PROMISE AGEP – University System of Maryland: We have been on a journey and you have been given an assignment. In Atlanta, at this past weekend’s SREB Compact for Faculty Diversity/Institute on Teaching and Mentoring, UMBC’s President Hrabowski told you that you are pioneers, and that your academic contributions will set the groundwork for generations to come. Dr. Sandra Murray from the University of Pittsburgh (full professor, Department of Cell Biology) told you to “Fantasize! Focus! Know what shoes you will wear when you win your Nobel Prize.” As you climb, Dr. Orlando Taylor reminded you to remember to include people from all races and backgrounds so that you don’t become the new models of marginalization. You are going to fly. You are going to conquer. Picture it!

Tell us who you are. Introduce yourself. Tell us your SREB experience, and your dream. Here is a guide.

1. Name.

Write “Dr. _____” if you already have your PhD., and “Future Dr. _____” if it is forthcoming

2. School, position (e.g., graduate student, PhD candidate, Postdoc), department

3. Your SREB experience

4. Your contribution to STEM and to your field at large (current and future … dream!)

5. Fast forward to 2034 – Your vision of your achievements as a professor and beyond

Grad students and postdocs from schools around Maryland with Dr. Tull and UMBC’s President, Dr. Hrabowski

This is an annual event. We have been hosting the Fall Harvest Dinner since 2003. This event is free for all graduate students and postdocs who attend an institution within the University System of Maryland (USM), and who support the mission of PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP. The mission of PROMISE is to increase the numbers and diversity of STEM faculty by supporting and training underrepresented minority graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in STEM disciplines.

We will sponsor a bus for this activity. The bus will leave from UMBC, and can make a stop at BWI airport if that is convenient. To take the bus, send email to PROMISEstaff@gmail.com with the subject “Bus to Fall Harvest 2014.” Indicate BWI or UMBC for pick-up and droffoff. Provide your name, email, and a cell number.  Details for the pick-up and drop-off times will be posted in the comments section.

Additional information for this event will be posted in the comment section below. If you have questions, please post them below.

This is an annual event. We have been hosting the Fall Harvest Dinner since 2003. This event is free for all graduate students and postdocs who attend an institution within the University System of Maryland (USM), and who support the mission of PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP. The mission of PROMISE is to increase the numbers and diversity of STEM faculty by supporting and training underrepresented minority graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in STEM disciplines.

We will sponsor a bus for this activity. The bus will leave from UMBC, and can make a stop at BWI airport if that is convenient. To take the bus, send email to PROMISEstaff@gmail.com with the subject “Bus to Fall Harvest 2014.” Indicate BWI or UMBC for pick-up and droffoff. Provide your name, email, and a cell number.  Details for the pick-up and drop-off times will be posted in the comments section.

Additional information for this event will be posted in the comment section below. If you have questions, please post them below.

Dear Graduate Students at UMBC,

As part of the National Science Foundation grant supporting PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP, University of Maryland College Park faculty members are conducting a multi-campus survey study of how graduate students are supported by their programs in pursuit of their career goals.  To participate, please go to the following website. We recommend using a stable internet connection and using the same device to begin and finish participation.

Survey Link: https://umdsurvey.umd.edu/SE/?SID=SV_0oBN4RIqKfg4K8d

Incentives: Survey completion incentives include the option to enter drawings for Amazon gift cards in several denominations (be sure to enter via a link on the final page of the survey).

·  Those who completed the survey by  October 13, 2014, had a chance to win one $500 Amazon card

·  Those who complete the survey by October 20, 2014 may enter to win one $100 Amazon card (one winner per campus; those who do not win will continue to be eligible for all subsequent drawings).

·  Those who complete the survey by October 24, 2014 may enter to win one $50 Amazon card per campus (one winner per campus; this will be the final drawing).

Participants will agree to our consent form and take an online survey that takes 20 minutes to complete. Questions will focus on the perspectives you have adopted, and the actions that you have taken to pursue your career goals. We will also ask about aspects of your department environment, and your field/discipline that influence your career choice.

The data used for this study will only be reported in aggregate, so your name and identity will never appear in any reports that result from the project. The study will, however, help our research more broadly understand how graduate students develop their career aspirations and what departments, faculty, and external agencies can do to support them.

