Events, services and opportunities for graduate students

1. YOUR FINANCIAL FUTURE
Monday, Aug 23, 5:00-6:00pm, GLC Room B
Experts from Bank of America will discuss hot topics that are important to graduate students. Bring any banking questions you have. Sign up here.

2. 30-MIN CHRISTIAN WORSHIP: LUNCHTIME AT THE CHAPEL

Wednesdays, starting Aug 25, 12:10-12:40 pm, War Memorial Chapel
Graduate students are invited to join together for half an hour of Christian worship, including singing, prayer, and a brief Bible message, at 12:10 pm on Wednesdays at War Memorial Chapel.  University employees are also welcome to come.  "Take a break  in the middle of the week to worship God and meet other Christian graduate students."  Sponsored by registered graduate student organization R. P. Missions.

3. WRITING A WINNING RESUME SEMINAR
Wednesday, Aug 25, 5:30-6:30pm, GLC Room F
Campus job fairs begin on September 14.  Attend this seminar to make sure that your resume is in great shape.  Visit Career Services for a schedule of additional career related seminars for the semester.

4. GSA DELEGATE MEETING
Thursday, Aug 26, 5:30-7:00pm,  GLC Multipurpose Room
If you are not sure what the GSA does, if you want to join, or get back into the swing of pertinent graduate student issues, attend the Graduate Student Assembly’s first delegate meeting of the 2010-11 academic year.  You can get a better understand of governance at VT,  join committees/groups that are ongoing/working this year on graduate student issues ranging from fees, health care, to child care, and be exposed to the great programming GSA has planned for the Fall semester! Email questions to gsa@vt.edu.

5. CINEMATECH SCREENING SERIES CONTINUES!
Thursday, Aug 26, 7:00pm at the Lyric Theatre, Downtown Blacksburg
Anja Haelg Bieri, GTA in the VT School of Performing Arts & Cinema, invites you to the first installation of the CinemaTech series that will kick off with David Williams, an award-winning filmmaker based in Richmond, Virginia. His work includes the feature films Lillian and Thirteen, which have been shown around the world. His awards include prizes at the Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals. Williams serves as the writer, cinematographer, editor, director and producer of his work, which blends fictional and non-fictional elements into stories of remarkable subtlety and human depth. The screening will include Williams’ feature-length film, Thirteen, and will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker. If you have any questions about this event, contact Anja.

6. CAREER SERVICES ANNUAL TAILGATE

Friday, Aug 27, 10:00am-3:00pm, Smith Career Center
Free food, fun games and prizes. Please come and meet the employer sponsors as well as the Career Services staff. 

7. GUIDED TOURS OF DOWNTOWN BLACKSBURG
Friday, Aug 27, 3:00-8:00pm
The GSA, together with Downtown Blacksburg Inc. (DBI), is offering free guided tours of Downtown Blacksburg during Gobblerfest! Tours will leave every 30mins from the GSA booth starting at 3:30pm. The tour will last 20-25mins and all participants get a FREE t-shirt and coupons to downtown businesses. More information can be found on the DBI  and Gobblerfest  websites. Questions? Contact Amanda Cronin Rumore, GSA VP of Programs.

8. APPALACHIA FIELD TRIP

Saturday, Sep 25, 9:00am-4:30pm, leave from Squires/GLC parking lot
The field trip includes a short hike to Hanging Rock Raptor Observatory, a visit to Hallow Hill Buffalo Farm, lunch at the Swinging Bridge Café in Paint Bank, VA and visits to an old caboose, a grist mill, a country store, and a fish hatchery. The cost is $27 that includes bus transportation and all tours. Lunch additional (plan to spend $10-15; limited vegetarian options). Register here.

9. ELIGIBILITY FOR IN-STATE CLASSIFICATION

Please review your student status in HokieSPA and your e-bill from the Bursar’s Office (Student Accounts) to determine if you are properly classified as an in-state or out-of-state student. If you believe that you are eligible for in-state classification for tuition purposes and are not listed as an in-state student, please review the Graduate School’s website to learn about the policy and apply for in-state classification if you qualify.

10. STATISTICAL COLLABORATION SERVICES
The Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Statistical Analysis (LISA) provides VT faculty, staff, and student researchers with quality statistical support for free. The statistical collaborators of LISA are trained to help design experiments, analyze and plot data, run statistical software, interpret results, and communicate statistical concepts in ways non-statisticians understand.  Learn more about LISA and its services for graduate students.

11. CHANGE IN INTER-LIBRARY LOAN DEPARTMENT
The Newman Library’s inter-library loans department moved to a new location: ILL materials now can be picked up and returned at the main circulation desk on the second floor.

