Dear Graduate Students,
Over the past year, the Graduate School has taken steps to enhance graduate students’ sense of welcome, belonging and holistic support. I’ve previously highlighted the new all-University welcome and information session that we hosted this fall. In addition, hundreds of you have already been participating in activities hosted by the Graduate School BIPOC Alliance, an initiative that seeks to foster academic success and builds community in support of graduate students who self-identify as Black, Indigenous or other persons of color (BIPOC).
This month we highlight the Grad Social Spot, a new group led by Graduate School staff member Tracy Balduzzi. The Grad Social Spot features monthly meetups with fellow graduate students from across the University. It is designed to build social and professional connections across disciplinary areas. There has been a great response to initial sessions, with well over 50 students participating. One student made a connection that led to a new professional development opportunity, and others describe connecting with fellow grad students in other programs as both empowering and stress-relieving. Check out the feature story below and keep an eye out for the next meeting date.
Associate Dean Gabby Chapman and I are also making steady progress in finalizing a New Parent Accommodation policy to provide academic and financial accommodations for students who become new parents while in graduate school. We hosted a well-attended student feedback session in late September and faculty feedback sessions this month. With helpful and enthusiastic feedback, we hope to move this policy towards approval before the end of the academic year.
I hope you are thriving this semester. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or others in the Graduate School if you have ideas to share or if you need extra academic or social support.
Sincerely,
Peter Vanable
Dean of the Graduate School