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CGL Issues Call for TA Award Nominations

February 17, 2021 by White, Brian

The Center for Graduate Life is accepting nominations for the 2020-2021 Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant (TA) Awards through Mar. 1.

This year, $1,000 awards will be presented to a teaching assistant who has served as Instructor of Record for at least one semester, and to a TA who has performed the range of responsibilities in assistance to a faculty member.

A ceremony is planned for Apr. 23 to recognize this year’s award winners.

For more information and details on nomination, please visit the Graduate Awards Gateway. Please direct questions to Daniel.Jones@uncc.edu.

Session Planned on Formatting and Submitting a Thesis or Dissertation

February 08, 2021 by White, Brian

The Center for Graduate Life (CGL) will host an online information session on planning and formatting a thesis or dissertation at 5 p.m. Feb. 18. Students planning to submit this or next semester will benefit from this session.

To register, please complete the CGL form.

Graduate Research Symposium Set Mar. 12

January 29, 2021 by White, Brian

The 2021 Graduate Research Symposium will be virtual this year on Mar. 12. The event is sponsored by the Graduate & Professional Student Government of UNC Charlotte and the Charlotte Research Institute.

The Symposium is a graduate student-run conference that showcases the research of graduate and professional students.

For more information and to register, please visit the Graduate Research Symposium website.

Welcome New Graduate Students

January 19, 2021 by Stanchina, Karla

The Center for Graduate Life will be welcoming over 750 new students at New Graduate Student Orientation on Tuesday, January 19th at 4:30 est. Dean Reynolds will get the virtual session started followed by student led panels. More details can be found on the CGL’s website and if you haven’t already, please encourage your new students to attend.

New Dissertation, Thesis Formatting Guidance Provided

December 07, 2020 by White, Brian

Atkins Library has provided new guidance for dissertation and thesis formatting in ProQuest.

After creating the ProQuest account, the title of the dissertation or thesis should be listed in title caps (as opposed to the all caps title required on the title page).

More tips and help with writing style is available from J. Murrey Atkins Library. The Graduate School also provides guidance on its Manuals and Templates page.

Spring Orientation Set Jan. 19

November 24, 2020 by White, Brian

Spring orientation for new graduate students will be conducted online from 4:30-5:30 EST Jan. 19.

The orientation will serve as an official welcome to graduate students and help them learn about the support offered by the Center for Graduate Life (CGL). The orientation session includes a chat Q&A where students can submit questions.

More information on Spring Orientation is available from the Center for Graduate Life. Incoming graduate students can register to receive the Zoom link.

If graduate program directors would like the CGL to share information about program-specific orientation dates/times, they can email that information to Jill Huerta, jhuerta2@uncc.edu.

The CGL has also updated the New Graduate Student Onboarding Portal to help students prepare for their move to Charlotte and their successful transition to graduate school. The site includes the basics they’ll need to get started, with information on everything from finding an apartment to course selection.

3-Minute Presentation on Controlling Power Outages Takes 1st Place

November 16, 2020 by White, Brian

An exploration into how the home air conditioner can play a role in preventing a power outage won first place for Akintonde Abbas, Ph.D., Electrical and Computer Engineering, in the 2020 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) competition coordinated by the Center for Graduate Life (CGL).

Other top presenters in this year’s competition included Amanda Sargent, Ph.D., Organizational Science, who took 2nd place for her research presentation, “Men Versus Women: Who Gets More Support for Work-Family Management?,” and Lena Etzel, Ph.D., Clinical Health Psychology, 3rd place for “The Future: A Looming Threat We can all Relate To!”

This year’s People’s Choice Award was presented to Remi Ketchum, Ph.D., Biology, for her presentation, “Some Like It Hot: Surviving in Extreme Environments.”

A full recording of this year’s 3MT competition, which was conducted online, is available from the Center for Graduate Life.

Join CGL for 3MT Finals

November 03, 2020 by White, Brian

Finalists in this year’s 3MT competition will compete for your vote and prize money Nov. 13.