12. INVITATION TO PHI BETA DELTA HONOR SOCIETY
Graduate students are invited to apply to become a member of Phi Beta Delta, the first honor society dedicated to recognizing scholarly achievement in international education. Phi Beta Delta’s goals are: * to recognize the scholarly achievement of international students and scholars, U.S. students who have studied abroad; * to advance the development of academic-based international programming; * to provide a network on each campus for faculty, staff, and international students involved in international endeavors; and * to extend the network of members in chapters worldwide. More information and application. Apply by Sep 7, 2010. 
 
13. WAGE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY IN GIS PROJECT – 2nd posting
VT’s Geospatial Information Sciences seeks student wage employees for a GIS project focused on the development of a campus-wide 3D building geographic database, which will serve as a foundation for enterprise-wide GIS applications. Work performed in office setting on computer. The candidates must work efficiently to meet project milestones, and should be able to work as part of a team with supervision as needed. Good communication skills, CAD / GIS experience, and attention to detail required. Preferred qualifications include programming experience (VB and/or Python), geoprocessing model design, geodatabase design, 3d modeling, familiarity with KML or GML, and web development. The job will begin in August, and continue into the spring 2011 semester. There are multiple positions, so candidates with varied skill levels are encouraged to apply. If you want to learn more, please email your resume to Peter Sforza at the Center for Geospatial Information Technology.

14. FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITY: CHRISTINE MIRZAYAN SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY POLICY GRAD FELLOWSHIP

This fellowship is designed to engage fellows in the analytical process that informs US science and technology policy, and help them develop basic skills essential to working on science policy at the federal, state or local levels. Session dates Jan 24-Apr 15, 2011; Aug 29-Nov 18, 2011. More information and application.

16. PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR SPATIAL ENVIRONMENTS STUDY – 2nd posting
How would you like to spend a little time playing Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Jack Ryan, or George Smiley? Researchers are looking for a collection of potential detectives and intelligence analysts to take part in a study of spatial environments for intelligence analysis. No actual detecting experience is required (nor do you have to recognize all of the names above). All that is needed is an inquiring mind and three hours to read and analyze a collection of text documents to find the bad guys (sorry, no car chases, explosions, or exotic gadgets from Q division will be involved). Compensation for your time will be provided, and a prize awarded for the most accurate solution. If you are interested, contact Christopher Andrews to set up a time slot (unfortunately, if you need to use glasses to read I cannot currently accommodate you – contacts are fine however).

16. PAYROLL DEDUCTION OF COMP FEES FOR GRADUATE ASSISTANTS – sign up now!
Graduate students on assistantship appointment may pay their comprehensive, technology and capital fees through payroll deduction during the fall and spring semesters. To be eligible for this program, students must commit to paying the full-time comprehensive, technology and capital fees through payroll deduction. Enrollment is managed through Hokie SPA and students must sign up _each_ semester in which they wish to take advantage of this opportunity. Learn more.

17. NEW COURSE OFFERING IN FALL 2010: WELLNESS THROUGH MIND BODY PRACTICES
Students will examine several mind body practices loosely based on Traditional Chinese Medicine, including acupuncture, diet and nutrition, herbs, meditation, qigong, taiji, breath work, and Reiki. In addition, they will examine a general philosophical framework for understanding the function of these practices, discuss their historical place in the development of Asian religions and their  impact on health and well-being, and explore their relationship to conventional western medicine. Guest lecturers will cover many of these topics. The students will be required to adopt two practices and report on the impact of these practices. CRN 98167; 3 cr; TTH 5:00-6:15pm; Litton Reaves 1770; Instructor ¬ Prof. Douglas K Lindner.

18. GRAD 5134: TOPICS IN INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH: SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND CONSTRUCTION
This course explores how to build sustainable living-learning community at the VT Catawba Sustainability Center (VTCSC).  The course will work in a studio environment with teams of students from various backgrounds that might include engineering, architecture, LAR, construction, business, planning, agriculture, environmental sciences, forestry, and others.  The teams will work together to study components of the master plan for the VTCSC and look to provide an ecologically sound design and process to physically manifest the concepts.  Team work, entrepreneurship, risk, followership and leadership will be part of discussion topics.  Instructor: Dr. Yvan Beliveau, 540.818.4602. Wednesdays 5:30-8:15, Bishop-Favrao Hall 210.

19. GRAD 5984: TOPICS ON DIVERSITY & INCLUSION FOR A GLOBAL SOCIETY
Tuesdays, 6:00-8:50pm, GLC
The objective of this course is to provide students with a broader perspective and the research around the topic of diversity and inclusion for a global society.

20. UPCOMING EVENTS:

GSA WELCOME BACK HAPPY HOUR
Friday, Sep 3, 5:00-7:00pm, GLC Lounge
The GSA will host its annual Welcome Back Happy Hour: $5.00 per person (cash) at the door for 2 beers and snacks ($2 for snacks only). All graduate students, post-docs, and faculty members are invited to come and enjoy a great start to the semester! Must be 21 or over to attend; valid I.D. required for entry. Please direct any questions to Amanda Cronin Rumore.