While reminders to vote have been ubiquitous in recent weeks, I would like
While reminders to vote have been ubiquitous in recent weeks, I would like

October 20, 2020

In this issue: Dissertation Writing Camp accepting applications, building a personal brand, and more.
PhD Comic

Tips for Grads: Get Out the Vote

Leadership
By Laura Grotjan, PhD student
While reminders to vote have been ubiquitous in recent weeks, I would like to use this opportunity to reiterate the importance of “our civic duty.” Voting is a cornerstone of American freedom, and it is, quite literally, our political voice. If you do not speak up, someone else will speak for you. Moreover, if you find yourself lamenting that your vote is only one among millions, look to close races such as those in 2000 and 2016 for inspiration. Your vote will be even more statistically meaningful in smaller, local elections. Voter turnout is often quite high for national elections, yet turnout is typically much lower for the election of mayors, council members, and other local offices. Although these elections do not receive the same level of enthusiasm and press coverage, they can result in huge waves on local issues.
Our university supports the message to vote no matter what your beliefs may be. You are encouraged to back the candidate that best reflects your own personal viewpoints. As a side bonus, your vote will help UW-Madison win this year’s Big 10 Voting Challenge. The fourteen Big 10 campuses are in competition for two titles, “Greatest Overall Turnout” and “Greatest Increase in Voting Rates,” based on data from the National Study on Learning, Voting, and Engagement. Information about in-person, on-campus early voting (starting today) and proper identification can be found under the “Announcements” section of this newsletter. For more information about how to vote, please visit vote.wisc.edu.
Here are some key deadlines at a glance:
  • Election day is Nov. 3
  • Absentee ballot deadlines
    • Request: Received by Oct. 29
    • Return by mail: Mail by Oct. 27 to be received by the Nov. 3, 8 pm deadline
  • Early in-person voting
    • Oct. 20 - Oct. 30, 11 am - 6 pm, 7 days a week
  • You can also register and vote on Election Day
 
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

All event times and deadlines are listed in Central Daylight Time (CDT).
Interviewing for Faculty Positions
Wednesday, Oct 21 | 1:30 - 3 pm
Online
Career Development 
Successful interviewing relies heavily on effective preparation. What should you know to prepare for interviewing for faculty positions? What expectations will institutions have of you as an applicant? What type of meetings might occur during the interview process and what “unexpected events” or questions should you expect during an interview? What questions should you have for your interviewers? This workshop will focus on helping you think through the process of getting ready for interviews. A panel of faculty who have served on hiring committees and have recent experience with conducting the interview process remotely, will give tips and information and answer your questions.
The panelists will be (pictured left to right):
Min Chen, Assistant Professor, Forest & Wildlife Ecology
Jonathan Engle, Assistant Professor, Medical Physics and Radiology
Susan Hagness, Professor and Dept. Chair, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Tawandra Rowell-Cunsolo, Assistant Professor, Social Work
Daniel Spaulding, Assistant Professor, Art History
Virtual Trivia Night
Wednesday, Oct 21 | 5 - 7 pm
Online
 | Personal and Interpersonal Effectiveness
Join us for Virtual Trivia Night with Premier Trivia hosted by the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Funding and the Office of Professional Development in the Graduate School. Participants will need a stable internet connection and a laptop or desktop with a web camera and set up audio/captions. Take a break from your studies and spend the evening in friendly competition with fellow graduate students. The winning team will take home a prize! 
How do you engage yourself and others in self-care and wellness practice when you recognize strong emotions? How do you support others in their experiences? And how do you support yourself? In this session you will be encouraged to engage in self-reflection surrounding the impact of experiencing strong emotions in work and life. Ida Balderrama-Trudell, Interim Director of the Office of Inclusion Education, will use personal reflection and storytelling to further conversations about wellness as they relate to grief, gratitude, and grace. She will share and reflect on her experiences in higher education, including her own graduate education and current leadership role at UW-Madison, and answer questions from you.
One of the greatest challenges of job searching – in academia, government, business, or the non-profit world – is simply getting noticed. Among hundreds of applicants vying for each job, how can you stand out from the crowd? One strategy to differentiate yourself in the job market is to cultivate a personal brand. A personal brand is your career persona, the image you present to potential employers in the online world and in real life. In this workshop, you will develop a personal brand and learn how it can be leveraged to showcase your strengths and build relationships. You will also see how to create an online portfolio of content that can help you rise to the top of any hiring list.

For Future Faculty

Preparing for success on the job market and beyond.
Find a full list of events on the For Future Faculty website.
Delta Internship Info Session
Wednesday, Oct 21 | 12:30 - 1:30 pm
Online
How to Make Presentation Slides Clear and Dynamic
Thursday, Oct 22 | noon - 1:30 pm
Online
The Basics of APA Documentation
Friday, Oct 23 | noon - 1:30 pm
Online
Writer's Retreat
Tuesday, Oct 27 | 5 - 9 pm
Online
R Programming Workshops for Researchers: R Reports
Friday, Oct 23 | 10 am - noon
Online | Registration full, Waitlist available 
  • Illustrator 2
  • CSS 2
  • HTML
  • Python Intermediate
Deadlines & Announcements

Enrollment and course deadlines

  • Friday, Oct 30: Deadline for students to add a Fall term course with department permission (after: need academic dean approval)
  • Friday, Oct 30: Deadline for graduate students to request pass/fail or credit/audit options for a Fall term course
  • Friday, Oct 30: Deadline for graduate students to change variable credits (after: need instructor permission & dean approval)