The 3-Minute Thesis (3MT), hosted by the Center for Graduate Life (CGL), is an international academic competition that challenges graduate students to describe their research in three minutes or less, using only one static slide. 3MT allows our graduate students to practice communicating the importance of their work to policy makers, potential funders, and the media.

For more information or to register to attend, please visit the Center for Graduate Life.

Dr. Lara Vetter Receives 2020 Reynolds Leadership Award

October 22, 2020 by Stanchina, Karla

Honoring her many contributions to student success and graduate program management, Lara Vetter was presented with the 2020 Reynolds Leadership Award in a ceremony last week. Although they couldn’t attend, several of her English master’s students offered praise to her tireless efforts in support of graduate education. Read more.

Negotiations & Networking Session Planned

October 05, 2020 by White, Brian

The Center for Graduate Life will host the session Negotiations & Networking Essentials

Oct. 9, 11-12:30 p.m.

The session will be facilitated by Amir Ismail, VP-Senior Financial Analyst at Bank of America and founder of AIC Mindsight, a career coaching and professional branding company.

For more information and to register, please visit AIC Mindset’s registration page.

3MT Competition Planned

September 29, 2020 by White, Brian

Graduate students will have an opportunity again this year to compact their thesis or dissertation into a powerful, three-minute presentation.

Through the Three-Minute Thesis (3MT) program offered by the Center for Graduate Life (CGL), contestants vie for the most compelling presentation of research to an audience that may not share the same expertise.

More information is available from the Center for Graduate Life.

GPD Sought for Workplace Competencies Certificate

September 09, 2020 by White, Brian

The Graduate School seeks a current faculty member (tenure-track or non-tenure track) to assume the part-time administrative role as Faculty Fellow, Graduate Program Director, Workplace Competencies, to develop and manage this new graduate certificate program.

Position: 0.50 FTE administrative assignment, which includes a stipend for summer; start date January 2021 (one-year appointment is negotiable and renewable).

Responsibilities: The successful candidate will serve as Graduate Program Director (GPD) for the new graduate Certificate in Workplace Competencies. The certificate is a short academic program focused on essential professional skills. The GPD will manage recruitment, admissions, enrollment, and services for the students in the certificate program. This will include developing and supporting communications efforts, conducting outreach to prospective students, and identifying new competencies and associated courses to add to the program.

Qualifications: Must be a current faculty member (tenure-track or non-tenure track) and be eligible for a graduate faculty appointment.

Compensation: Administrative stipend equal to one course buy-out for the fall and spring semester with optional summer salary, if needed, for a 12-month appointment. Office space will be provided along with access to an operating budget and administrative support.

Please submit a letter of interest to Jill Huerta, Executive Director, Center for Graduate Life, 704-687-7232, jhuerta2@uncc.edu.

CGL Releases More Onboarding Information

August 18, 2020 by Stanchina, Karla

The Center for Graduate Life has released the next two sections to the New Graduate Student Onboarding Portal for incoming graduate students.

These sections cover academic essentials such as buying books, key academic policies, and the resources available through Atkins Library, and community essentials such as information about diversity at UNC Charlotte, opportunities for community involvement, and some fun facts about living in the South. Encourage your new students to use the Portal to familiarize themselves with UNC Charlotte.

Annual Report from the Graduate Ombudsman - Areas of Concern

August 13, 2020 by Stanchina, Karla

Dr. Bruce Taylor serves as the Ombudsman for graduate students. This year he met with 57 graduate students about a variety of concerns. We wanted to give you a sense of what Bruce hears from students and which students seek out his services.

Approximately a third of consultations (32%) were with students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, 20% in the College of Computing and Informatics, 18% in the William States Lee College of Engineering, and 9% in the Cato College of Education. The remaining colleges represented fewer than 7% of consultations each. A fairly equal number of international and domestic students scheduled consultations with the Ombuds in 2019-20.

By far students expressed concerns about their relationships with advisors. Evaluative Relationships represented 44% of consultations with the Ombuds. Typically, these are issues between a student and faculty such as a concern with treatment by an advisor, course instructor or program coordinator where there is a power differential between the student and faculty or staff. These also included concerns brought by students about their work on a grant or in a lab, for example. Services and Administrative issues (22%) are those concerns dealing with the application of policies or timeliness of services. Examples include graduate appeals, withdrawal options, and rules regarding changing programs or committees.

