. Nominations/Notifications Due for Graduate Student and Outstanding Mentor Awards
Policy Updates
Administrative Announcements
1. Graduate School Funded Fellowships
2. New Student Guide Available Online
3. Inclusion and Diversity Requirement is in full effect
Meetings, Workshops, & Events
1. Graduate Program Director Meeting
Monday, January 24th, 2022 10:00-11:30am
Directors, please join Dean Surprenant either in person or by zoom for our next GPD meeting. If you plan on attending, completion of registration at the following link is required: https://gs.vt.edu/gpd. If there are any issues during registration please contact gsdean@vt.edu.
2. Jigsaw Connect: “Creating Belongingness: Effective Ways to Engage with Students”
Wednesday, February 16 at 11:00 am
Join us for our next session in our series focused on Recruitment and Retention Support for Graduate Programs. It is entitled “Graduate School Data: Resources and Responses” with Kacy Lawrence, Director of Assessment and Strategic Data Initiatives. Register at https://virginiatech.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYpfuysqTMsE9G2tlOAxVqng-kk5TIz6diz. Questions, email ORDI at ordi@vt.edu.
Deadlines & Dates to Remember
1. COVES Fellowship Applications Now Open
The application deadline is March 1
Interested graduate students may apply for the Commonwealth of Virginia Engineering and Science (COVES) summer fellowship until March 1. The COVES Fellowship is a 12-week full-time summer fellowship program (May 17-August 6) operated by the Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine (the Academy) and open to STEM graduate students. According to the Academy, the aim of the program is to strengthen ties between the scientific community and Virginia’s state government, and to encourage and train more scientists and engineers to be effective advisors for public policy and programs in the Commonwealth.
During the program, fellows will receive training in science policy and science communication, spend time in legislative offices, executive agencies companies or nonprofits in the state, and will be paired with an Academy mentor and involved in briefings, meetings and the Academy’s annual summit in August. The program begins with a week-long boot camp on science policy, governance and policy making in Virginia. Thereafter, fellows spend their time with the entity with which they are matched, and also are paired with a mentor. The program includes a stipend.
The Graduate School will submit five finalists for the fellowship program to the Academy, which will then choose one to represent the university in the program.
The Academy will hold two information sessions about the fellowship program. Both are virtual and registration is required:
Info Session #1: January 26, 2022 at 1:00 PM EST: Q&A with former fellows. Register in advance: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwodu6rqj4sGNKA7Ijz5Cu_vhUe5v6BOY2e
Info Session #2: February 11, 2022 at 1:00 PM EST: Q&A with former fellows. Register in advance: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIpf-GqpzgpGtPPz2uUZTOnjGzJGwGVlGxb
To learn more about the program and to access the application materials, visit the COVES Fellowship webpage on the Graduate School website.
2. Nominations/Notifications Due for Graduate Student and Outstanding Mentor Awards
Nominations for graduate student awards are due by January 28.
Faculty and/or academic departments and programs may submit nominations for outstanding theses and dissertations; excellence in teaching or service; graduate student of the year; and outstanding interdisciplinary students. In addition to these nominations, each college defines its own nomination criteria and selection process for identifying one outstanding master’s and doctoral student and outstanding mentor per college — notification of these winners are due by February 11. All winners will be recognized by the Graduate School during Graduate Education Week 2022, March 21-25. Visit https://graduateschool.vt.edu/about/awards/student.html to learn more about the process and timeline. Contact us at 540-231-9561 with questions.
Policy Updates
Administrative Announcements
1. Graduate School Funded Fellowships
Nominations for Graduate School Fellowships are currently being accepted for 2022-23. For eligibility, nomination information, and deadlines, please visit each opportunity listed on the Funding Sponsored by the Graduate School page.
2. New Student Guide Available Online
The Graduate School offers an online student guide for new students (see https://graduateschool.vt.edu/admissions/getting-started-as-a-student.html), as well as a variety of events and activities during the first few weeks of the semester to welcome students and aid their transition to graduate school. See https://graduateschool.vt.edu/admissions/orientation.html for details and feel free to refer new students to these resources.
3. Inclusion and Diversity Requirement is in full effect
All graduate students who enroll in Spring 2022 as the first term and thereafter have to fulfill the requirement to graduate. If your program’s plan was approved prior to this semester, then other students may have the requirement. Please communicate with all new students in your program these expectations. For those programs who still have not submitted a plan, please do so ASAP. All approved plans are located at https://graduateschool.vt.edu/academics/programs/inclusion-diversity-req.html. If you have any questions, please email Shernita at shernita@vt.edu