GRADUATE SCHOOL BULLETIN
A publication of the Graduate School for Graduate Program Directors and Coordinators
Postings are distributed to the Graduate Program Directors and Coordinators listservs on the 1st and 16th of each month and are also available on our public blog: https://monthlymemo.graduateschool.vt.edu/
November 17, 2025
IN THIS BULLETIN:
Meetings, Workshops, & Events
1. GPD/GC Meeting
Deadlines & Dates to Remember
None at this time.
Policy Updates
None at this time.
Administrative Announcements
2. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society Applications Now Open
3. Graduate Student Awards
4. Outstanding Advising/Mentoring Award (A/P Faculty/Staff)
5. Outstanding College Mentor, Doctoral and Master’s Student Awards
6. National Name Exchange (NNE) Data Uploaded to Slate for Recruitment Purposes
7. Graduate Student Climate Survey Data Available
Announcements for Distribution to Students
8. Graduate School Thanksgiving Break Lunch
9. GRAD 5984: SS: Effective, Ethical, & Equitable Mentoring
Meetings, Workshops, & Events
1. GPD/GC Meeting
December 10, 2:00-3:00 p.m., Zoom
This is a reminder of the upcoming monthly Graduate Program Director and Graduate Coordinator meeting. If you are not currently included in the calendar invitation, please contact jhazelwood4@vt.edu.
Administrative Announcements
2. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society Applications Now Open
Deadline: January 16, 2026
Please encourage your students to apply to be inducted into the Bouchet Graduate Honors Society.
The Bouchet Graduate Honors Society seeks to develop a network of preeminent scholars who exemplify academic and personal excellence, foster environments of support, and serve as examples of scholarship, leadership, character, service, and advocacy for students in the academy. In the spirit of Bouchet’s commitment to these pursuits both within and outside the academic realm, inductees into the honor society bearing his name should exhibit these qualities. The deadline for applications is 11:59pm on January 16, 2025.
3. Graduate Student Awards
Deadline: January 23, 2026
The Graduate School recognizes the contributions of the university’s most outstanding graduate students each year. Winners are recognized at an awards banquet during Graduate Education Week, celebrated annually in the last full week of March. Awards include outstanding dissertation and thesis, service excellence, teaching excellence, graduate student of the year, and outstanding interdisciplinary PhD student. If you have questions, please contact Lauren Surface at lkeister@vt.edu.
4. Outstanding Advising/Mentoring Award (A/P Faculty/Staff)
Deadline: January 23, 2026
The Graduate School is seeking nominations for the Outstanding Advising/Mentoring Award for A/P Faculty and Staff. Nominators are encouraged to think about the many diverse ways in which staff and A/P faculty contribute to the development and support of graduate students. If you have questions, please contact Lauren Surface, lkeister@vt.edu.
5. Outstanding College Mentor, Doctoral and Master’s Student Awards
Deadline: February 13, 2026
Recipients of each college’s outstanding faculty mentor, doctoral student and master’s student are due to the Graduate School by February 13, 2026. Each college creates their own criteria for each award, though there are suggested criteria on the information pages below:
Outstanding Mentor Award information
Outstanding Doctoral and Master’s Student information
If you have questions, please reach out to Lauren Surface, lkeister@vt.edu.
6. National Name Exchange (NNE) Data Uploaded to Slate for Recruitment Purposes
Managed by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), the National Name Exchange (NNE) aims to expand access to graduate education to create a robust and nimble workforce. The focus is on removing barriers to access for all students in accessing higher education and broadening graduate school attainment with a multi-pronged approach that can be read about on the CGS website. The 2025 NNE data has been uploaded to Slate, and you can identify these students by a tag which can be queried either as a filter along with their major and/or as an export.
A template query is available and can be used to copy and adjust to individual program(s): click here. Questions can be sent to Catherine Cotrupi at cotrupi@vt.edu.
7. Graduate Student Climate Survey Data Available
Data are now available from the Spring 2025 Graduate Student Climate Survey. The following visualization can be used to compare climate survey results to prior years and is filterable down to the academic program level: click here
Summary results and reports will be available at a later date. If you have questions or desire additional analysis, contact Kacy Lawrence at klawr5@vt.edu.
Announcements for Distribution to Students
The notice(s) in this section have been shared with graduate students through the Graduate School’s channels, but we ask that you consider sharing it with individual students or student groups as you see fit.
8. Graduate School Thanksgiving Break Lunch
Tuesday, November 25, 11:30am-1pm, GLC Multipurpose Room
You are not alone! Join others who don’t get to leave for Thanksgiving Break for some chili (chicken, vegetarian/vegan/GF versions), dessert, and conversation in the graduate community! Registration is required and will close when the event has reached capacity, so sign up today: registration form
Questions can be sent to Lindsay Barron at lbarron@vt.edu.
9. GRAD 5984: SS: Effective, Ethical, & Equitable Mentoring
The purpose of this course is to develop graduate students’ understandings of and experiences with mentoring. The ability to support and enhance another’s academic, professional, and personal development rests on a foundation of exploring and reflecting one’s own experiences with these topics.
Graduate students in this course will reflect on their own previous experiences with mentoring; their role as current mentees in their research and graduate careers, their role as future faculty and industry leaders who will have mentees of their own, and as mentors to current undergraduate students. They will also be guided in developing peer-mentoring networks to support their wellbeing and success in graduate school.
Students will be provided with mentorship theories and opportunities to reflect and put their awareness into practice informing their future praxis. Please reach out to cotrupi@vt.edu for more information.