These concerns were echoed by the Counseling and Psychological Services office. Counselors reported hearing from graduate students about unrealistic work demands, faculty delaying students from graduating, and advisors texting students at all hours about work. International students reported the most concerns.

No doubt such issues have at least two sides, but these concerns are prevalent enough to warrant attention. The Graduate School is continuing to offer Mentor Training to graduate faculty and Mentee Training for doctoral students is being developed by the CGL. Please encourage faculty to make time for these trainings. In addition, the Graduate School recommends that programs adopt the use of Individual Development Plans (IDP) for doctoral and master’s students. A sample IDP is available on the Graduate School website.

CGL Introduces Onboarding Portal

July 17, 2020 by White, Brian

The Center for Graduate Life has introduced a New Graduate Student Onboarding Portal to help prepare incoming graduate students for their move to Charlotte and a successful transition to graduate school.

The site includes the basics they’ll need to get started, with information on everything from finding an apartment to parking passes to course selection. Additional information on academic tools and campus offices that support graduate student success will be added to the portal by mid-August.

Ombuds Report: Student Issues Increasingly Complex

July 01, 2020 by White, Brian

In the 2019-2020 report from the Graduate Ombuds, the challenges students face are changing and growing more complex.

Bruce Taylor, Ph.D., serves as the Graduate Student Ombuds. In his report to the Graduate School, Taylor noted that the per student time spent in consultation increased slightly over the previous year owing to increased complexity of consultations. He said the more complex situations involve interpersonal challenges among students or between a student and a faculty member. This type of situation represents 44 percent of the cases in the past year.

“The COVID-19 pandemic brought some new concerns—access to campus services and labs, changing expectations for graduate assistantships and changes to the content and format of dissertations,” Taylor said. “However, many of the concerns continued to center around relationships with faculty mentors and programs.”

A summary of the Ombuds Report is available for download.

8-Week Career Lab's Focus Is Career Competencies

June 29, 2020 by White, Brian

The Center for Graduate Life’s GRAD 8320/6320, Developing Core Career Competencies, can help improve the personal brand, articulate a career path, connect to targeted industries and communicate across diverse populations.

Career Lab is an 8-week part-of-term format during the first part of fall, in a hybrid asynchronous format (i.e., half the class will attend on Tuesdays and half on Thursdays).

Register at my.uncc.edu.

Accepting Applications for Workplace Competencies Certificate

June 08, 2020 by White, Brian

For more information or to apply, visit the Center for Graduate Life.

Career Meet-Up: Interviewing in a Virtual World

June 01, 2020 by White, Brian

A graduate student workshop focused on techniques to effectively interview in a virtual world will be available via Webex June 4 at 9 a.m. The workshop, sponsored by the Center for Graduate Life, will teach how to set up the virtual environment to effectively interview and engage with the employer.

Visit the Center for Graduate Life to Register.

CGL Selects 20-21 Graduate Life Fellows

May 28, 2020 by White, Brian

The Center for Graduate Life recently completed selection for the 2020-21 cohort of Graduate Life Fellows.

Each year the Graduate School’s Center for Graduate Life (CGL) appoints a group of graduate student leaders to serve as Graduate Life Fellows (GLFs) 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.

This year’s GLFs represent five of UNCC’s colleges and hail from Burkina Faso, Iran, India, and the US. The 2020-21 Graduate Life Fellows include:

Roshanak Ashrafi, Ph.D., Infrastructure and Environmental Systems

Shreya Goyal, Ph.D., Biology

Shannon McGevna, Master’s, Communication Studies

Davanta Parker, M.Ed, Educational Leadership

Monica Rasmussen, Ph.D., Infrastructure and Environmental Systems

Dylan Turner, Master’s, Ethics and Applied Philosophy

Farida N. YADA, Ph.D., Health Services Research

Read more at the Center for Graduate Life.