August 2022 Edition

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AUGUST 2022

"To say it was a beautiful day would not begin to explain it. It was that day when the end of summer intersects perfectly with the start of fall."

Anne Patchett

Welcome/Welcome Back!

Friday, August 26, 3:30-5:00 p.m.

East side of Montana Hall (outside)

Food and mingling for grad students, faculty, and staff (no RSVP required). Join the Graduate School in welcoming the Fall semester!

Calendar

Wednesday, Aug. 24: Classes begin, One-credit  Extension deadline. 5 p.m. formatting approval deadline.

Last day for non-degree applications to be submitted.

Tuesday, Aug. 30: Last day to self-add Fall 2022 classes online.

Monday, Sept. 5: Labor Day holiday (no classes; offices closed).

Wednesday, Sept. 7: Last day to self-drop Fall 2022 classes online.

Wednesday, Sept. 14: Last day to drop Fall 2022 classes without a "W" grade.

Tuesday, Sept. 20: Last day for graduate students to file for graduation in MyInfo or via a Graduation Application (only used when a student has applied for the same degree in a prior term).

Announcements

GradCat Welcome Week

  • Orientation for new students; online Brightspace or on our website.

GradCat Kickoff (for new students)

Monday, August 22, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Reid Hall #103

All new grad students are asked to attend GradCat Kickoff at one of three times:

  • Monday,August 22, 1-3 p.m.;
  • Tuesday, August 23, 9-11 a.m.; or 
  • Tuesday, August 23, 1-3 p.m.

All sessions are identical and you only need to register for one.

Join us for:

  • Welcome from Dean Ogilvie
  • Q&A with a student panel
  • Well-being planning
  • RSVP here

The Mindfulness Based Graduate Mentorship Program

Applications open now through Friday, Sept. 9

Who has made a difference in your life and why? Would you consider this person to be a mentor? What does mentorship mean to you? How has it impacted your life? Do you feel like you are currently lacking any type of support in your graduate experience?

You are invited to join a community of graduate students who together will inquire into these questions and more. In the Mindfulness Based Graduate Mentoring Program, together we will explore evidence-based best practices in mentoring so you may be empowered to get the most out of your mentoring relationships now and in the future. We will use mindfulness, reflection and inquiry as tools to delve into how your experience in graduate school can be more fulfilling, more purposeful and less stressful. 

The Program will be a process of education, exploration, and reflection. It will be a process of finding and listening to your own voice about what matters.  It is an opportunity to build a peer community with those who understand the graduate experience and can offer support throughout the process of navigating graduate school.

Applications for the 2022-2023 academic year program are open now through Friday, Sept. 9.

The application includes a description of the program, what you can expect to get out of it and the time commitments associated with it.  Please feel free to reach out to Jen Brown at jennifer.brown@montana.edu if you have questions or to schedule a virtual or in-person meeting to discuss further.

New GTA Professional Development 

Fall 2022 

GTAs are critical to undergraduate student success. CFE and the Graduate School are jointly running a series of four workshops for GTAs with two goals: 1) help GTAs develop skills so they can gain more professional satisfaction by performing their GTA tasks well; and 2) increase the success of undergraduates that are in their classes thereby increasing undergraduate retention. 

The workshops will:

  • Each be ~90min long. 
  • Be spread across the semester at 2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks into the Fall semester. 
  • Synchronous online to increase GTA participation 

Successful completion of all four workshops will count as part of the credits needed for the Center for Faculty Excellence’s (CFE) Teaching Enhancement Certificate. When this certificate is completed GTAs can earn a Dean’s teaching scholarship of $250/semester https://www.montana.edu/gradschool/fellowships/index.html

Session 1: "How to build an inclusive learning environment.” ASPIRE’s Inclusive Professional Framework https://www.aspirealliance.org/national-change/inclusive-professional-framework. Facilitated by Craig Ogilvie and Sarah Pennington. Thursday, Sept. 1, 10-11:30 a.m. Register for Session 1.

