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It starts with myself:From #shutdownstem to #ScholarStrike, academia is hearing the call that we need to ensure equity and equality in our community. As stated by CALS Dean Burgess in his memo to students “I have zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind, at any time and in any place. We will have 100% fairness, equity, and inclusion.” ( June 5, 2020 Email to Student Body, "Enough is Enough")
Saying we will be inclusive is simply not enough; we must demonstrate inclusion. How to create a space where everyone feels welcome to freely participate is challenging. This will be a space where individuals will disagree and mindsets will be challenged. Many of us (including myself) tend to avoid conflict because it makes us uncomfortable, and yet, conflict has many benefits. It truly starts with “listening with the intent to understand rather than to reply”.
Over the summer I have committed time each week to educating myself on diversity and inclusion through readings (e.g. see here) and trainings (e.g. RII Achieving Racial Equity in Research), some of which were provided by students in our college (greatly appreciated). Some of you will feel this is simply not enough and I appreciate that feedback either directly ( limesank@arizona.edu) or anonymously ( Grad Grapevine). All of your voices are valued. I remain committed to listening, learning, and finding a way to understand everyone’s perspectives. My sincere hope is many of you will join me on this journey as we find innovative solutions to the challenges of our time.
--Kirsten Your Assistant Dean for Graduate Education
limesank@arizona.edu
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Hello Graduate Students & Welcome to the CALS Career Center!
We say welcome as we are virtually offering all services through the Career Center this semester. The role of the CALS Career Center is to offer broad support to all students in CALS as they consider their post-degree careers. Our focus is to help you refine your personal narrative and identify career paths that align with your interest and needs. The workshops we offer help students focus on developing the CALS Career Competencies and entrepreneurial mindset encompassing transferable skills that will be utilized in whatever career you pursue.
The CALS Career Center is typically housed in the Forbes Building on the 2nd level on the north end of the lobby. Currently the Career Center has two staff, Bridget Wade Radcliff who is the Assistant Director and Valeria Martinez who is the Career Coordinator. Dr. Matt Mars is the Director of the Career Center. We offer several workshops each semester suitable for students at all levels. These include things like resume writing, creating effective LinkedIn profiles, networking, preparing for and initiating a career search, and many other topics related to career development.
If you have been in the College for the last few years you may have felt that the services of the Career Center were directed to undergraduate students and that the services were not applicable or available to you as a graduate student. We want to let you know that the CALS Career Center is available to ALL students. Bridget Wade Radcliff (bewrad@arizona.edu) is the primary contact for graduate students as she has been working with graduate students for many years and can offer specific guidance for graduate students as they navigate career decisions. She is available for appointments and you can email her directly to schedule. We also encourage you to attend the many workshops that are offered. All of the topics are appropriate for graduate students and offer you an opportunity to connect with employers and better prepare for the career search. We will also partner with the Graduate Center to offer workshops specifically for graduate students. If you have particular topics you would like to see in a workshop, please email Bridget and let her know.
The Career Center also offers a CALS-specific career fair. In the past this has been quite undergraduate focused and we are actively seeking employers that are also looking for graduate students. We encourage you to participate in the Fall 2020 Virtual Career Fair on Tuesday, September 22 from 1pm-6pm. You may register to attend via Handshake. Handshake is the university tool for employers to recruit and connect with prospective interns and full-time employees. It is an international platform and the employers utilizing it are diverse - it is an important tool for you to include in your career search, especially if you do not want to go into academia.
You can connect with the CALS Career Center via Instagram @uarizona.cals.careers and on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/uarizonacals. We offer career tips, articles, student spotlights, and other career preparation. On LinkedIn you can also connect yourself with the College page and this allows you to see the network of others affiliated with the College. This is a great way to begin to build your network We look forward to working with you this semester!
We look forward to working with you this semester!
The CALS Career Center Team- Matt Mars
- Bridget Wade Radcliff
- Valeria Martinez
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Day Care, Parental Leave, Sick Child Care
Balancing responsibilities associated with graduate school with the responsibilities of being a parent can be challenging. UArizona has identified this area as a critical need in the strategic plan indicating change is on the horizon. In the meantime, there are a few resources available:
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A debt of gratitude to the GTAs who completed Boot Camp!
