This Week’s Events:
0. Ongoing Services – updated 1/4/20
1.GLC CAFÉ
Administrative Announcements:
2. GRADUATE STUDENTS INVITED TO SUBMIT WRITING (SPRING 2021) – 1st posting
3. HOLIDAY TIPS OF SUPPORT – 2nd posting
4. FINANCIAL WELLNESS COACHING – 2nd posting
5. SAIG SPRING 2021 NEW SHORT COURSE OFFERINGS – 3rd posting
6. “THE MARKET” SIGN UP OPEN FOR SPRING SEMESTER – 3rd posting
7. CONTRIBUTIONS NEEDED FOR SYMPOSIUM ON MASS INCARCERATION – 3rd posting
Jobs:
8. FULL-TIME GRA OPENING FOR SPRING 2021 – 2nd posting
9. PART-TIME GRA OPENING FOR SPRING 2021 – 2nd posting
Volunteers and research participants sought:
10. CHINESE PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR AN ENGLISH LISTENING COMPREHENSION STUDY – 2nd posting
Upcoming Events:
11. SCIENCE POLICY BOOTCAMP – Register by January 6!
12. GRADUATE STUDENT GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING – January 21
13. 10th ANNUAL MLD SEMINAR: “INTELLIGENCE PLUS CHARACTER – EDUCATION AS FORCE FOR LIBERATION” – January 22
0. Ongoing Services – updated 1/4/21
· GRADUATE SCHOOL ADVISING: Request one-on-one assistantship or academic advising by using our online request form to set-up a Zoom session.
· CAREER ADVISING: schedule virtual career advising appointment via https://career.vt.edu/job-search/Handshake.html
· COOK COUNSELING: Drop-in Zoom hours, Tuesdays 10am-12pm and Thursdays and Fridays 3pm-5pm, Zoom links found here. Spring drop-in hours start first week of class.
· WRITING CENTER SERVICES: Schedule an appointment at https://vt.mywconline.com/
· GRADUATE OMBUDSPERSON: contact for appointment at gradstudentombud@vt.edu, 540-231-9573
1. GLC CAFÉ
Thursday, January 7, 4:00pm, Zoom https://virginiatech.zoom.us/j/97678968202
While the pandemic put a stop to our in-person café, we want to keep the GLC café running so that students may continue to meet informally and share their experiences. Make yourself a cup of tea or coffee and join fellow grads and Grad School staff for some casual conversation and the occasional game. If you have questions or concerns about this event, email Monika Gibson at gibsonm@vt.edu.
2. GRADUATE STUDENTS INVITED TO SUBMIT WRITING (SPRING 2021) – 1st posting
The online platform for graduate student essays, RE: Reflections and Explorations, offered through the VT Institute for Policy and Governance (VTIPG), is a great vehicle to share your research ideas and work with a broader audience and to hone your analytical and writing capabilities too. All VT graduate students are eligible to offer essays as long as they address a policy, politics or governance issue or concern. Graduate students in Agricultural, Leadership and Community Education, ASPECT, Government and International Affairs, Human Development, Natural Resources, Public Administration and Public Affairs, Planning, Governance and Globalization, Political Science, Rhetoric and Writing, Science and Technology Studies, Sociology and Urban Affairs and Planning are particularly encouraged to submit essays. Please read the submission guidelines here.To find examples of past topics, please review archived essays or see the published volumes that have thus far arisen from the series; (1 and 2). Dr. Max Stephenson, Professor of Public and International Affairs and Director of VTIPG, serves as editor and final arbiter of all submissions. Sign up now for a time slot for publication that suits your schedule using this Google Spreadsheet. When you sign up, please also send a brief 100-150-word abstract outlining what topic or concern you believe you will be considering in your submission to Heather Parrish (parrish1@vt.edu). That effort should provide a working title and clearly treat what policy or governance issue you expect to consider and suggest why it is significant. Available dates will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Questions? Please contact Ms. Parrish at the Institute for Policy and Governance.
3. HOLIDAY TIPS OF SUPPORT – 2nd posting
Check out Cook Counseling Center’s holiday care package for tips of support through the holiday season https://ucc.vt.edu/content/dam/ucc_vt_edu/self_help_support_stategies/HolidayCarePackage.pdf
4. FINANCIAL WELLNESS COACHING – 2nd posting
Financial questions or stress? Set up an appointment to discuss your financial wellness. Kevin Sutton, the Assistant Director of Financial Wellness on the Hokie Wellness team, presents and meets with both graduate and undergraduate students to discuss topics such as budgeting, credit scores, debt management strategies, financial stress, and short-term financial planning. Some potential topics for discussion during this time include how to maximize your credit score without carrying a credit card balance as well as making a financial plan for experiences you want to have in 2021 and beyond. You can contact Kevin @SuttonKL@vt.edu to schedule an appointment around your schedule.
5. SAIG SPRING 2021 NEW SHORT COURSE OFFERINGS – 3rd posting
The Statistical Applications and Innovations Group (SAIG) is offering 2 new short courses during the spring 2021 semester. Machine Learning (8-week course) and Introduction to Text Analytics in R (2-day course). For more information and to enroll, visit: https://profdev.tlos.vt.edu/?query=saig. SAIG provides free courses to members of participating VT Colleges to make you a more effective researcher. Do you need to analyze your data and aren’t sure where to start? Switching to R from another software package? Using JMP® for the first time? Need a refresher on a particular topic? Attend one of our hands on, practical course offerings to improve your skills. SAIG short courses will be offered via Zoom. For assistance contact: Katemiller@vt.edu.