Session 2: “Active learning,” facilitated by Ken Silvestri. Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2:30-4 p.m. Register for Session 2.

Session 3: "Providing feedback, both formal in grading and informal feedback,” e.g., affirming good work, being alert for students who might be struggling or not attending class and reaching out to these students. Facilitated by Carrie Myers. Thursday, Sept. 29, 10-11:30 a.m. Register for Session 3.

Session 4: “Connecting with your students, getting to know them, communicating in words and actions that you want students to succeed, while establishing boundaries." Facilitated by Matt Caires and Durward Sobek. Friday, Oct. 14, 2-3:30 p.m. Register for Session 4.

“Invite the dean”

Craig would like to get out and meet groups of graduate students in your labs, research, or study spaces. If you would like to host the dean for a ~30min. informal chat, please contact craig.ogilvie@montana.edu.

Funding and Fellowships

Wellness Champions Openings

A $500 fellowship is available for graduate student wellness champions who will advocate and organize well-being events in their departments. This fellowship is to support the student for organizational work during the academic year. If you are interested, please visit our Wellbeing website for more information and to apply.  

Identify scholarships and research funding for your graduate education

  • Visit the Grad School fellowships page, scroll to “External Funding Opportunities” and expand “SPIN funding alert service” for instructions.
  • The University of Illinois has an excellent Fellowship Finder featuring awards that are open to grad students from any university. It features several filters to aid your search.

National Research Council Postdoctoral program

The National Research Council postdoctoral program Is used by federal agencies across the country to support postdoc searches. This is a great place to look when you are close to finishing your PhD and the salaries are quite good. Quarterly application deadlines.

For more funding opportunities, visit MSU’s Research Funding Opportunities or the Graduate School’s Funding & Fellowships webpage.

Workshops & Events

BIPOC Meet and Greet

Thursday, August 25, 3-5 p.m., SUB #233

Come join other MSU students, staff, and faculty who identify as Black, Indigenous, Person of Color (BIPOC) for a fall semester meet and greet hosted by the Diversity and Inclusion Student Commons. Join us for snacks, new friends, and information. Please RSVP.

LGBTQ+ Meet and Greet

Friday, August 26, 3-5 p.m., SUB #233

Come join other MSU students, staff, and faculty who identify as LGBTQ+ for a fall semester meet and greet hosted by the Diversity and Inclusion Student Commons. Join us for snacks, new friends, and information. Please RSVP.

First-Generation Grad Student Lunchtime Meetup

Wednesday, August 31, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., SUB #235

This casual lunchtime meetup is a great way for first-generation grad students across campus to meet, connect, and share tips & tricks for succeeding in grad school.

Bring your own sack lunch— dessert and lemonade will be provided.

RSVP to join us. Hope to see you there!

Questions about what it means to be a first-generation grad student or additional resources? Check out our website.

Catapalooza

Monday, August 22, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., MSU Centennial Mall

Join us for a day filled with music, free food, and giveaways! There will be 350 campus groups and community vendors there to welcome you as a member of both the Bobcat and Bozeman communities! Free food, free stuff. RSVP.

Workshops: Panopto Basics

Monday, August 22, 3-4 p.m. OR

Wednesday, August 24, 11 a.m.-12 noon OR

Thursday, Sept. 1, 2:30-3:30

Online workshop – please RSVP for the meeting link

Join us for an online workshop and learn how to use Panopto, our new institutionally-supported lecture capture service! In this workshop you will learn how to: 

  • Log into and explore your Panopto account. 

  • Record, edit, and share videos. 

  • Embed videos into D2L/Brightspace courses. 

RSVP for Monday.

RSVP for Wednesday.

RSVP for Thursday.

For more information about Panopto, please visit the Panopto page on the Academic Technology & Outreach website.

