Volume 6, Issue 7 April/May 2015 SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY Inside this issue: ~ GRADUATE STUDENT NEWS Outstanding TA Award Winners OTA Winners 1 Teaching Mentors 1 Fulbright Opportunities 2 Multicultural Affairs News 2 Excellence in Grad Education Winners 3 LGBT Events 3 Ask the Über TA 4 The Graduate Student Newsletter is a combined effort of the Graduate School, the Graduate Student Organization (GSO), Career Services and the Office of Sponsored Programs to provide concise and timely information about events and deadlines for the SU grad student community. Dates & Deadlines! Apr. 8 – Last day for Master’s students to submit Request for Exam April 22 – Last day for Doctoral students to submit final documents May 6 – Last day for Master’s theses students to submit final documents SU Events Calendar Campus Events: http://suevents.syr.edu/ main.php?view=month Around Syracuse: www.syracuse.com/events/ Graduate Student Newsletter Each year the Graduate School recognizes Teaching Assistants who have made distinguished contributions to Syracuse University by demonstrating excellence as primary instructors, laboratory or studio leaders, recitation instructors, or assistants to senior faculty members for high-enrollment courses. Congratulations to this year’s recipients! Ynesse Abdul-Malak, Sociology Krystal Barber, Mathematics Education Rouzbeh Berton, Civil and Environmental Engineering Emma Brodeur, Religion Lindsay Burt, Political Science Sean Clancy, Philosophy Wendy DeBoer, Religion Lindsey Decker, English Susan Flynn, Chemistry Carli Flynn, Civil and Environmental Engineering Aaron Hoy, Sociology Jesse Hysell, History Elissa Isenberg, History Joshua Jones, Mathematics Li Kang, Philosophy Emily Kaufman, Writing Program Pedram Maghsoud-Nia, Political Science Michael Newell, Political Science Janine Nieroda, English Education AnnMarie O'Neil, Mathematics Jesse Quinn, Geography Taapsi Ramchandani, Anthropology Kimberly Raymond, Child and Family Studies Kathryn Richmond, Teaching and Leadership Carrie Rood, Teaching and Leadership Rachael Shapiro, Writing Program Khim Raj Shrestha, Mathematics Fangchao Song, Biomedical and Chemical Engineering Mingxuan Tan, Psychology Jeffrey Treistman, Political Science Melissa Vaillancourt, Communication and Rhetorical Studies Melissa Welshans, English John David Witesman, Accounting Congratulations New and Returning Teaching Mentors! The Graduate School is proud to announce the Teaching Mentors for 2015–16. Selected for their excellence in teaching and overall graduate study, the Teaching Mentors serve as small-group leaders and mentors to approximately 300 new TAs during the TA Orientation Program in August. They also assist in the development and implementation of TA Program activities throughout the academic year. Thanks to all those who applied, and a rousing welcome to our Teaching Mentor staff! Carolina Arango-Vargas, Anthropology Rouzbeh Berton, Civil & Environmental Engineering Franziska Boehme, Political Science Teresa Bruno-Nino, Philosophy Lindsay Burt, Political Science Naomi Dershowitz, Philosophy Tess Dussling, Reading & Language Arts Bridget Fahey, Political Science Justin Freedman, Teaching & Leadership Thomas Guiler, History Jacob Hall, Instructional Design, Development, and Evaluation Woosang Hwang, Child & Family Studies Peter Katz, English Kelsey Krueger, Psychology Erica Layow, Science Teaching Jasy Liew, Information Science & Technology Jason Markins, Composition & Cultural Rhetoric April/May 2015 Nyaboke Nduati, Reading & Language Arts Michael Newell, Political Science Janine Nieroda, Reading & Language Arts Heather Potts, Psychology Chelsey Smith, Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics Yosung Song, Special Education/Disability Studies Staci Stutsman, English Joy Tang, Psychology Laura Thompson, Counseling & Human Services Giovanna Urist, History Dimple Vadgama, Child & Family Studies Nicole Watson, Social Science Thomas (TJ) West, English Kimberly Williams, Child & Family Studies Frehiwot Wuhib, Teaching & Leadership Page 1 April 3 – GSO Wine Tasting, Inn Complete, 8:00-10:00 pm April 10 – Teaching Mentor Spring Meeting. 