Graduate School Newsblog

Tag: Graduate School

Nominations Sought for 2015 MAGS Thesis Award

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The Executive Committee of the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) is soliciting nominations for the 2015 MAGS Distinguished Master’s Thesis Awards to recognize and reward distinguished scholarship and research at the master’s level. Michigan Tech may nominate one candidate in each disciplinary category.

Eligible students

  • Will have earned a master of science degree between July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2014 in Social Sciences or Physical Science/Engineering (including mathematics)
    • Michigan Tech may nominate one thesis in each category
    • The 2016 competition will seek nominees in Biological/Life Sciences and the Humanities
  • Will have completed an original thesis that makes an unusually significant contribution to the discipline
  • Will not have earned a PhD (or comparable research degree) in any discipline prior to the writing of the master’s thesis

Please see the website for complete details on eligibility and application procedures.

Nomination packets are due by 4 p.m., Friday Oct. 17, to the Graduate School via e-mail (gradschool@mtu.edu) or campus mail (address to Debra Charlesworth). Eligible students with a complete nomination packet will be evaluated by a panel of faculty from the University.

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Required Online Course Addresses Harassment and Discrimination

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At the recommendation of the US Department of Education, Michigan Tech is establishing an online course on harassment, discrimination and retaliation.  All University employees and graduate students will be required to complete the course by Dec. 31.

The course will replace a previous course on sexual harassment that has been required of all incoming employees since 2009. It also satisfies the federal requirement for training mandated by the Violence Against Women Act and Title IX and aligns with the Campus Clarity courses that incoming first-year students must complete.

“The new course is extremely informative regarding harassment and discrimination and suggests best practices in the workplace,” said Jill Hodges, director of the Office of Institutional Equity. Regarding the sexual harassment portions of the course, President Glenn Mroz said: “Despite the significant progress made in reducing violence against women, there is a long way to go. It is our responsibility as a university community to work towards eliminating sexual misconduct and sexual violence, and to do so, we must be well informed.”

Employees and graduate students will receive email notification when the course is assigned and reminders if they have not completed the course. The course requires audio. Employees or graduate students whose computers do not have audio capability can use campus computers designated for training purposes.

If you have questions, contact Title IX Coordinator Beth Lunde in the Office of Institutional Equity at titleix@mtu.edu.

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Completing Your Graduate Degree— Seminar

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The Graduate School has recently launched improvements to our web page and MyMichiganTech that will help students, faculty and staff understand the steps required to complete a graduate degree.  Join us on campus or online to learn about these improvements and have your questions answered.

The seminar will be held Thursday, Oct. 2, from 4:05 to 4:55 p.m. Register online to receive the room location or instructions on how you can participate online.

The seminar will be taped and put on the web site for people who are interested in the topic, but unable to attend at that time.

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Seminar: Completing your graduate degree

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The Graduate School has recently launched improvements to our web page and MyMichiganTech that will help students, faculty, and staff understand the steps required to complete a graduate degree.  Join us on campus or online to learn about these improvements and have your questions answered.

The seminar will be taped and put on our web site for people who are interested in the topic, but unable to attend at that time.

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Fall Enrollment at All-Time High for Female Engineering, Minority, International and Graduate Students

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Michigan Tech submitted its preliminary fall enrollment figures to the state this week.  Enrollment totaled 7,100 this fall, up from last year and the second highest since 1983.

Female enrollment in the College of Engineering is 1,005, an all-time high at 22 percent.

American minority students totaled 474, nearly 7 percent of the student body and another all-time high.

Graduate School enrollment also hit an all-time high this fall, at 1,442 or 20 percent of the student body.  The Graduate School received 1,800 more applications this year than last.

Michigan Tech’s 1,093 international students represent another all-time high. Retention—the percentage of first-year students who return for their second year—was 85 percent, the highest it has been since 1993.

Read the the full story.

Published in Tech Today by Jennifer Donovan, director of news and media relations

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Nominations open for KCP Future Faculty Fellowships

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The purpose of the King-Chávez-Parks Future Faculty Fellowship Program is to increase the pool of traditionally underrepresented candidates pursuing careers in postsecondary education. Nominations may be at the master’s or doctoral level.  Please see our web site for more details on the program, eligibility requirements, and the application procedure.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, however, for the best consideration for funding beginning in spring 2015, please submit a nomination no later than 4pm, September 30, 2014.