Student ePortfolio Workshop

Wednesday, Sept. 7, 12:30-2 p.m., Romney #102

Are you interested in professional development, and connecting and networking with fellow students? Join us for Fall semester ePortfolio Workshops to build your personal brand, collect experiences, and prepare yourself for life beyond college! Workshops in September will focus on getting started on your ePortfolio, including Adobe Express tutorials, an overview of what ePortfolios are, and time to work on your own ePortfolio with peer assistance. October workshops will focus on developing content for ePortfolios and preparing you for advising and registration for next semester. And in November, workshops will focus on reflecting on progress made over the past year, polishing up content in your ePortfolio, and peer workshops to get feedback from other students. If you are interested in taking this next step in becoming involved with your education, please RSVP! Prizes and food are available at each workshop. Please bring a laptop to work on your ePortfolio.

Professional Development ePortfolio Workshop

Thursday, Sept. 15, 5:30-7 p.m., Romney #102

Have you already begun an ePortfolio, and want to continue polishing and perfecting it for the job market and internships? Join us for a special set of professional development workshops tailored to the next steps in the ePortfolio process. The first workshop in September will focus on building your personal brand, including making sure your portfolio's theme is coherent and indicative of your personality, interests, and strengths. October's workshop is all about targeting your specific audience, including specific focuses on skills relating to career fields as well as a more broad focus on what to include (and what not to include) in a professional portfolio. And in November, we'll center the workshop around the presentation of your ePortfolio, both in person and virtually. If you are interested in taking this next step in becoming involved with your education and future career, please RSVP! Prizes and food are available at each workshop. Please bring a laptop to work on your ePortfolio.

Intro to Grants and Finding Funding workshop

Monday, Sept. 19, 10:30 a.m.-12 noon, Jake Jabs Hall #405 and via WebEx

New to writing grants? Need funding for your research program? Join us for an interactive session that introduces you to the grant writing process and associated MSU policies and procedures. We will also cover how to find funding opportunities to meet your research goals. Please indicate if you plan to attend via Webex in the comments section when you register. We will send you the link and materials prior to the workshop.

994-Calling with Andrew Hansen

Monday, Sept. 26, 4-5 p.m., SUB #235 and WebEx

We have an exciting slate of MSU researchers lined up for 2022-2023. During these sessions, we ask our speakers to "tell their story" -- which usually includes some fun background, where they trained, how they came to MSU, and a few key highlights on their research and scholarship. We will be hosting one presentation per month, and our September 994-Calling will present Andrew Hansen, Professor of Ecology and director of the Institute on Ecosystems.Please plan to attend in-person at SUB #235 (refreshments will be served) or via WebEx.

Grant Writing Bootcamp applications due

Friday, Sept 30

Grant Writing Bootcamp is designed to help grant-interested faculty produce a quality, successful proposal, with valuable information and support from grant-successful facilitators. Participants have the opportunity to interact with grant-successful senior faculty, to work with peer support in writing groups, and to use a team of proposal support personnel who have the submitter's individual needs in mind. Learn more.

MSU Writing Center

The MSU Writing Center offers ongoing support to students working on graduate-level writing.

One-on-one appointments are available both in-person and online with graduate or undergraduate peer tutors: Make a tutoring appointment.

Interdisciplinary graduate writing groups are a small group of graduate students who meet regularly to work on improving their own writing and give feedback to others. Learn more and sign up.

Focus Fridays are a weekly “write with us” time for grad students to work alongside each other, in Wilson 1-114 every Friday from 9 a.m.-12 noon, for as much or as little of that time as you'd like. No need to register. Tutors will be available to answer questions.

For more information, visit our website or contact the Assistant Director of WAMSU, Erin Strickland, at erin.strickland@montana.edu or (406) 994-5314.

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Archive

March 2022 - Mid-Semester Update

February 2022 - Spring Events

November 2021 - End of Fall Semester

October 2021 - Mid-Semester update

September 2021 - First month of Fall semester

August 2021 - Beginning of Fall semester

June 2021 - Upcoming Fall, GA opportunities

April 2021 - End of Spring semester

March 2021 - Career opportunities

February 2021 - Spring Events

January 2021 - Assistantships and scholarships