111 Bowne Hall, 3:30-5:00 pm April 10 – GSO Casino Night. Inn Complete, 8:00-10:30 pm April 18 – “The Day of FiTS.” LISSA and iSGO mini-conference. Hinds Hall, 11:00 am-4:00 pm April 22 – FPP Breakfast for recipients of the Certificate in University Teaching. Sheraton Hotel, 8:30-10:00am (invitation only). April 23 – Outstanding TA and Excellence in Graduate Education Award Ceremony. Goldstein Alumni and Faculty Center, 4:30-6:00 pm (invitation only) April 25 – GSO Spring Picnic. Inn Complete, 2:00-5:00 pm May 8 – Doctoral Hooding Ceremony. Schine Auditorium. 5:00 pm (invitation only) May 10 – Graduation! Carrier Dome, 9:30 am May 14 & 15 – FPP Annual Conference. White Eagle Conference Center, Hamilton, NY. Attention Graduate Students Interested in Going Abroad! If you are interested in going abroad for 9 months for funded study/research or teaching English in a foreign country, you should consider applying to the Fulbright Program. Many grad students apply for a Fulbright grant to fund overseas dissertation or thesis work. SU has six students around the world this year with the Fulbright Program (in South Korea, France, Germany, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Malaysia). Read more about the program at http://us.fulbrightonline.org/ A few notes on Fulbright:  There are 2 main types of grants: Study/Research or ETA (English Teaching Assistant) awards; you will apply to one country  Open to students from all disciplines; language requirements vary by country  US citizens only; rising seniors, graduate students, and alumni may apply It’s time to get started for this year’s application cycle! The Center for Fellowship & Scholarship Advising is here to help you throughout the entire process until the September 15th deadline. Mark your calendars for the upcoming information sessions: April 3rd Fulbright Information Session / 10:00 am – 11:00 am / 341 Eggers Hall April 8th Writing the Fulbright Program Essay / 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm / 341 Eggers Hall April 17th Writing the Fulbright Personal Statement / 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm / 225-B Eggers Hall More information here: http://nationalscholarships.syr.edu/?page_id=458 If you can’t make the sessions but are still interested in applying, contact Judy O’Rourke (jlorourk@syr.edu). News from SU’s Office of Multicultural Affairs Transcending Boundaries: April is Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage Month #SU_AAPIMonth. There are exciting events/ speakers happening all month. Please visit the Office of Multicultural Affairs website for all the event details. You can also contact Huey Hsiao at 315-443-9676 or huhsiao@syr.edu. Check out the poster of events for details. Graduate Student Newsletter April/May 2015 Page 2 SU ORGS FOR GRADS > Slutzker Center: http:// international.syr.edu/ Providing services and programming for international students at SU. > Maxwell Center for Career Development: http:// www1.maxwell.syr.edu/ career.aspx Located in 202 Maxwell, the Career Development office for Maxwell students provides a specialty range of services, Career appointments, interview preparation, cover letter & resume review, and networking advice. > Counseling Center: http:// counselingcenter.syr.edu/ The Counseling Center offers members of the SU community free, confidential help through times of crisis and the everyday stresses of life. Referrals for students and students’ families—with and without health insurance through SU— are available here. > Health Services: http:// health.syr.edu/ Located at 111 Waverly Avenue, SU health services provides care for graduate students who pay their health fee and include services such as office visits, ambulatory care services, pharmacy, nutrition counseling, immunizations, vaccines, and travel medicine. > Academic Integrity Office: http://academicintegrity.syr.edu/ Established to implement SU's Academic Integrity (AI) Policies and Procedures, the Office of Academic Integrity can advise how to promote AI in the undergraduate classroom (as a TA) or to consult on how AI affects graduate student life. Excellence in Graduate Education Winners Announced The Excellence in Graduate Education Faculty Recognition Award honors faculty members whose commitment to excellence in graduate teaching and mentoring have made a significant contribution to graduate education at Syracuse University. Congratulations