1. WEEKLY SERVICES IN THE GLC (on a walk-in basis unless otherwise noted)
- Career services advising: Wednesdays, 1:30-5:00pm, GLC Study Room
- Counseling: Wednesdays and Thursdays, 1:00-5:00pm, Green Room (across from Room G)
- GLC Café: Thursdays, 3:30-5:00pm, Reading Room
- Statistical consulting by LISA: Wednesdays, 1:00-3:00pm, GLC Videoconference Room
- Writing support: Wednesdays (6-9pm) and Thursdays (6-9pm), GLC Videoconference Room – more information or reserve a spot>>
2. HYGIENE DRIVE FOR NRV HOMELESS SHELTERS
Nov 7-15, GLC Lobby
Give thanks this holiday season by donating new and unused hygiene products to local New River Valley (NRV) homeless shelters. Items include: toothbrushes, toothpaste, travel-size shampoo and conditioner, body wash, razors, shaving cream, soap, tissues, deodorant, q-tips, hand sanitizer, brushes, combs, and washcloths. Please drop off your items at the GLC information desk. Donations will be collected from now until Nov 15. The hygiene drive is held in conjunction with National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week and is coordinated by GLC Fellows and GSA. More information>>. Questions: Contact Megan Stuart at stuartma@vt.edu.
3. 2011 INNOVATION-BASED MANUFACTURING WORKSHOP – REGISTER NOW
Tuesday, Nov 8, 8:00am-4:00pm, GLC Multipurpose Room
The VT Center for Innovation-based Manufacturing invites graduate students to its 2011 workshop to give you an understanding of why innovation-based manufacturing is critical to achieve economic development and how it can be pursued. Participants will better understand the basics of innovation-based manufacturing; comprehend how innovation policy plays a key role in economic development; understand the impact of open innovation in manufacturing solutions; and recognize the main aspects of embedding innovation into an organization’s structure. Learn more >>. Register here.
4. AEL PRESENTS: LAST LECTURE WITH NIKKI GIOVANNI
Wednesday, Nov 9, 5:00pm, Auditorium in Holden Hall
The Last Lecture Series provides an opportunity for the audience to interact with motivational speakers and draw inspiration from their professional and personal lives. Free and open to all. This lecture is presented by University Distinguished Professor and poet Nikki Giovanni. Enjoy the last lecture of Dr. Michael Hochella, Jr. presented on Sep 28. Alpha Epsilon Lambda is a national graduate honor society founded upon leadership and scholarly merit.
5. ETD WORKSHOP SERIES: GRAD SCHOOL REVIEW OF YOUR ETD
Wednesday, Nov 9, 7:00-8:00pm, GLC Room F
Graduate School staff will discuss items they check while reviewing your submitted ETD and the time line of the submission process.
6. HOW TO BRING PASSION AND PURPOSE TO YOUR CAREER
Wednesday, Nov 9, 7:00-8:30pm, GLC Auditorium
Author and speaker Dr. Gregg Levoy will help you look for answers to questions such as choosing a career you love vs. one that will make you the most money; finding a major and future career that honors your passion and purpose; how to make your life original rather than a knock-off. More information about this event >>.
7. ARE YOU HUNGRY?
Wednesday, Nov 9, 7:30-9:00pm, Old Dominion Ballroom, Squires
Close to a billion people go to bed hungry every night. Join the GSA and GLC Fellows for a night of dining and discussion on food security and homelessness. During the Oxfam Hunger Banquet, participants will engage with invited guest experts in an interactive event depicting the global economic stratification. Those in attendance will share a meal together and discuss poverty both locally and globally. This event is free, but a suggested admission is $5 or 4 non-perishable goods to be donated to Interfaith Food Pantry and Oxfam America. Save a seat here. Questions: Contact Swetha Kumar at swethak@vt.edu.
8. GRAD SCHOLARS SOCIETY PRESENTS: VT COAL PLANT TOUR
Thursday, Nov 10, 2:30-4:00pm
Learn more about the VT coal plant from Byron Nichols, associate director of the power plant, and take a tour of the plant guided by staff engineers. Participants will get a chance to see the inside of a working coal furnace. Space is limited, so sign up early by completing this short survey: https://survey.vt.edu/survey/entry.jsp?id=1320066001915. Your registration will be confirmed by email with further details about the tour and meeting place. For more information contact Wes Cardwell at wcardwel@vt.edu.