Please contact the PROMISE: Maryland's AGEP Research Team with any questions or concerns: promisestudymd@gmail.com

Best regards,

Renetta Tull

Associate Vice Provost for Graduate Student Development & Postdoctoral Affairs

This morning, we opened the Fall 2014 “Dissertation House for Employees and Non-Traditional Students.” This event is set aside to specifically serve career professionals, and non-traditional students who came back to school to work on their PhDs. Some have children in college, and some are leaders (e.g., VPs, Directors) in their respective professions. For various reasons, the PhD has been elusive … they haven’t had time to finish the dissertation. In the room today, we have a person from the Office of the Provost at a USM school, and attorney who is in the Public Policy program, an Assist. VP,  a clinical professional at a national lab, and some full-time IT professionals. This event is for them, and we invite you to join in. Join us online: http://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/blog-online-challenge/summer-2014-challenge/

Tips from Dr. Wendy Carter-Veale, the Dissertation Coach and owner of http://www.phdcompletion.com/: 

• *When it was time to go to graduate school, you did whatever you needed to do to get in. You wrote the statement, took the exams, asked for the letters … now I need you to to do whatever you need to do to get out. Be that committed.
• “Stop looking for big blocks of time, carve out 15 minutes each day.”
• “Feedback gets you closer to a PhD, perfection won’t.”

———————————————————————————

Tips from Dr. Alexis Williams, Human Development, University of Maryland College Park, Dissertation House Alum:

• Label what is easy, medium, and hard
• Create a system for accountability (I still have an accountability partner!)
• Be systematic and committed
• Set your countdown to defense and place it where you’ll see it every day.
• Build the habit of getting up and showing up for the dissertation. It’s hard but it feels so much better emotionally to do even a little every day.

———————————————————————————

Tips from Dr. Nanda Cortes, Biological Sciences, UMBC, Dissertation House Alum:

• Break it into chunks
• Work for a few minutes, finish a graph, do something even if it’s something that doesn’t require a lot of thinking.
• Exercise or have a hobby. It helps clear the mind and makes it easier to work.
• Find a good support group

As one of the co-founders of The Dissertation House, I urged our participants to take this time for themselves. Our career professionals in the room are always doing things for others, and in their dedication to their responsibilities, they haven’t always taken time for themselves. This is that time. We urge you to do the same … move your dissertation forward, today.

-Dr. Renetta G. Tull, Associate Vice Provost for Graduate Student Development and Postdoctoral Affairs, UMBC

This morning, we opened the Fall 2014 “Dissertation House for Employees and Non-Traditional Students.” This event is set aside to specifically serve career professionals, and non-traditional students who came back to school to work on their PhDs. Some have children in college, and some are leaders (e.g., VPs, Directors) in their respective professions. For various reasons, the PhD has been elusive … they haven’t had time to finish the dissertation. In the room today, we have a person from the Office of the Provost at a USM school, and attorney who is in the Public Policy program, an Assist. VP,  a clinical professional at a national lab, and some full-time IT professionals. This event is for them, and we invite you to join in. Join us online: https://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/blog-online-challenge/summer-2014-challenge/

Tips from Dr. Wendy Carter-Veale, the Dissertation Coach and owner of http://www.phdcompletion.com/: 

• *When it was time to go to graduate school, you did whatever you needed to do to get in. You wrote the statement, took the exams, asked for the letters … now I need you to to do whatever you need to do to get out. Be that committed.
• “Stop looking for big blocks of time, carve out 15 minutes each day.”
• “Feedback gets you closer to a PhD, perfection won’t.”

———————————————————————————

Tips from Dr. Alexis Williams, Human Development, University of Maryland College Park, Dissertation House Alum:

• Label what is easy, medium, and hard
• Create a system for accountability (I still have an accountability partner!)
• Be systematic and committed
• Set your countdown to defense and place it where you’ll see it every day.
• Build the habit of getting up and showing up for the dissertation. It’s hard but it feels so much better emotionally to do even a little every day.

———————————————————————————

Tips from Dr. Nanda Cortes, Biological Sciences, UMBC, Dissertation House Alum:

• Break it into chunks
• Work for a few minutes, finish a graph, do something even if it’s something that doesn’t require a lot of thinking.
• Exercise or have a hobby. It helps clear the mind and makes it easier to work.
• Find a good support group

As one of the co-founders of The Dissertation House, I urged our participants to take this time for themselves. Our career professionals in the room are always doing things for others, and in their dedication to their responsibilities, they haven’t always taken time for themselves. This is that time. We urge you to do the same … move your dissertation forward, today.