to the winners for 2015! Christine Ashby Teaching and Leadership, Special Education Andrew London Sociology Dennis Romano History Jennifer Stromer-Galley School of Information Studies April Events from the LGBT Resource Center The Reel Queer Film Festival April 3-5, 2015 The festival showcases LGBT identities through film and documentary. Venue: Shemin Auditorium/Shafer Art Building. For details, please visit http://rqff.info/ Trans* Day of Liberation with Kye Allums Kye Allums is a 25 year-old queer fluid trans* artist and athlete. They graduated from The George Washington University and in 2010 publicly came out to become the first Division 1 openly transgender athlete in NCAA history. Come hear Kye discuss the changes that have accompanied their gender transition and newfound role as a trans* advocate. April 8 / 7:30 pm/ Watson Theater Dessert Reception to follow/ ASL Provided Kye Allums The 2015 Rainbow Banquet, sponsored by the LGBT Resource Center, will be held April 23rd, 5:30 pm at the Sheraton Hotel. This event is FREE for all Syracuse University and SUNY-ESF undergraduate and graduate students; tickets are available at the Shine Box office. Come celebrate the year and the 2015 graduates! t > Legal Services: http:// www.studentlegal.net/index.html If you are a Syracuse University student (excluding law students) or a SUNY-ESF student, have paid the graduate student activity fee, and are registered on main campus, you are eligible for advice and representation as defined at the Legal Services website. Graduate Student Newsletter Shannon Novak Anthropology April/May 2015 Page 3 Ask the Über If you’re a Teaching Assistant at SU, you’ve probably, at one time or another, said the following: “Aargh!! Now what??” How to deal with the nonstop demands and unexpected situations that TA’s face can be a daunting challenge. Expletive-laden tirades are a good start, but what you really need is sound, practical advice. You need … the Über TA. Send your TA-related questions to the Über at lmtolley@syr.edu. Leigh Tolley, Über TA Dear Über TA: So, this year’s basically done for me as a TA, and I’m pretty confident that I’m good to go through the next month with my students. I think I did a decent job this year (it was my first time teaching), and I feel a lot more ready to be a TA again next year. Teaching is more enjoyable than I thought it would be—what kind of stuff is out there that I can check out to keep getting better at it? —A Step Ahead Dear Ahead: Congrats on coming to a close on your first year of teaching! The Chronicle of Higher Education’s career site for college faculty and administrators, Vitae, has a lot of useful tips for grad students looking to enter the academic job market. Their resources include a discussion group just for teaching tips and a syllabi database. Here’s a sampling of other resources about teaching in higher education that are worth exploring: A Brief Summary of the Best Practices in College Teaching (The Center for Teaching and Learning, UNC Charlotte) CFT Teaching Guides (Center for Teaching, Vanderbilt University) College Teaching Strategies and Teaching and Learning articles (FacultyFocus.com) Equal Access: Universal Design of Instruction (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology [DO-IT], University of Washington) Higher Education Best Practices - Teaching & Learning (National Education Association) Teaching Resource Center (University of Virginia) Teaching Strategies (Teaching Commons, Stanford University) Teaching Strategies & Materials (Searle Center for Advancing Learning & Teaching, Northwestern University) Universal Design Strategies (Accessible Education Center, University of Oregon) Universal Design for Learning: Elements of Good Teaching (Ohio State University) What Is Inclusive Higher Education? (The Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education at SU) —Über TA PhD Comics — LOLGrads! The Graduate School Newsletter is (usually) published once a month. If you have announcements or articles that you would like to contribute, please contact the editor at gradnews@syr.edu. If you would like to remove your name from the email list, please send an email to gradnews@syr.edu with the subject: “unsubscribe me” Graduate Student Newsletter April/May 2015 Page 4