Over 60 CALS-affiliated graduate students (listed below) completed the Office of Digital Learning’s GTA Boot Camp I this past summer. This 5-week training focused on online course design, writing strong learning objectives (and why that is important), creating engaging course activities, working with technology and various tech tools, student support and accessibility in online courses, and best practices in online course design. These students then assisted faculty in their Units in preparing their courses for the Fall semester. On behalf of all CALS faculty, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
ACBS
- Sungman Cho, Anusha Harishankar, Lauren Ochoa
AREC
- Shujie "Helen" Breither, Yuansen Li, Laura McCann, Markanna Moore, Emil Kee-Tui, Xiaolin Zhou
BE
- Edwin Baldwin, Justin Chung, Truman Combs, Lia Crocker, Sam Farrow, Qianwen Luo, Wenting Lu, Hadiqa Maqsood, Jorge Ramos, KC Shasteen, Alanna Zubler
Ento/EIS
- Nate Allen, Davide Bergamaschi, Maureen Brophy, Katherine Busby, Xingsen Chen, Holly Cop, Beth Ann Hansen, Rebecca Howes, Raine Ikagawa, Bethany Obernesser, Brendan Riske
ENVS- Roya Aminitabrizi, Rebecca Bernat, Kendra Bonsey, Nick Buchanan, Dawson Fairbank, Shelby Hogland, Michael Pohlmann, Cyrus Alder Smith
FCS- Sei Kim, Alexandria Pech, Zhenqiang Zhao
NSC
- Victoria Bland, Sara Blomquist, Jamie Elliott, Kristin Morrill, Eliza Short
PLS
- Tania Chakraborty, Emma Jong, Marta Kozlowska, David Welsh
SNRE- Allie Burnett, Kira Hefty, Deandra Jones, Alejandro Ganesh Marin Mendez, Marina Morandin, Natalie Payne, Matt Roby, Karla Vargas, Stuart Wells, Hejie Xu
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Have a suggestion for the next Cause for Applause?
See someone deserving of recognition? Just because we are socially distancing, doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate achievements. Send your suggestions to Kirsten Limesand (limesank@arizona.edu) by the last Tuesday of each month.
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Mental Health Self-Care
During the Fall 2019 semester, I met with individuals from all CALS affiliated graduate programs to listen to the concerns of graduate students. At the end of the semester, I created a list of topics that were discussed and distributed via the graduate student listserv. Each Master the Month messenger will include an update from one of these topics.
Mental health of graduate students has been a frequent topic of higher education communications and I heard many compelling stories from students last year. I thank those that had the courage and trust to confide in me. One very tangible suggestion was training on mental health self-care. I am pleased to announce, in collaboration with the Graduate Center, the Fall Graduate Student Wellness event will focus on the mental health of graduate students and self-care strategies to implement. This event is scheduled for 9/15 at 4pm with details to be distributed through the GPSC listserv on 9/1. I hope to see many of you at this event. If there is interest, we are looking to host another event with expanded topics next Spring.
Wildcats R.I.S.E.
I’d also like to bring your attention to a new program called Wildcats R.I.S.E. (Resilience in Stressful Events).
Wildcats R.I.S.E. is a safe place that brings UArizona students together to sort it all out, whatever it is. There are free group and individual sessions that offer UA students a chance to connect and talk with peers who are dealing with similar stressors.
Sign up for a session or learn more
The Art of Thriving as a Grad Student
The last program I would like to highlight is The Art of Thriving as a Grad Student sponsored by Counseling & Psych Services (CAPS). These sessions are open to UArizona grad students and partners, housemates, family & friends they invite.
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Happening This Month
Campus Re-entrySee Me Serene app
All sessions are free and will be held via Zoom on the 1st Wednesday of each month. The Zoom meeting link is the same for all sessions in the series, and it is provided after you complete the registration form. You are welcome to sign up for any number of the workshops
The Society for Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER)
is hosting a series of virtual lectures on the topic of racial justice. This will be tailored for a biologist audience. The title is "A call to action: Striving for racial justice in academic biology." They have invited speakers who are primarily people of color to discuss issues of race, equity, diversity, and inclusion to lead discussions or seminars virtually on Zoom. Please see this PDF flyer for the full list of speakers, titles, and dates/times.
will begin September 1, 2020. This 6-week, fully online, participatory workshop series addresses career pathways within academia and higher education, strategies for creating materials for faculty positions, and preparing for the academic interview and job talk. The series will conclude with an application materials review session in which attendees receive feedback on materials drafted throughout the series. The series is free to attend and will take place on Zoom. A list of the workshop topics and dates is provided below and in this PDF. Full descriptions for each session and the registration link can be found online at: https://oia.arizona.edu/content/1029. Materials from the series will be available online after the series concludes.
is here to help your grad students pursue external funding opportunities. First, if you are not signed up, please sign up for our GradFunding Newsletter for monthly funding opportunities. We have a series of fall Workshops and Presentations on funding, including, but not limited to:
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Information Sessions
- Tips to Address the New NSF GRFP Priorities
- DAAD Information Session (for research/study in Germany)
- Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Information Session
- We also have fall Application Support Programs for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP) and the DAAD Research Award (for research in Germany).
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