6. “THE MARKET” SIGN UP OPEN FOR SPRING SEMESTER – 3rd posting
The Market is designed to provide food assistance to students who, for whatever reason, have a hard time obtaining regular, healthy meals. The program offers bags of seasonal produce and fruits; options for beef, poultry, and vegetarian protein; dairy items; dry-goods pantry stock items; and bonus treats. Each weekly bag will be enough for roughly seven days’ worth of meals. The web site will open for orders on Jan. 11 and the first pick-up will be Jan. 19. The program will run 16 weeks. For more information visit https://dos.vt.edu/food.html
7. CONTRIBUTIONS NEEDED FOR SYMPOSIUM ON MASS INCARCERATION – 3rd posting
2020 has been marked by COVID-19, racial injustice and inequality, and numerous challenges for those in our nation’s prisons and jails as well as family and friends of the incarcerated. The symposium is an opportunity to have your voice heard and express how you have been impacted by incarceration in the midst of this tumultuous year. Please contact Shawnice Johnson (shawnicej@vt.edu or 252.481.4345) about submitting your art, reading your poetry or essay, or participating in a brief interview for the Lives at Risk video to be shown at the Symposium! This is a virtual event that will be held on April 16, 2021, 8:30am-4:30pm.
8. FULL-TIME GRA OPENING FOR SPRING 2021 – 2nd posting
A research team is looking for a full-time GRA with competencies in statistical analysis, particularly in regression and mediation analysis. Students from any program will be considered; ideal candidates will be at least two years into their studies and have knowledge of quantitative research methods, statistical analysis, and learning science analytics. Key tasks: organize and clean data; evaluate research hypotheses; make predictions; visualize data using R, or SAS or SPSS; disseminate findings. This is a 20 hrs/wk assistantship for the spring academic semester, with possible continuation in subsequent semesters. To apply, send 1) cover letter describing how you met key tasks in previous work; background relevant to the skills and tasks listed above; and how your research would be helped along by working with this research team, and 2) their CV to: dibairak@vt.edu by Friday, Jan 4, 2021 at 5pm. For more information see: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1763477&HistoricalAwards=false
9. PART-TIME GRA OPENING FOR SPRING 2021 – 2nd posting
A research team is looking for a part-time GRA with competencies in statistical analysis, particularly in usability study analysis. Students from any program will be considered; ideal candidates will be at least two years into their studies and have knowledge of quantitative research methods, usability study, learning analytics. Competency in energy science is a plus. Key tasks: organize and clean data; usability test analysis, regression; visualize data using R, or SAS or SPSS. This is a 10 hrs/wk assistantship for the spring academic semester, with possible continuation in subsequent semesters. To apply, send 1) cover letter describing how you met key tasks in previous work; background relevant to the skills and tasks listed above; and how your research would be helped along by working with this research team, and 2) their CV to: dibairak@vt.edu by Friday, Jan 4, 2021 at 5pm. For more information see:https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1712210&HistoricalAwards=false
10. CHINESE PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR AN ENGLISH LISTENING COMPREHENSION STUDY – 2nd posting
Native Chinese speakers who are 18 years of age and older are needed to participate in this online 40 – 60-minute study. During the session, you will be asked to complete a brief survey, to listen to several English lectures, and to answer listening comprehension questions. You will need a computer with a web browser and speakers/headphones. Participation is confidential and completely voluntary. There is no compensation for completing the survey. The study contact is Jingjing Huang (hjingjing@vt.edu). If you are interested in obtaining more information about this study, please visit: https://virginiatech.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6g54HPnCiQKnR89
Upcoming Events:
11. SCIENCE POLICY BOOTCAMP – Register by January 6!
January 11-15, 9:00am-12pm, Zoom
UVA’s Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs is offering a “Science Policy Bootcamp,” designed to introduce trainees to science policy concepts and skills, as well as expose participants to career paths in science policy. Topics will include the roles of local, state, federal, and international stakeholders, community advocacy, policy surrounding COVID-19 vaccines, science policy communication, and overcoming bias in policymaking. Details of the planned daily sessions can be found under “Upcoming Events” here. The deadline for registration is Wednesday, January 6, 2021, at 8:00AM. For questions, please contact Marlit Hayslett at marlit@virginia.edu.
12. GRADUATE STUDENT GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING
Thursday, January 21, 5:30-7:00pm, Online via Zoom.
As a graduate student enrolled at Virginia Tech, you’re automatically a member of GSA, and are welcome to attend our General Assembly meetings. These meetings are not just for delegates – there is an open forum for our community to voice concerns of which the delegate body may not be aware. Please PM the GA and VP arriving at the meeting to indicate your attendance. More information about the organization can be found online at http://bit.ly/GSA_Gen_Assembly
13. 10th ANNUAL MLD SEMINAR: “INTELLIGENCE PLUS CHARACTER – EDUCATION AS FORCE FOR LIBERATION”
Friday, January 22, 12-1pm, Zoom/YouTube
Martin Luther King said that “the function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education”. In this address we will explore the full meaning of this holistic view of the education process, and the ways in which if internalized, it grants us opportunities to shape our own futures. This seminar will be led by Dr. Bryan Dewsbury, Associate Professor in Biological Science at University of Rhode Island. For more information about this event and to find the Zoom/YouTube links, visit Tenth Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Webinar | Biological Sciences | Virginia Tech (vt.edu) This event is hosted by the Biological Sciences Diversity Committee.