University Celebrates First Graduate Education Week
Graduate students do health lab research with Dr. Nan Smith-Blair
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas will celebrate 10 years of growth and progress in its Graduate School programs with the first Graduate Education Week, Feb. 6-10.
This new event will include several activities for graduate students and the university community, as well as focusing on outstanding doctoral students, past and present.
Sharon Gaber, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, announced the event and explained its purpose.
“This is a welcome opportunity to thank our graduate students for their dedication and perseverance while focusing on the ways they make this university better” she said. “Graduate students play numerous roles—teaching, doing research, working in offices and departments — while also keeping up with their own coursework and writing. Graduate student contributions are considerable and wide-ranging; they have been vital to the University of Arkansas being able to achieve and maintain the highest national research classification set by the Carnegie Foundation.”
Activities will be held throughout Graduate Education Week, beginning with a Graduate School Town Hall Meeting on Monday, followed by workshops on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Workshop topics are aimed at graduate students and cover topics such as applying for federal grants, preparing a thesis or dissertation for submission, and choosing an adviser and committee —all topics that are of great interest to graduate students.
On Thursday evening the university will host a reception for current distinguished doctoral fellows, doctoral academy fellows, and their faculty mentors. The Distinguished Doctoral Fellowships and Doctoral Academy Fellowships were created 10 years ago as part of a $100 million endowment established during the university’s Campaign for the Twenty-First Century. Since then, the fellowships have attracted outstanding doctoral candidates from across the nation.
Vicky Hartwell, director of graduate fellowships, said that nearly 200 fellows have graduated with doctoral degrees and another 230 are currently funded and actively engaged in doctoral study. “Each year the university awards approximately 20 distinguished doctoral fellowsships and 50 doctoral academy fellowships, according to the available funds from the endowment’s interest,” Hartwell explained. On Friday, Feb. 10, Graduate Education Week culminates with a poster competition titled “From Abstract to Contract: Graduate Student Research Competition,” in which more than 170 graduate students from all academic areas will present their research and compete for prizes.
“The competition previously had involved 50-60 students, so this level of participation is a success in itself,” said James Rankin, vice provost for research and economic development. “By participating, our graduate students prepare to go to national conferences and present their research; in addition, workshops and seminars surrounding the competition give students the confidence to successfully interact with professionals they will meet at those conferences.”
The public viewing and judging portion of the competition will be from 1 to 3 p.m. Visitors should start at the Arkansas Union International Connections Lounge to get a program and map, then proceed to graduate student displays in the Arkansas Union, Mullins Library, the Multicultural Center and the Fine Arts Building. Refreshments will be served.
As part of Graduate Education Week, the University of Arkansas will also host graduate school deans from around the state for an Arkansas graduate education meeting. The deans will meet with Chancellor G. David Gearhart and Provost Gaber and attend the graduate research competition on Friday.
For more information about Graduate Education Week, visit http://grad.uark.edu/gradedweek or contact Diane Cook, director of graduate student activities at the University of Arkansas, 479-575-2350 or dlcook@uark.edu
Contacts
Todd Shields, dean
Graduate School and International Education
479-575-4401,
tshield@uark.edu
Diane Cook, director of graduate student services
Graduate School and International Education
479-575-2350,
dlcook@uark.edu