The Graduate School will work with qualified applicants and their programs to develop a funding plan that includes funds from the KCP program, department or school, and Graduate School.

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September First Friday Social at the Administration Building

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First Friday Socials are back for 2014-15.  Faculty, staff, graduate students and retirees are invited to attend this year’s opener from 4 to 6 p.m., Sept. 5, in the parking lot outside the Administration Building and on the fourth floor. Complimentary soda, beer and wine will be served along with some great appetizers, and raffles will be held throughout the event.

The Graduate School and Graduate Student Government (GSG) are once again sponsoring this month’s event. Come and mingle with your colleagues and see the Pat Nelson Graduate Conference Center and GSG offices.  Along with the Graduate School and GSG, the conference center was funded by a donation by the late Patricia Nelson, wife of Michigan Tech chemical engineering alumnus Charles J. Nelson ’36 (deceased).

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Graduate School Dean Elected GRE Board Chair

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Jacqueline Huntoon, dean of the Graduate School, has been voted chair-elect of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) Board. She will take office in October.

“This is a great honor that will help bring more national and international recognition to Michigan Tech and its graduate programs,” said Huntoon.

She has served on the GRE Board since 2012. The board oversees the management and administration of the GRE test, which is part of the application package for most graduate schools in the United States. Other board members include graduate school deans from universities such as Virginia Tech, Northwestern and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

“It’s been an honor to serve on the board, and I’ve learned a lot about best practices at other graduate schools,” Huntoon said.

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Michigan Tech Receives $5 Million from Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation to Reform Middle-School Science Education

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Young children are naturally curious about everything around them. They want to know how and why things work. Then, around middle school age, many of them lose that natural attraction to science and engineering.

A team of university and public school educators in Michigan say they know what’s wrong with middle school science education. And, with a $5 million, three-year grant from the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation, they intend to develop and test some solutions.

“In Michigan and most of the nation’s schools, STEM instruction consists of a series of seemingly unrelated courses that require students to memorize large numbers of facts but fail to engage them in the practice of using science as a tool to address real-world problems,” says Jacqueline Huntoon, a geology professor, associate provost and dean of the Graduate School at Michigan Tech.

The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation, based in Midland, Mich., has funded the Michigan Science Teaching and Assessment Reform (Mi-STAR) program to develop a model for reforming middle-school STEM education that will include a new curriculum supported by updated teacher education and teacher professional development strategies.

The program focuses on integrating the sciences, using a problem-based approach, cutting across the traditional disciplines of biology, physics, chemistry and earth science to emphasize core ideas and show how science can be used to address society’s needs. For the full story, see Michigan Tech News.

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Graduate School Announces Award Recipients

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The Graduate School is pleased to announce that the following students have earned:

Doctoral Finishing Fellowships:

Jun Ma, PhD candidate in Computer Science
Evgeniy Kulakov, PhD candidate in Geology
Colin Gurganus, PhD candidate in Atmospheric Sciences
Suntara Fueangfung, PhD candidate in Chemistry
Fang Chen, PhD candidate in Electrical Engineering
Xiaohui Wang, PhD candidate in Electrical Engineering
Jennifer Riehl, PhD candidate in Forest Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology
Stephanie Ogren, PhD candidate in Biological Sciences
Tayloria Adams, PhD candidate in Chemical Engineering

Dean’s Fellowships:

Bonnie Zwissler, PhD candidate in Civil Engineering
Matthew Brege, PhD candidate in Chemistry
Bryan Steinhoff, PhD candidate in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics

DeVlieg Foundation Fellowships:

Howard Haselhuhn, PhD candidate in Chemical Engineering
John Henderson, PhD candidate in Forest Science

King-Ch`avez-Parks Future Faculty Fellowships:

Zoe Miller, MS candidate in Environmental Engineering
Darnishia Slade, PhD candidate in Applied Cognitive Science and Human Factors
Ronesha Strozier, MS candidate in Environmental Policy

Photographs and details of awards and fellowships coordinated by the Graduate School can be found online:

www.mtu.edu/gradschool/administration/academics/awards-fellowships/

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