May 11-17, 2015

1.  WEEKLY WALK-IN SERVICES IN THE GLC – break schedule; updated 5/11

  • Career Services advising: on hiatus until fall
  • Cook Counseling: Thursdays and Fridays 1:00-5:00pm, Green Room 
  • GLC Café: 3:30-5:00 every Thursday, Reading Room – continues through summer
  • Graduate School summer hours May 18-Jul 31: 9:00am-4:00pm
  • Writing assistance: on hiatus until fall

2. SNACKS & CHATS PICNIC
Wednesday, May 13, 12:00-1:00pm, Grassy lawn adjacent to Harper Hall
The Cranwell International Center invites all international graduate students to take a break for some snacks and chats!  There will be a picnic-style celebration outside of Cranwell International Center at Harper Hall, complete with free food and lawn games. Celebrate the end of the school year with international friends and say goodbye to those who will be leaving Blacksburg. For more info contact Lyndsy Manz, ljmanz@vt.edu.

3. GLC CAFÉ: END OF SEMESTER SPECIAL!
Thursday, May 14, 3:30-5:00pm, GLC Reading Room side patio
The GLC Café is offered throughout the year with free coffee, tea, and cookies in the company of your graduate-student and Grad-School colleagues. To celebrate the end of the semester, there will be sweet and savory refreshments and fresh lemonade in addition to the usual coffee, tea and cookies. If it’s sunny, we might be on the side-patio (near Bookstore side entrance behind the shrubs).

4. GRADUATE COMMENCEMENT CEREMONY
Friday, May 15, 12:00pm, Cassell Coliseum
The Graduate School invites all graduating graduate students and their families to its spring commencement ceremony. The event will be streamed live on VT’s website. Doctoral candidates and their hooding professors should report to the Spring Road side of Cassell Coliseum to check in between 10:30-11:30am. Master’s, education specialist, and certificate candidates who are eligible to participate in Commencement should report to Cassell Coliseum between 10:30-11:30am and follow the signage to the check-in location in Gym 213. Lear more about commencement ceremonies at http://www.vt.edu/commencement/.

5. CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR CISO BOARD MEMBERSHIP – 1st posting
Nominations are accepted until May 15 for Council of International Student Organizations (CISO) Board Members. CISO represents and promotes international student organizations and their interest both individually and collectively; serves as a liaison between the intl student organizations and the university administration, campus organizations, wider university, and the Blacksburg community; provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and dissemination of information; coordinates collective activities of the international community; supports the integration of international students within the university campus. Apply/nominate at https://survey.vt.edu/survey/entry.jsp?id=1430519274240. To be eligible, a candidate must be one of the following: A student in one of CISO’s member organizations and/or a non-immigrant student visa holder, in good academic standing who will be enrolled for the full-time for the 2015-16 academic year. Self nominations accepted. Open offices: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Event Coordinator, Public Relations Officer and Webmaster. Nominees will be contacted at the conclusion of the nominating period and asked to participate in the ballot by offering a written statement of their candidacy. For more info contact Lyndsy Manz, ljmanz@vt.edu.

6. HOKIES FOR NEPAL EARTHQUAKE FUNDRAISING – 2nd posting
The VT Nepalese Student Association invites you to join their fundraising efforts in response to the recent earthquake that killed more than 7000 people and injured over 13,000. Millions of affected people are in dire need of food, medical supplies and shelter. Learn more about the effort and/or donate at http://www.nepal.org.vt.edu/nepalearthquake2015/.

7. GRADUATE SCHOOL SUMMER HOURS
Starting Monday, May 18, the Graduate School’s student service area (120 Graduate Life Center) will be open Monday-Friday, 9:00am-4:00pm. Summer hours are in effect until Friday, Jul 31.