–Dr. Renetta G. Tull, Associate Vice Provost for Graduate Student Development and Postdoctoral Affairs, UMBC

Each year, PROMISE and the Graduate School at UMBC host a dinner seminar that allows graduate students to ask questions of faculty. This year, the  “When Faculty Say ‘X’ … ” seminar will be held on Friday, October 10, 2014 in BIO 120.

This is your chance to ask the faculty any questions about expectations, understanding requirements, how they say “no”, how they show their approval, etc.

We will also reflect upon and review past advice from faculty representing many departments in all colleges throughout UMBC.

Your feedback makes this annual session special. Do you have a question that you want a faculty member to answer? Post it in the comment section of this post at the bottom of this page. You may post anonymously.

The following UMBC faculty members will serve as discussants and will answer questions that are posted anonymously, or asked in-person:

• Dr. Susan McDonough – Department of History
• Dr. Kimberly R. Moffitt – Department of American Studies
• Dr. Claudia Galindo – LLC
• Dr. Marie-Christine Daniel-Onuta, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
• Dr. Brian Cullum, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
• Dr. Tim Oates, Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

UMBC’s graduate students should RSVP here: http://my.umbc.edu/groups/promise/events/26555.

Each year, PROMISE and the Graduate School at UMBC host a dinner seminar that allows graduate students to ask questions of faculty. This year, the  “When Faculty Say ‘X’ … ” seminar will be held on Friday, October 10, 2014 in BIO 120.

This is your chance to ask the faculty any questions about expectations, understanding requirements, how they say “no”, how they show their approval, etc.

We will also reflect upon and review past advice from faculty representing many departments in all colleges throughout UMBC.

Your feedback makes this annual session special. Do you have a question that you want a faculty member to answer? Post it in the comment section of this post at the bottom of this page. You may post anonymously.

The following UMBC faculty members will serve as discussants and will answer questions that are posted anonymously, or asked in-person:

• Dr. Susan McDonough – Department of History
• Dr. Kimberly R. Moffitt – Department of American Studies
• Dr. Claudia Galindo – LLC
• Dr. Marie-Christine Daniel-Onuta, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
• Dr. Brian Cullum, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
• Dr. Tim Oates, Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

UMBC’s graduate students should RSVP here: http://my.umbc.edu/groups/promise/events/26555.

If you are an employee of UMBC (50% time or more) or a “Non-Traditional” student, and if you are working on your graduate school courses, proposal, or dissertation, then this event is for you! We’ve worked with our UMBC employees who are also graduate students at UMBC, College Park, Northeastern, and other institutions.  This year, we are extending this opportunity to non-traditional students who are coming back to school or working full-time. This time is for you! This session will have support, coaching, and food will be provided for you on both days.

You work hard every day to serve others on our campus! You may be supporting your family members, or you have decided to take some time for yourself to reach your goals.  Now, let us work with you to finish your graduate degree. This version of the “Dissertation House” was created just for you!

Dissertation House for UMBC Employees and Non-Traditional Students
Friday, 10/10/14,   9:00 – 5:00 PM (Part I), COMM 331
Saturday, 10/11/14, 10:00 – 3:00 PM(Part II), COMM 331

Application: https://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/apply/

Graduate students who are at other schools within the University System of Maryland (http://www.usmd.edu/institutions/) may apply, and will be considered if there is space available.

If you are an employee of UMBC (50% time or more) or a “Non-Traditional” student, and if you are working on your graduate school courses, proposal, or dissertation, then this event is for you! We’ve worked with our UMBC employees who are also graduate students at UMBC, College Park, Northeastern, and other institutions.  This year, we are extending this opportunity to non-traditional students who are coming back to school or working full-time. This time is for you! This session will have support, coaching, and food will be provided for you on both days.

You work hard every day to serve others on our campus! You may be supporting your family members, or you have decided to take some time for yourself to reach your goals.  Now, let us work with you to finish your graduate degree. This version of the “Dissertation House” was created just for you!

Dissertation House for UMBC Employees and Non-Traditional Students
Friday, 10/10/14,   9:00 – 5:00 PM (Part I), COMM 331
Saturday, 10/11/14, 10:00 – 3:00 PM(Part II), COMM 331

Application: http://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/apply/

Graduate students who are at other schools within the University System of Maryland (http://www.usmd.edu/institutions/) may apply, and will be considered if there is space available.