Reminder regarding instruction and research after Thanksgiving break

After Thanksgiving break (Nov 26 - 29), all in-person group instruction, including final exams, will be fully remote (you will receive information from your instructor). Graduate student research activities (e.g. lab rotations and 790, 890, and 990 research) may be permitted to continue in-person after the Thanksgiving break if the advisor/program has received approval from the school/college dean, or if the research activity has been approved through and in compliance with Research Reboot protocols. Graduate students, as well as graduate assistants, should consult their faculty advisors and supervisors for additional guidance. Read the full message from Dean William J. Karpus and Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education Steven Ackerman on guidance regarding instruction after Thanksgiving break.
If you need to be on campus after the break to complete your studies or coursework or perform your thesis research, we strongly recommend you stay in Madison and do not travel. Currently, infection rates at UW–Madison and in Dane County remain lower than most of Wisconsin, where infection rates are among the highest in the country. If you choose to travel and return to Madison, we will ask you to strictly limit your interactions with others for 14 days upon your return.

Apply now for January 2021 Dissertation Writing Camp

Supported by the Graduate School and facilitated by Writing Center senior staff, the Camp is Jan 4 - 8, 2021 and offers an opportunity for dissertators to make significant progress on their dissertations by drafting a substantial amount of writing in a structured, collegial virtual environment. Develop writing strategies, receive feedback, build peer support, and reserve uninterrupted time to focus on your dissertation. Applications are open now and are due by Friday, Nov 6, and require an advisor endorsement. Visit the Graduate School Dissertation Help webpage for detailed descriptions and application information.

In-person, on-campus early voting starts today

City of Madison residents can complete the entire voting process, from registering to casting your ballot, in one visit at your choice of three convenient locations. Tents will be set up at Union South, Memorial Union, and East Campus Mall outside the Student Activity Center from Tuesday, Oct 20 through Friday, Oct 30. Voting will take place 11 am to 6 pm daily. In the event of inclement weather, voting will take place inside Memorial Union; check @BadgersVote on Instagram and Twitter for updates. If an off-campus location is more convenient, check out this list of in-person absentee voting locations. If you have a question about how to vote, call or text the Wisconsin voter helpline, (608) 285-2141. Visit vote.wisc.edu for more info.
Students, check your I.D. You’re ready to vote if you have one of these forms of photo I.D.: a valid Wisconsin driver’s license, Wisconsin state I.D., U.S. passport, U.S. Uniformed Services card, Veterans Affairs I.D., tribal I.D. or Certificate of Naturalization. The address on your I.D. does not matter. If you don’t have one of the above, you can now download and print the UW–Madison voting-compliant I.D.. This is the same I.D. that is provided by the Wiscard Office in Union South, now available virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Visit voterid.wisc.edu. (Need a printer? Make an appointment on campus)
Remember, your Wiscard student I.D. cannot be used for voting.
Wellness

Help prevent the spread of COVID-19

With your help, we can help limit the spread of the disease by following campus, local, state and federal guidelines for COVID-19. This includes maintaining at least six feet of distance from people you don’t live with, wearing face coverings, and getting tested for the virus if you have symptoms or have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19. COVID-19 Testing Information >>

Virtual Care Package

University Health Services’ Badger Virtual Care Package highlights ways to stay connected and healthy. Though it was made with people who are quarantined due to a positive COVID-19 test in mind, the resources listed here can be beneficial for anyone looking for some self-care ideas.

Mental Health Resources for Grad Students

According to the 2019 Healthy Minds Survey, 93% of UW–Madison graduate students do not think any less of a peer who seeks mental health care, and 89% of UW–Madison graduate students who used mental health care found it helpful.
  • Virtual Processing Spaces. This is a recurring online space for current students to connect with each other to cope with isolation, grief/loss, uncertainty about the future, discrimination, and many other things. These are 90 min, drop-in Zoom meetings held Wednesdays from 5:30 - 7 pm.
  • UW Psychiatry COVID-19 Mental Health Resource Guide. This guide offers expert tips, coping strategies, and a variety of tools to suuport the well-being of individuals, parents and families, as well as healthcare providers on the front-lines of the crisis.
  • SAMHSA Disaster Distress Hotline: Call 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746 to connect with a trained crisis counselor. Dedicated to providing immediate crisis counseling for people who are experiencing emotional distress related to any natural or human-caused disaster. This toll-free, multilingual, and confidential crisis support service is available to all residents in the U.S. and its territories.

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 Graduate and Professional 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

Arboretum Research Fellowships
Applications due Feb 1, 2021
The UW–Madison Arboretum is a valuable research site for studies in botany, landscape ecology, horticulture, soil science, wildlife ecology, environmental engineering, social science, and public health. Graduate students are invited to submit research proposals in all areas relevant to the Arboretum mission, including the social sciences.
The Leopold Fellowship (one award) includes full support (academic year and summer stipend, equivalent to a 50% research assistantship, plus research support) for up to three years. Leopold Fellows must be a master’s or PhD candidate at UW–Madison. Arboretum Research Fellowships (3–5 awards per year) can include summer stipend, undergraduate research assistants, materials, analyses, or other research needs for up to $8,000. Research Fellows must be a master’s or PhD candidate at UW–Madison or another Wisconsin college or university.
Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube
powered by emma
Subscribe to our email list.