Swipe Write: Commit to Better Writing is a weekly Q&A session about academic writing with the CGLL’s Assistant Teaching Professor of Writing, Dr. Lisa Russell-Pinson held virtually, Mondays 12:30-1:30. She’ll offer a weekly writing tip and information about upcoming writing events, and then open the floor to graduate students questions about writing such as how to write a good literature review, how to write more efficiently, managing procrastination, and responding to feedback.
Student Affairs
Reminder Issued for Doctoral Candidates
All doctoral candidates must submit their dissertation to iThenticate and share the resulting similarity report with their entire committee prior to the final defense. Please remind your candidates that all of the Graduate School’s requirements for defense and submission can be found in the Doctoral Checklist (master’s requirements can be found in the Master’s Thesis Checklist).
Please send questions to Aura Young, aura.young@uncc.edu.
CGLL to Host JELD-WEN on Professional Communications
Students can learn how to develop and improve effective communication in the workplace from a JELD-WEN subject matter expert Oct. 1. The session, part of the Accelerate to Industry (A2I) series, runs from 11-12:30 via Zoom.
As part of the session, participants can practice skills in breakout rooms with a JELD-WEN representative.
The Center for Graduate Life and Learning will provide JELD-WEN with a resume book of those in attendance.
More information and a link to apply is available from the Center for Graduate Life and Learning.
CGLL Offers Support for Dissertation Work
The Center for Graduate Life and Learning (CGLL) offers dissertation support to UNC Charlotte students at all stages of the dissertation process.
Through the CGLL, writers can learn tailored strategies for managing the dissertation process, as well as how to:
- Plan, draft, revise, and edit their dissertation writing
- Work more effectively with dissertation chairs and committee members
- Create strong writing habits and set reasonable writing goals
- Manage their time and be more productive
- Deal with barriers to writing, such as writer’s block and procrastination
Students may email Dr. Lisa Russell-Pinson, lpinson@uncc.edu, Assistant Teaching Professor of Writing in the Graduate School, to schedule an appointment.
Dissertation Writing Group
Wednesdays 10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
The Dissertation Writing Group (DWG) meets Wednesdays, 10-12:30 p.m. and provides a supportive, virtual forum to help dissertation writers:
- Form or refine productive writing and work habits
- Break isolation and build community
- Take advantage of structured writing time
The first DWG session begins Wednesday, Sept. 29. The group is facilitated by Dr. Lisa Russell-Pinson, Assistant Teaching Professor of Writing in the Graduate School.
To be eligible to participate in this group, writers must be doctoral students who are actively working on their dissertation and able to commit to attending each 2.5-hour session for eight weeks.
Please visit the DWG registration site to join this group.
3-Minute Thesis Competition Open for Registration
The Center for Graduate Life and Learning (CGLL) is now accepting registrations for this year’s 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition.
3MT provides an opportunity for researchers to sharpen public speaking skills and practice sharing research to outside audiences. The top winner this year will receive a cash award of $750 and a trip to represent the University at the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools’ (CSGS) Annual Meeting in Raleigh.
To register, please visit the CGLL’s Registration site. More details are available from the CGLL.
CGLL to Host Atkins Library Series
The Center for Graduate Life and Learning (CGLL) will host an Atkins Library Workshop Series this semester to build student awareness of the library’s spaces and resources.
It began with a Grad Student Open House Sept.1 that will be followed by two virtual workshops in September:
- Atkins Library Research Fundamentals for Graduate Student Success Sept. 9 and
- Atkins Library Area 49 Workshop Sept.15.
The CGLL also will host Atkins Library for two workshops on How to Use Endnote Citation Management Software, a face-to-face session Sept. 15 and a virtual session Sept. 21.
CGL Introduces New Name, Logo
The Center for Graduate Life has changed its name to the Center for Graduate Life and Learning in order to better capture the breadth of our offerings. In recent years, we have expanded our professional development portfolio with new programs such as Accelerate to Industry, the Graduate School Teaching Fellowship, and the STEM Communication Fellows Program. We’ve also added several credit-bearing academic courses (under the GRAD prefix), including Leadership Essentials for Graduate Students, Navigating Graduate School, Topics in Diversity and Inclusion, and Making Dissertations Happen. Finally, we launched the Certificate in Workplace Competencies degree to help graduate students learn essential professional skills and demonstrate their career readiness to employers. Look for two new GRAD courses this spring on verbal communication and financial literacy!
Although our new name reflects a growing emphasis on professional development and academics, we’re still the same friendly, welcoming, community-building place that we’ve been since our creation in 2010! Graduate students can stop by anytime, Monday-Friday, 8:30-5:00 to ask questions, explore our programming, or just relax in our lounge. Later this semester we’ll be moving to a newly renovated space in Atkins Library, directly across from the University Career Center. You can follow construction updates on our Instagram, Linkedin, and Youtube accounts.
Navigating Grad School as a First Generation Scholar
GRAD 6000/8000, Navigating Graduate School as a First Generation Scholar
(CRN 16785/16787) is an 8-week, online course is designed to support graduate students navigating their academic and professional contexts as first generation scholars.
Students may register for the 2-credit course at my.uncc.edu
Dissertation, Thesis Formatting Workshop Planned
The Center for Graduate Life (CGL) will host a workshop on Dissertation and Thesis formatting July 15, 5-6 pm.
The session will include answers to questions on formatting, defense and submission procedures.
To register, please visit the Center for Graduate Life.
Workplace Competencies Certificate Adds Final Touch to the Resume
The Graduate School’s Certificate in Workplace Competencies is an excellent way for students to add a an important credential to their resume, and it is ideal for GASP-funded doctoral students who are finished with coursework.