8. GRAD ASSISTANTSHIP OPENING IN LEARNING EXPERIENCE DESIGN IN TLOS – 3rd posting
Learning Experience Design (LED), a unit of Technology-enhanced Learning and Online Strategies (TLOS) is seeking a Graduate Assistant to help design and develop media-rich, high quality courses that incorporate active learning through technology. The GA will serve as part of a team of instructional designers, instructional support specialists, graphic and media designers, etc. who work with faculty to design and develop content, learning activities and assessments for online, hybrid, flipped, traditional and multi-modal classrooms both on campus and for distance learning. Must have a strong background in instructional design, educational media or related field and have experience working with faculty to complete projects. Experience teaching in higher education is not required but is preferred. If interested, email Dr. Lujean Baab at laab@vt.edu to respond with an indication of why you would like to join the LED team, the skills and experience you could contribute, etc. and attach a current resume/CV.  

9. MOTHERS SOUGHT FOR STUDY ON STRESS MANAGEMENT AND HEALTHY EATING – 1st posting
Participation in this study involves attending four weekly meetings lasting 1.5 hours, a focus group, and a phone interview four weeks later. Participants will be asked to fill out surveys about their eating behavior and experience of stress at the beginning and end of the study, along with saliva samples and body measurements. The weekly sessions will focus on managing stress, slowing down, and healthy food. The focus group and interview will help researchers learn more about your experience in the program. Eligibility requirements: must be a mother 18 or older with a child 5 years or younger living in your home; not currently pregnant or breastfeeding; not participating in a weight loss program or diet. Participants will receive $10-85 based on level of participation. Date and time of program will be determined upon convenience for majority of participants. For more info contact Lauren by calling/texting (540)808.5358 or emailing slowdownvt@gmail.com.

10. 10-15-YEAR-OLD PARTICIPANTS SOUGHT FOR STUDY – 1st posting
The Third Lab at Virginia Tech is interested in 10-15 year-olds, their friendships, communities, and whether and how they listen to music. Researchers are conducting a study, and may publish the results. Participating 10-15 year-olds will be asked to complete a short (5-10 minute) questionnaire each day for 14 days. Please email Michael Stewart at tgm@vt.edu to express interest, get more information or enroll your child in our 14-day study. Participants will be compensated. Your child’s participation is voluntary and confidential.

11. SURVEY PARTICIPANTS SOUGHT FOR ETD-PLUS PROJECT – 3rd posting
VT grad students are invited to participate in the nationwide ETDplus (http://educopia.org/etd) project in collaboration with the Educopia Institute and University of North Texas, Purdue, Univ of North Carolina, Univ of Louisville, Carnegie Mellon Univ, UT Knoxville, Oregon State Univ, Penn State, Morehouse School of Medicine Libraries, and Indiana State Univ. Participation is voluntary; all responses will be confidential. Aggregated results will only be shared with parties in a manner that will not personally identify you or Virginia Tech. All participants must be at least 18 years old. The ETDplus project is creating tools, workshops, and documentation to better prepare universities to manage theses and dissertations and their supplementary materials. The survey will take about 15-20 minutes to complete. Take the survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WRZ35H6. If you have any questions or concerns, contact Gail McMillan at gailmac@vt.edu or (540) 231-9252, or Nick Krabbenhoeft at nick@educopia.org or (917) 409-7907.

12. PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR MAP-COLORING STUDY – 3rd posting
Want to help developing more intuitive map coloring? Participants are sought for a study that evaluates color use in map reading, which will be used to choose the best locations farmers can plant their crops. In each trial you will be presented with a colored map, all of which show soil types but differ in how they show the amount of available water. Each map has two candidate areas of land; you will be asked to choose which area has more water and therefore is more suitable for planting. If you are 18 years or older and interested in participating, take the survey using your personal computer: https://virginiatech.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_3PMWmeJXM08Vh3v. The session will last approximately 30 minutes. Upon submitting a complete survey, your email will be entered in a random drawing for five $20 VT gift cards. For more information, contact Ayat Mohammed at maaayat@vt.edu.