December 19-22, 2016

1.  WEEKLY WALK-IN SERVICES IN THE GLC – last updated 12/19

  • Career Advising: on hiatus until spring semester
  • Cook Counseling: on hiatus until spring semester
  • Graduate School regular hours: 8:00am-5:00pm until Dec 22; closed Dec 23-Jan 2
  • Immigration advising hours: MWF 1:00-5:00pm, TTh 9:00am-12:00pm; closed Dec 23-Jan 2
  • Peer to peer support coaching: on hiatus until spring semester
  • Writing assistance: on hiatus until spring semester

2. FINAL GLC CAFÉ OF 2016
Thursday, Dec 22, 3:30-5:00pm, GLC Lobby
Stop by for the final café of the year and enjoy some hot beverages, home-baked goodies, and good conversation in good company. Take some books from our Reading Room collection to enjoy during the break!

3. GRADUATE SCHOOL WINTER BREAK CLOSING
The Graduate School will be closed from 5:00pm Dec 22, through Jan 2, 2017. We will reopen with regular business hours at 8:00am on Tuesday, Jan 3.

4. CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR COMMUNITY CHANGE ONLINE JOURNAL – 1st posting
Community Change, an online, peer-reviewed, graduate student journal that seeks to explore multiple approaches to democratic community development and change is accepting applications for its inaugural issue. Issues will feature scholarly refereed articles, book reviews, essays, interviews and other work, including multimedia and artwork. Interdisciplinary work is strongly encouraged. In addition to manuscripts relating to new developments, submissions that re-examine or challenge the questions and assumptions underpinning current theoretical and practical approaches to community development and change are also welcome. Submission deadline: Jan 13, 2017. For more information, visit www.communitychange.ipg.vt.edu. Posted on behalf of D’Elia Chandler, delia3@exchange.vt.edu.

5. FINANCIAL AID APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR 2017-18 – 3rd posting
For U.S. citizens and permanent residents: Now is the time to start the application process if you will need financial aid in 2017-18!  The FAFSA is available from Oct 1 each year and for 2017-18 it will use your 2015 federal income tax information.  It is recommended that you use the Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) to transfer your tax information from the IRS website to the FAFSA. While there is no specific FAFSA deadline for graduate students, you should complete the FAFSA as soon as possible so financial aid advisors have time to review your FAFSA and prepare your financial aid award for the upcoming year.  Contact Stephanie Breeding at USFA, sbreed@vt.edu with questions.

6. OPENINGS IN LITTLE HOKIE HANGOUT COOPERATIVE CHILD CARE CTR FOR SPRING – 3rd posting
The Little Hokie Hangout–the Graduate School’s Parent-cooperative child care center–has a few openings for the Spring 2017 semester, but they are filling up fast! Children turning 2 during the semester up through age 5 are eligible to apply. If you would like more information, or to schedule a visit to the center, please email childcare@vt.edu.

7. APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED FOR BOV GRAD REP POSITION – 3rd posting
Applications for Graduate Student Representative to the VT Board of Visitors are accepted until Feb 10, 2017. All currently enrolled graduate students in good standing are encouraged to consider this great leadership and service opportunity to represent graduate students’ voices, needs and interest on the VT Board of Visitors. Learn more at www.dsa.vt.edu/BOV/apply.

8. NOMINATIONS FOR GRADUATE STUDENT AWARDS NOW OPEN – 3rd posting
A number of prestigious awards are granted to graduate students each year, carrying a monetary prize ($200-$1000 each) and award certificate. Discuss the possibility of your nomination with your advisor/department for any of the following awards:

  • Outstanding Dissertation in (1) STEM fields (1) social sciences/business/humanities
  • Preston Society Master’s Thesis Awards (3)
  • GTA Excellence (1) instructor of record (1) GTA instructor assistant
  • Graduate Student Service Excellence
  • Graduate Student of the Year (up to three)
  • Outstanding master’s and doctoral student in each college and in interdisciplinary programs.

More information about criteria, forms, and process for nomination are at: http://graduateschool.vt.edu/about/awards/student.html.

9. NOMINATE OUTSTANDING FACULTY MENTOR(S) FOR MENTOR AWARD – 3rd posting
The Graduate School is introducing this new award to recognize one faculty member from each college for their role in supporting, encouraging, and promoting a positive and inclusive scholarly and teaching environment, and for contributing to professional and personal development of graduate students within or outside their research or degree programs. Learn more about the award and nomination process at http://graduateschool.vt.edu/about/awards/outstanding-mentor-award.html

Upcoming events:

BIG DATA SCIENCE WORKSHOP 2017
Thursday, Jan 12, 9:00am-4:30pm, Newman Library Multipurpose Room
In an era of Big Data, reproducible research and efficient workflows become vitally important to the research process. Graduate students are invited to join University Libraries and Advanced Research Computing at Virginia Tech, and the Center for Open Science for a workshop and discussion on Big Data and Data Science. Featuring sessions on big data workflows, data visualization, data publishing, and reproducible research practices, the 2017 Big Data Science Workshop will also incorporate a brainstorming/strategy session aimed at improving research workflows, a networking breakfast, lightning talks, and a poster reception. This workshop is offered with the support of partners from the University of Virginia. Breakfast and Lunch will be provided. Must register in advance at: goo.gl/rNwpum. For current information: https://researchinformatics.lib.vt.edu/project/big-data-science-workshop/