The certificate focuses on improved written and verbal communication, stronger online presence and creating effective presentations.
For more information and to apply, please visit the Center for Graduate Life.
Orientation Events Announced for Fall Semester
Graduate Student Orientation for the fall semester will have three components:
- The Graduate Student Onboarding Portal that was built last summer. The analytics for this site are positive–there were over 6,000 users and more than 29,000 page views during the past 10 months. Like last year, there will be a section where GPDs can list their individual department or program orientations. If you would like to participate, please contact Dan Jones.
- A Graduate Student Virtual Orientation
session, a format that attracts almost twice as many attendees as the previous face-to-face version. This fall’s session is scheduled for Aug.19 at 4 p.m. and will include a welcome from the Graduate School’s Dean and Associate Dean, an overview of CGL support CGL Executive Director Jill Huerta, and a Q&A panel with the CGL’s Graduate Life Fellows, moderated by Assistant Director Aura Young. - New Graduate Student Welcome Receptions will be hosted on three days during the first week of class, divided by college. The schedule is available on the CGL Orientation site. GPDs, faculty, staff, and student organizations from each of the colleges will be invited to attend the appropriate reception. This should be a fantastic opportunity for new students to build a sense of belonging, meet peers, and connect with others within and outside of their programs. More details will be shared at a later date.
Workshop Topic: Formatting and Submitting a Thesis or Dissertation
The Center for Graduate Life (CGL) will sponsor a workshop on Formatting and Submitting Your Thesis or Dissertation May 27, 4-5 p.m.
This session offers answers to questions on formatting, defense and submission procedures. The sessions are offered approximately every two weeks.
See our (And don’t forget to subscribe so you’ll be updated as new videos are added!)
See the CGL events calendar for more sessions or YouTube playlist for recorded sessions. For more information and to register for this session, please visit the CGL.
More than 200 Attend Student Success and Wellness Meet
More than 220 graduate and professional administrators and faculty from around the country participated in the 2021 Graduate Student Success and Wellness conference (GSSW2021) hosted virtually by UNC Charlotte on May 6-7.
This year’s event brought together registrants from over 50 educational institutions to exchange ideas and learn best practices to promote wellness and success.
Read more at the Graduate School.
GRAD Course Focuses on Core Career Competencies
GRAD 6320/8320, Developing Core Career Competencies, takes place during the full semester and is 2 credits.
Led by Dr. Suzanne Voigt, this course helps graduate students learn the principles of good communication in the workplace, focusing on writing in technical fields such as health, the sciences, and business.
Read more about GRAD courses at the Center for Graduate Life. To register, visit the course schedule at my.uncc.edu.
Student Reviewers Needed
The UNC-Charlotte Undergraduate Research Journal is seeking student reviewers for the journal’s student review board. Students interested in being a part of the reviewer pool should complete the student reviewer form.
Spring Writing Retreat Set for May
The Center for Graduate Life will hosts the annual Graduate Writing Retreat May 1-2. The retreat provides an opportunity for graduate students, faculty and staff, and members of the community who want to make progress on a large writing project.
For more information and to register, please visit the Center for Graduate Life.
Holshouser, Maguire Named Top Teaching Assistants for 2020-21
Kaitlyn Holshouser, Curriculum & Instruction-Urban Elementary Education, and Jules Maguire, English, recently were named top Teaching Assistant and Instructor of Record for 2020-21, respectively.
The Graduate School hosts the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Awards annually to honor top TAs nominated by faculty supervisors for their work. The awards, one to the top Teaching Assistant and one to the top Instructor of Record, recognize outstanding and innovative teaching techniques.
This year, 31 students were nominated for the awards.
Dr. Judith Krauss coordinates efforts to support graduate teaching assistants through the Center for Graduate Life, including Graduate Teaching Assistant training offered at the start of the fall and spring semesters. She also offers workshops on a variety of teaching-related issues each semester.
Graduate Life Fellows Named
The Center for Graduate Life (CGL) recently announced the 2021-22 Graduate Life Fellows.
Each year the CGL appoints the group of graduate student leaders to help create, promote and run events and initiatives for the graduate student body. For their service, GLFs are awarded $5,000 for the academic year.
The 2021-22 Graduate Life Fellows include:
Sayantan Datta, Ph.D., Computing and Information Systems
Kaylah Jenkins, Master’s, Health Administration
Kaitlin Klotz, Ph.D., Biology
Erin Lewis, Ph.D., Curriculum and Instruction
Khyati Majajan, Ph.D., Computing and Information Systems
Pouria Karimi Shahri, Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering
Tanya Wasson, Master’s, Business Administration
Read more at the Center for Graduate Life.
Registration Open for Leadership Essentials
GRAD 6000/8000, Leadership Essentials for Graduate Students, is open for registration.
The 2-credit course, led by Dr. Katherine Hall-Hertel, examines professional competencies required for success in any field of endeavor, including leadership, communications, professional ethics and more.
Visit the course schedule at my.uncc.edu to register for this course.
Tresata Session: Teaching and Learning in the Workplace
Facilitated by Tresata’s Pat Sellers, Director of Operations and Peter Baay, Product Architecture Lead, this Apr. 9 session will examine how to pursue lifelong learning in the workplace. Key focus areas include:
- The importance of giving and receiving feedback
- How to learn what you need to achieve longer-term goals
- How to make sure you’re acting as a teacher, as well as a learner in your workplace
For more information and to register, please visit the Center for Graduate Life.
