As a graduate student, striking a healthy work-life balance can seem like a
As a graduate student, striking a healthy work-life balance can seem like a

October 15, 2019

In this issue: Design principles workshops, Mellon-Wisconsin Fellowship, and more.
PhD Comic

Tips for Grads: Work-life balance vs. work-life harmony

By Kirby Livingston, PhD student
Personal Effectiveness
As a graduate student, striking a healthy work-life balance can seem like a pipe dream. After all, there is only so much time in a day, and as you spend more time in academia, responsibilities seem to multiply while the line between your professional, academic, and personal obligations becomes increasingly blurred. Rather than try to perform an impossible work-life balancing act, it can be useful to think about managing your different roles as a quest to achieve work-life harmony.
Get off the tightrope. When you attempt to achieve a perfect balance between work and home life, it’s easy to fall short and judge yourself for it. Instead, accept that some things are out of your control, refrain from judging yourself, and try to find harmony in the present.
Stay in the moment. While it can be especially challenging as a graduate student, staying in the moment is a worthy goal. Achieving work-life harmony is only possible if you are mindful about focusing on the here and now. If ideas, reminders, or anything else pops into your head and threatens to bring you out of the present moment, acknowledge the thought, write it down if necessary, then try to return to the here and now. Mindfulness is a skill that can only be improved through practice, but the payoff can be huge for both your productivity and mental health.
Embrace priority management. In the Sept. 17 edition of Tips for Grads, I shared Dr. Fatimah Williams’ thoughts about abandoning time management in favor of priority management. Planning your life like a to-do list can be disheartening and monotonous, while starting with a vision for your semester and using backwards planning will help you to keep your long-term goals in focus while staying on top of your responsibilities. If you can’t find time to step back and create a long term plan, the Graduate School’s upcoming Creating an Individual Development Plan (IDP) workshop is a great place to start.
 
GradConnections Weekly is looking for fresh perspectives on the graduate student experience.
If you have advice, counsel, or tips for UW grad students, you’re invited to write a guest column for “Tips for Grads.”
If you’re interested,
check out our infographic for details and email gspd@grad.wisc.edu to let us know.
DiscoverPD: Your guide to professional development
DiscoverPD is an innovative tool for UW–Madison graduate students to advance their academic and professional goals. Review the nine facets of professional development, complete a self-assessment, and get a customized report and recommendations.

Upcoming Professional Development Events

Design Principles for Research Posters
Wednesday, Oct. 16 | 2:45 - 4:15 pm
1220/1222 Health Sciences Learning Center | Communication
Do you want your research poster to stand out in the crowd? Join DesignLab and the Office of Professional Development for a workshop where you will learn to design a stunning and effective poster. We will explore how to structure your poster for your audience, identify common mistakes/errors, and provide you with tools to communicate your message effectively. Attendees will use DesignLab's "CAT" framework to improve the Conceptual, Aesthetic, and Technical aspects of a poster or any visual medium. Light refreshments will be served.
Design Principles for Presentations
Tuesday, Oct. 22 | noon - 1:30 pm
126 Memorial Library | Communication
As students we have all suffered through bad PowerPoint presentations. Whether you're presenting your research, teaching, or creating a presentation for a job, utilizing principles of effective design can be the difference between an engaged audience and a sea of glazed-over eyes. In this workshop, we will look at the DesignLab's "CAT" of designing presentations, that is the Conceptual, Aesthetic, and Technical aspects of your research/scholarly project. We will discuss how to structure your presentation for your audience, explore common mistakes/errors, and provide you with tools to communicate your desired message clearly and effectively. Lunch will be served, with gluten free and vegetarian options.

For Future Faculty

Preparing for success on the job market and beyond.
Find a full list of events on the For Future Faculty website.
Active Teaching Lab: Open Educational Resources - PressBooks interactive eTexts
Wednesday, Oct. 16 | 1 - 2 pm
120 Middleton Building
Active Teaching Lab: Personalized Learning
Friday, Oct. 18 | 8:30 - 9:45 am
120 Middleton Building
Grammar 1: A Review of English Grammar
Thursday, Oct. 17 | 3:30 - 5:30 pm
6176 Helen C. White Hall
The Basics of APA Documentation
Monday, Oct. 21 | 3 - 5 pm
6176 Helen C. White Hall
Improving Style
Tuesday, Oct. 22 | 3 - 4:30 pm
6172 Helen C. White Hall
R programming: R reports
Friday, Oct. 18 | 10 am - noon
105 Steenbock Library
Introduction to ggplot
Friday, Oct. 18 | 2 - 3:30 pm
5208 Sewell Social Sciences Building
This week's Software Training for Students (STS) courses:
  • Python
  • JavaScript 1
  • CSS 1
  • InDesign
  • Drop-in Sessions at DesignLab
For dates and times of each class, and for more software classes, visit the STS website. 