9. GLC CAFÉ + ADVISING 101
Thursdays, 3:30-5:00pm, GLC Reading Room
Enjoy free coffee and tea in the GLC Reading Room on Thursday afternoons and socialize with your fellow grads. This week’s special: Advising 101 – faculty advisors and graduate students will be on hand to discuss their experiences and recommendations about how to make advisor-advisee relationships work. Bring your opinion, and your own mug if you can. Please contact us at grads@vt.edu if you have any comments or suggestions about this event.
10. COMMUNICATION SKILLS WORKSHOP FOR INTL STUDENTS – PLS REGISTER
Thursday, Nov 10, 6:30-8:00pm, GLC Room F
In this communication skills workshop specifically for international graduate students, two family therapists will discuss, demonstrate, and provide learning activities related to specific communication skills applicable in a range of relationships. Workshop leaders will be Dr. Fred Piercy, professor of marriage and family therapy, and Manjushree Palit, a doctoral student in marriage and family therapy, both within human development. If you are an international graduate student and interested in participating in this workshop, please contact the presenters at mpalit@vt.edu and register so that they know how many people to expect. Feel free to bring a friend, partner or spouse to this workshop. If you have any queries, call 231-1764. Sponsors of this workshop include the Department of Human Development, the Family Therapy Center of Virginia Tech, and the Graduate School.
11. UNIVERSITY OPEN HOUSE 2011
Saturday, Nov 12, 10:00am-12:00pm, featured locations on campus, including GLC
Explore the campus; experience exciting research; get a unique look behind the scenes at departments you may not even know exist. Learn more about the open house at www.vt.edu/openhouse. In the GLC Dr. DePauw will be on hand to discuss the present and future of graduate education at VT; visitors may vote on the current grad student artwork, photos and writing on display, visit with representatives of graduate student organizations, and browse the timeline of the building’s history in photos, architectural drawings and quotes.
12. NOTHING SHORT OF A REVOLUTION: HOW WOMEN’S MOVEMENTS ARE CHANGING THE WORLD
Saturday, Nov 12, 2:45pm, 30 Pamplin Hall
The Blacksburg chapter of Association for India’s Development, a grad student org, invites you to this speaker event given by Ms. Kavita Ramdas, an eminent personality in the field of women’s human rights, social justice philanthropy and international development. For more information please contact Gaurav Jain at jaing@vt.edu.
13. ENROLLMENT OPEN AGAIN IN INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH HONOR SOCIETY
Iota Delta Rho, the Interdisciplinary Research Honor Society, has reopened membership enrollment following the enthusiasm experienced at the Interdisciplinary Research Symposium. Applications are now available at their website at http://www.idrsociety.org/membership/application/ until midnight, Nov 13. IDR is an inclusive organization with membership options for all those interested in participating. Please contact VP of membership Tammy Parece with questions.
14. NEW SPRING COURSE: FROM MEMEX TO YOUTUBE: CONGNITION, LEARNING & THE INTERNET
Register for GRAD 5984 for spring 2012, TR 9:30-10:45am, location TBA.
So far education has used the Internet primarily as a delivery device, not a connectivity platform. If we change that paradigm, however, interesting questions emerge: How is Wikipedia not simply a reference work, but a learning environment and a community of practice? How does Google both model and shape human cognition? How can globally networked interactive computing augment human intellect and thus address the primary mission of education itself? This course explores the intersections of computing, information science, education, Internet studies, the humanities, and the visual and performing arts, as well as the crucial and long-contested relationships among making, doing, and knowing. Course readings will be supplemented by various texts and artifacts, from podcasts to MMORPGs to machinima, and will include hands-on experience with blogging, tweeting, social bookmarking, and other more. For more details see the syllabus (beta) at: http://gardnercampbell.wetpaint.com/page/memextoyoutube-s12.
15. DISNEY PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT FOCUS GROUP PARTICIPANTS NEEDED
Parents with children ages of 5-10 are invited to participate in two focus group sessions to help develop nutritious snack foods for kids. Every participating child must be accompanied by at least one parent/guardian. The focus group sessions will be held on Tuesday, Nov 15, 4:00pm and Tuesday, Jan 24, 4:00pm in classroom 132 in the Food Science and Technology Building, on the corner of Duck Pond Drive and Washington Street. The first session will last 90 min; the second session will last 60 min. All participants will receive a healthy snack. The information gleaned from participants will help with designing and developing a nutritious low-fat dairy and fruit product for kids. If you are interested in participating in both focus group sessions, please register here. Please contact Kerri Martin at kerrik@vt.edu with any questions.
16. PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR BIOMECHANICS STUDY – 2nd posting
Participants are sought for a study investigating the effects of flexion on the biomechanics and neuromuscular behavior of the human torso. The study consists of five separate experimental sessions (each lasting approximately 1 hour) and participants will be compensated $10/hour. To qualify you must be 18-29 and regularly exercise at least 2-3 times/wk. For more information or to inquire about participation, please contact Neema at neema@vt.edu. Please include your age, gender, and general availability when responding.
17. GRAD STUDENT INPUT NEEDED ABOUT VT POLICY ON CONFLICT OF INTEREST
DRSCAP, a committee of the Commission on Graduate Studies and Policies, would like to meet with several graduate students who are funded by a faculty-owned company to hear their experiences. The committee has been asked to provide input on protections for graduate students as part of the revision of the university’s policy on conflict of interest. Hearing about experiences from a variety of perspectives would be helpful in thinking through proposed policy options. DRSCAP would be especially interested in talking to graduate students who:
– Are funded by a grant or contract where the source of funds was their advisor’s private company;
– Are paid directly by the faculty-owned company;
– Are working for a faculty member on his or her outside consulting.
DRSCAP will meet on Tuesday, Nov 15, 4:00-5:00pm in 238 GLC, the Graduate School’s conference room. If you are available and willing to participate, please contact Akiko Nakamura at nakamura@vt.edu, a GSA representative to the committee, and provide your name and department.
18. SURVEY PARTICIPANTS SOUGHT FOR FOOD PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT INTEREST SURVEY – 3rd posting
Graduate students from the Food Science and Technology Department competing in the Danisco Knowledge Award Competition invite you to participate in a survey regarding demographics, consumption- and purchasing habits, and interest in a new type of nutrition bar product. The survey consists of 29 questions and will require approximately 15 minutes to complete. The information you will provide in the questionnaire will be used in the development of a new food product. If you are interested in completing the survey, please go to: https://survey.vt.edu/survey/entry.jsp?id=1316716058553. E-mail Margo Duckson at maduckgo@vt.edu with any questions.
19. UPCOMING EVENTS:
DOCUMENTARY PRESENTATION: EASY STREET
Tuesday, Nov 15, 7:30-9:30pm, GLC TV Lounge
Watch the must see film that documents one year in the lives of homeless people in St. Petersburg, Florida. Viewers will see and hear how people scratch out an existence on the streets of America’s urban centers. Participants will be assembling hygiene kits with the items collected throughout the week for homeless shelters in the New River Valley! FREE popcorn and drinks provided! Sponsored by the GLC Fellows and GSA. Contact GLC fellow Megan Stuart at stuartma@vt.edu with any questions.
A CONVERSATION FOR PREGNANT WOMEN AND NEW MOTHERS
Wednesday, Nov 16, 11:30am-12:30pm, Women’s Center
Having a child is a natural transition in one’s life; nevertheless, it is one of the most intense emotional experiences for human beings. Pregnancy can be exciting but also overwhelming for caregivers and mothers-to-be. Share and discuss life experiences related to parenthood such as pregnancy, labor, delivery, breastfeeding, post-partum blues, adjusting to baby needs, going back to work and good enough parenting. Bring your questions, experiences and ideas to the group. Learn more and register>>.
LUNCH WITH DEAN DEPAUW, PROVOST, PRESIDENT AND VP STUDENT AFFAIRS – SIGN UP NOW
Monday, Nov 28, 11:30am-1:00pm, The Inn at Virginia Tech
Attend the final graduate luncheon of the fall semester with President Steger, Provost McNamee, Graduate Dean DePauw, and VP of Student Affairs, Dr. Spencer at the Inn. Spaces are limited, so if you are interested in attending, please fill out this survey and include any issues (positive or negative) that you believe need to be discussed: https://survey.vt.edu/survey/entry.jsp?id=1318190053408. Please indicate if you are unable to attend this luncheon and whether you wish to be considered for future lunches. Graduate students selected for attendance will be contacted by Thursday, Nov 24. Contact Michelle McLeese with any questions.