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Grad News

November, 2007

Monthly eNewsletter
November 2007

In This Issue

Everyday Excellence
Meet Kristin Leahey, doctoral student in Performance as Public Practice

Professional Development
What is Your "Career"?

Spotlight on Faculty
Meet Professor Samer Ali

Graduate Research at Work
Jessica Braun and Tania Garbe travel to Mongolia to design a child care center

Featured Graduate School Resource
Funding your graduate education

Getting a Life
East Austin Studio Tour


Mark Your Calendar
Date Event
Oct 29 - Nov 9 Spring 2008 registration for continuing and readmitted students
Nov 2 - Dec 11

Orange Santa Program. Orange Santa provides both a resource for all current UT employees and students and also provides an opportunity for the university community to contribute and participate during a special season of caring on campus.

Nov 9 "Successful Grant Writing in the Humanities."  Two seminars (9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.) sponsored by the Office of Sponsored Projects.  To register, contact Elena Mota.
Nov 12 First day for donating gifts to the Orange Santa Holiday store.  New,  unwrapped gifts may be donated at all campus guard kiosks and at numerous "donation stations" in university offices.
Nov 13 Institutional Review Board (IRB) Training for graduate students.  Register to attend.
Nov 14 "Helping Your Students Become More Efffective Learners." ASPECTS.  Session starting at 10:00 a.m.  Register to attend.
Nov 15-18 21st NAGPS National Conference
Nov 22-23 THANKSGIVING HOLIDAYS
Nov 27 Final date to apply for eligibility for shopping in the Orange Santa Holiday store. 
Nov 29 Author Yvette Christiansë will read from and discuss her novel Unconfessed, a 2006 PEN/Hemingway Award finalist. 7:00 p.m., Joynes Reading Room, University Honors Center.
Dec 7 Last day to submit master's report, recital, thesis, doctoral dissertation, or treatise to the graduate dean.

More dates and events for Fall 2007

Message from the Dean

One of the highlights of my job as Dean of Graduate Studies is working with the talented representatives of the Graduate Student Assembly (GSA).  I am continually impressed with the students who dedicate themselves to championing the issues that are important to graduate students at The University of Texas at Austin.
 
With a graduate school as large and diverse as the one we have at The University of Texas at Austin, the GSA serves a key role in creating community for graduate students and for giving voice to the concerns that matter to you, such as tuition, housing and the need for university-wide statistics and writing resources. Representatives from the GSA serve on numerous university committees, including the Faculty Council, the Tuition Policy Advisory Committee and the Graduate Assembly.  The GSA has specific advisory committees for the President, the Provost, and the Dean of Graduate Studies.
 
This month, GSA is hosting the 21st Annual NAGPS National Conference from November 15-18 in Austin.  The theme of this year’s conference is "Advocate, Empower and Connect - Creating Stronger Graduate and Professional Students Communities".  This conference is designed to foster communication and the sharing of ideas among graduate students from institutions across the United States. Workshops are free to UT graduate students. For more information about the NAGPS Conference: http://www.nagps.org/2007nationalconference/

There are many ways to serve in the GSA.  Your involvement offers the opportunity to better understand the university administration, to work alongside faculty from other departments and to give voice to the needs of graduate students.  I encourage you to learn more about and get involved in the GSA.

Best wishes,
Victoria E. Rodríguez
Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies

Everyday Excellence

Kristin Leahey, a third year PhD student in Performance as Public Practice, has studied and taught youth theater both in Austin and Chicago, and she has acted in and worked as a dramaturg for many local performances.  Read more > >

Professional Development

Tips, tools and advice from Tommy Darwin, Director of Professional Development and Community Engagement for the Graduate School.

What is Your "Career"?

One of the most stressful elements of graduate school is answering the question:  What are you going to do with your degree?  Or, how does the job market look?  Especially at this time of year when job search rapids are building, I'd like to offer some perspective on finding a job, or even more daunting, starting a career. Read more > >

Spotlight on Faculty

This has been an exciting autumn for Middle Eastern Studies Professor Samer Ali. He is teaching a new graduate seminar on the Arabic influences in medieval Sicily, and he believes that the new knowledge he and his students are discovering could turn into a proposal for a grant to conduct manuscript research and, eventually, a book. Equally as exciting for him is the fact that three students have developed dissertation ideas based on their discoveries in this class.  Read more > >

Graduate Research at Work

Jessica Braun and Tania Garbe, graduate students in the School of Architecture, received a Mebane Award for travel over the past summer. This award enabled them to travel to Mongolia and design a child care center for disabled children. For six weeks they lived at a site in southwestern Mongolia, at the edge of the Gobi Desert, where they worked to develop a plan for the new childcare center with the help of community members, the Association of Parents with Disabled Children, and members of the Peace Corps. The School of Architecture will feature an exhibition of Braun and Garbe’s project starting November 19.

Featured Graduate School Resource

Funding your education

Are you continually trying to find new ways to fund your education?  The University of Texas at Austin has a number of resources to support your financial needs.  Check out the following links to find both university and external fellowships and grants.  Additionally, find information to many useful links to guide scholars in writing research grant proposals.

The Graduate School:  http://www.utexas.edu/ogs/funding/

 Office of Sponsored Projects: http://www.utexas.edu/research/osp/.

Getting a Life

East Austin Studio Tour (E.A.S.T.)

On the weekend of November 17-18, from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. each day, over 120 local artists open their East Austin studios to the public. This tour, which several artists started in 2003, is a chance for local artists to show their work to a larger section of the public, as well as a chance for the public to talk with the artists and learn about how and why they make the art that they do. E.A.S.T. is a fresh, welcoming, and diverse celebration of the art that Austin is making. Maps and info about each studio can be found at the Web site: www.eastaustinstudiotour.com