Special Events & Symposia

MGN Latinx Graduate Student & Faculty Mixer
Wednesday, Oct. 16 | 4 - 6:30 pm
Union South (Check TITU)
Lunch & Learn w/ Office of Veteran Employment Services
Thursday, Oct. 17 | 11:30 am - 1:30 pm
Union South (Check TITU)
Who Owns Science? – Representation, Inclusion, Culture and the Scientific Enterprise
Thursday, Oct. 17 | 2 - 3:30 pm
H.F. DeLuca Forum, Discovery Building
Science in Entertainment and the Arts – The Most Powerful Way to Communicate Science?
Friday, Oct. 18 | 2 - 3:30 pm
H.F. DeLuca Forum, Discovery Building
Leveling Up: A Week of Tips and Assists for Your Post-College Game Plan
Monday, Oct. 21 - Friday, Oct. 25
Follow the link above to see the full scheudule of events.
Deadlines & Announcements

Register for the 2nd Annual National Science Policy Network (NSPN) Symposium

The second annual NSPN Symposium, organized by Catalyst for Science Policy (CaSP), will be held in Madison and centers around the theme: Leveraging Science and Technology to Benefit Marginalized Populations. The symposium features speakers, workshops, and 300+ attendees. View the schedule and register online for this symposium, Nov. 2-3. Registration costs $75 plus a processing fee and ends Oct. 18 (NSPN members receive a 50% discount).

The Women’s and Gender Studies Consortium 2020 Conference

The Women's and Gender Studies Consortium and UW–Madison's 4W Initiative will take place April 16-18, 2020 at the Pyle Center on UW–Madison's campus. The theme is "Resistance and Reimagination: Gender, Change, and the Arts." Graduate students from all departments and disciplines across UW–Madison participate. This year, UW–Madison's Gender and Women's Studies students are hosting a thread specifically for graduate student research entitled "Queer(ing) Praxis, Expression, and Activism." Full details can be found on the conference website. Submit a proposal by Nov. 1, 2019.  The conference is completely free for all UW–Madison students, and there will be many volunteer opportunities if you'd like to become more involved in the conference in the spring.
Wellness

Mental Health Resources for Grad Students

YOU@WISC. This portal has tools, information, and resources to help you be well. YOU@WISC covers a variety of mental health topics including stress management, self-care and social support, anger management, suicidal thoughts, and mindfulness. It also includes physical, personal, and academic wellness topics. All UW–Madison students can access this resource.
SilverCloud. SilverCloud is a self-guided mental health resource that provides treatment options 24 hours a day, no referral from a mental health or medical provider needed. It includes evidence-based learning modules on anxiety, depression, body image, and stress, designed to help students manage day-to-day stresses and improve resilience.
Group Counseling for Graduate Students. UHS offers support/theme groups for graduate students, including groups for all graduate students, groups for dissertators, groups for graduate women, and groups for graduate students of color. This supportive environment is a great way to share experiences around the challenges of grad school with other grad students.

Get your free flu shot

University Health Services will offer free flu shots to all students. Students can significantly reduce their chance of contracting the flu by getting vaccinated and keep the campus community healthy. Flu shot clinics will be held on the following dates:
  • Monday, Oct. 21, 5 - 9 pm, College Library
  • Tuesday, Nov. 5, 10 am - 2 pm, Memorial Union
For more mental health resources, visit the UHS website on mental health.
The Dean of Students Office provides resources to students struggling with a variety of issues, and can be your go-to spot for assistance as a graduate student. To contact the Dean of Students Office's Graduate Student Assistance Specialist Elaine Goetz-Berman directly, email egoetz2@wisc.edu.
Funding Opportunities
Please note: Some graduate students may be ineligible to hold graduate assistantship appointments. Be sure to check with your graduate program coordinator about your eligibility before applying.

Campus Employment

Fellowships & Grants

The Mellon Foundation, in partnership with the State of Wisconsin, provides funding to the College of Letters & Science for The Mellon-Wisconsin Fellowship. The funds represent an ongoing commitment to support graduate students in the humanities and humanistic social sciences, and this fellowship competition is administered by the Graduate School. To be eligible for this opportunity, applicants should be enrolled in a PhD program located within the College of Letters & Science (students in MFA or DMA programs are not eligible), be engaged in dissertation research in the humanities or humanistic social sciences, have achieved dissertator status by the beginning of the term prior to holding the fellowship (i.e., Fall 2019 for a Spring 2020 fellowship or Spring 2020 for a Summer 2020 fellowship), have not received Mellon-Wisconsin fellowship support in the past, and be in the final stages of dissertation writing. Fellowship recipients are expected to complete their dissertations by the end of the term one year after holding the fellowship.
The Wittig Postdoctoral Fellows Program in Feminist Biology, administered through the Center for Research on Gender & Women (CRGW), offers the opportunity to combine research in a Fellow’s specific area of interest with teaching at UW–Madison. Research can be conducted in any hosting faculty lab at the University; the agreement to host should be specified in the research proposal. During the two-year fellowship, the Fellow will also teach one undergraduate course per semester for the Department of Gender & Women’s Studies (GWS) such as GWS 530, Biology and Gender. GWS will provide mentorship in teaching as well as in feminist theory and methods. The second year of the postdoc is contingent on satisfactory performance in the first year. Eligible applicants are new or recent PhDs in one of the biological sciences, public health or an MD. To apply for this position, submit a cover letter, CV, 5-page research proposal, signed agreement from a hosting lab, and contact information for three references (one of whom is head of the hosting lab) to Elizabeth Morris, emorris@wisc.edu, (use “Postdoctoral application – your name” in the subject line).
Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship
Applications due Feb. 21, 2020
The Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship provides an educational and professional experience to graduate students who have an interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources. This competitive Sea Grant program provides a one-year internship either on Capitol Hill or with a federal agency in the Washington, D.C. area. It is strongly recommended that applicants set up a meeting with the Wisconsin Sea Grant Director James Hurley (via jennifer.hauxwell@aqua.wisc.edu) one month prior to the Feb. 21, 2020 application deadline. More details available at the “education” tab on the Sea Grant webpage.
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