VOL. 4, ISSUE 2

THE GRADUATE SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

DECEMBER  2011

The Graduate School Newsletter

Greetings from Dave Francko, Dean of the Graduate School at The University of Alabama

Hard to believe that 2012 is just around the corner, and another fall semester is almost completed. And what a semester it has been! Once again, UA set a record for total graduate student enrollment (4774, up 228 from last year’s old record and almost 1000 above Fall 2006), and we remain on course to reach our goal of 5250 by Fall 2013. Minority graduate student enrollment (944) is also at a record level, including a record 643 Black/African-American graduate students. This is the 9th year in a row that African-American graduate student enrollment has set a record. But more importantly, our students continue to excel, as you’ll learn when you read about Dr. Gina McGaskill’s award below, aided by cutting-edge support and mentorship programs, like Tide Together, another storyline in this Newsletter. Tide Together and the equally novel and successful Graduate Parent Support Program are earning the UA Graduate School national recognition and invitations to present our story, including my presentation to the Council Of Graduate Schools national conference in Arizona in December 2011.

All of this added support and mentorship takes money, and once again, my thanks to those of you who have made recent donations to our Graduate Student Enrichment Fund! I know that times are tough, but even a modest gift can help close the gap in funding graduate student travel to present papers, graduate student research and other professional development needs. A prime example of how this support makes a difference is the Graduate School Research and Travel Grant Program, which in 2010-11 provided a record 709 students with over $460,000 in financial support to conduct their thesis/dissertation research and present results at professional conferences in the U.S. and abroad. This represents a more than 5-fold increase in students supported and a 6-fold increase in funding compared with just 5 years ago!! Think back to when YOU were a struggling grad student -- wouldn’t it have been great to have that kind of support??

In 2011-12, we are targeting 800 students for support and over $500,000 in expenditures to help them Build Their Reputations”. We could really use your partnership support – every dollar the Graduate School expends in Research/Travel Grant Support is leveraged at least 1:1 with funding from other sources. You can always learn more about Graduate School goals and giving options at http://graduate.ua.edu/giving.html

Happy Holidays to everyone and our best to you and yours in 2012!

Dave Francko, Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate School

College of Arts and Sciences will host Bama Expo on January 12-14, 2012:   Bama Grad Expo is a graduate student recruiting event aimed at prospective students from groups currently under-represented in graduate education. The College of Arts & Sciences, in partnership with the Graduate School, invites 50 highly qualified prospective students from all over the country.

Over the course of a 3-day visit, the students tour the campus, meet with professors and current graduate students, and learn about the financial and educational resources available at the University. The Expo is based on the belief that if we can get highly qualified students to our beautiful campus, we can convince them that The University of Alabama is the right place for them to pursue graduate education. For more information or if you know of a student who may be a good fit for the Bama Expo, visit the website at http://bamagradexpo.ua.edu.
  

Dr. Carl Williams, Director of Graduate Admissions and Recruitment, retires from the Graduate School. On November 29, 2011, the Graduate School hosted a retirement party for Dr. Carl Williams, who has been a fixture in the Graduate School for more than 25 years. In 2010, Carl was awarded the Vergil Parks McKinley, Sr. Employee Award for his contributions to UA’s mission of service to students and faculty. Carl’s mantra, which he practiced every day, was “people may not remember what you told them, but they will remember how you made them feel.”  Carl will certainly be missed by all the Graduate School staff and the countless students he has helped over the years.

PhD Student in Social Work Receives Prestigious Award. Gina McCaskill was recently selected as a  John A. Hartford Doctoral Fellow. This award is a $70,000 ($50,000 from Hartford and $10,000 from UA) fellowship for two years that is awarded to social work doctoral students with a focus in gerontology.

Gina will remain at the Capstone during the course of the two-year Hartford Doctoral Fellows award. She will use the award to complete her dissertation study on the diabetes self-care practices and health status of older African Americans 65 years and older with type 2 diabetes. Part of the award will go towards recruiting 150 African American participants throughout Jefferson, Tuscaloosa, Greene, Hale, Perry, and the Montgomery statistical service area.

Taking the Arts to Cuba. Seth Panitch, associate professor of theatre, and five graduate students spent part of December in Cuba to stage a Spanish language production of “Beyond Therapy” using Cuban actors. The Graduate School helped fund the trip for Stephen Brunson, Amy Handra, Peyton Conley,  Jeff Horger, and Tony Johnson who participated in the production of the play as part of their MFA requirements. Read more.

Tide Together Helps Students Transition into the Demands of Graduate Education. 24 new graduate students are participating in the Tide Together mentoring program. Designed for graduate students from under-represented groups in graduate education, women in the STEM disciplines, and first-generation college students, Tide Together provides a faculty mentor and a peer mentor for every participant. In addition to meeting with their mentors every month, the Tide Together participants meet for social events (e.g., bowling, Sips-n-Strokes), workshops (e.g., The Imposter Syndrome) and an intensive academic writing boot camp. To find out more about Tide Together, take a look at their first newsletter.