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February 3, 2009 Headlines:
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Upcoming Events for Graduate Students:
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This Week:
Next Week:
Late February and March:
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TGS Announces Presidential Fellowship Awardees 2009-2011
The Graduate School is pleased to announce the following recipients of the Presidential Fellowship, the most prestigious fellowship awarded by Northwestern University
Recipients of the Presidential Fellowship become part of Northwestern University's Society of Fellows, which enables stellar students from across the University to have interdisciplinary interactions with peers from a range of fields. This year's recipients are: Katherine Bowers (Slavic Languages & Literatures); Adrian Curtin (Theatre & Drama); Bohan Fang (Mathematics); Owen Loh (Mechanical Engineering); Katelyn Mesler (Religion); Mark Sheffield (Neuroscience); Jason Spruell (Chemistry); and Amanda Uliaszek (Psychology).
Please see the Presidential Fellows Web site for additional information about this unique opportunity.
Prepare for taxes and FAFSA
It's time to start thinking about filing your federal and state (IL) tax returns!
Didn’t receive your W-2 from NU yet? If you were paid as a graduate or research assistant during the 2008 calendar year, you should have received your W-2 from the Payroll Office by January 31st. Please direct all W-2 questions to the Payroll Office (847) 491-7362. Note: you won’t receive a W-2 if your funding was solely from a fellowship or traineeship; though you will receive one if you requested a dollar amount to be withheld.
International students who have received payments for fellowships/scholarships should receive a 1042-S from Payroll by March 15th.
You must report on your federal and state tax returns any fellowship/traineeship stipend (after you make deductions for books, supplies and required fees) which you received during the 2008 calendar year. The instruction booklets for each federal return provide information on how and where to report any fellowship funds. W-2s issued by Northwestern do not reflect your fellowship stipend. If you received a Summer 2008 fellowship, don’t forget to report it. For tax information, please review IRS Publication 970 – Tax Benefits for Education and the TGS Financial Aid Web site. Don't forget to retain copies of your Federal and state tax returns!
Once you have filed your tax return, U.S. citizens/permanent residents are advised to complete a 2009/2010 FAFSA if there is any possibility that you may be appointed as a graduate assistant or if you wish to apply for federal loans during the 2009-2010 academic year.
Were you a GA in Fall Quarter?
TGS Goes Paperless with Graduate Assistantship Quarterly Report of Duties
If you were a graduate assistant in Fall Quarter, you will be notified either via bulk email or by your department once your Fall Quarter Report of Duties is available through the Student Center on CAESAR. You will complete the report and it will be routed to your instructor (if appropriate) and then to your home department for approval.
We hope that these reports will prove to be as successful as the paperless GA contracts. Detailed instructions will be provided once the Fall reports are ready. GAs are required to complete a report for each quarter of appointment.
If you have concerns or questions, please contact Mary MacLean, Graduate Assistantship Coordinator, at marymac@northwestern.edu or by phone at 847.491.8540.
Mary Ann Mason, Author of “Mothers on the Fast Track: How a New Generation Can Balance Family and Careers” To Give Talk at Northwestern University
On Friday, February 13, Dr. Mary Ann Mason will visit the Evanston campus to present "Do Babies Matter in Academia?”
Dr. Mason’s recent work focuses on working families and the issues faced by professional women in law, medicine, science and the academic world. During her tenure as Dean of the Graduate Division at UC Berkeley from 2000 – 2007, Dr. Mason championed diversity in the graduate student population, promoted equity for student parents, and pioneered measures to enhance the career/life balance for faculty. Dr. Mason has authored a number of books and articles, including a message for President Obama about the needs of university students who wish to start families.
Dr. Mason’s talk will be on Friday, February 13 at 5:30 PM in Hardin Hall, Rebecca Crown Center, 633 Clark Street, Evanston campus. For additional information and to register for the event, please see our Web site.
Call for 2008/09 Ver Steeg Faculty and Staff Award Nominations
Has your advisor gone above and beyond the call of duty, not only academically but in making you feel a welcome member of the Northwestern community? Has your graduate program assistant or other staff member ever saved you from academic disaster?
Do you wish there was a way to recognize someone’s dedication to graduate students? We want you to choose your department’s Ver Steeg Faculty and Staff Award nominees. The Award offers graduate students in TGS an opportunity to recognize outstanding Northwestern faculty and staff for their contributions to graduate education and service in support of graduate students. TGS is now accepting nominations from graduate students for the 2008/09 Clarence L. Ver Steeg Graduate Faculty and Staff Awards. Each year, the graduate students in each TGS academic program may nominate one faculty member and one staff member per department or program. Nominations are due by 12:00 noon on Friday, February 13, 2009. For more information see the Ver Steeg Awards section of our Web site.
NU Directions Professional Development Events Planned for Winter Quarter
In addition Mary Ann Mason’s talk, several professional development events for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are scheduled for Winter Quarter.
On February 17, a panel of faculty will discuss balancing family and academic life at a TGS Town Hall, “Parenting in the Academy.” The Preparing Future Faculty site visit to Northeastern Illinois University on February 18 will provide an opportunity to learn about different types of academic institutions and the search and screen process. Alison Miller, dissertation coach, will visit campus on Tuesday March 3 to give a dissertation workshop, “Finish Your Dissertation or Thesis Once and For All: A Workshop for Graduate Students”.
For additional information, please see the Events section below, or visit the NU Directions Web site.
Old Books and E-Books
Northwestern University Center for Historical Studies (CHS) and the Northwestern University Library cordially invite you to a lecture on The History of the Book, by Robert Darton (Harvard University).
The new world of information seems to have left the old world of rare books far behind. But anyone who has ventured into rare book rooms knows better than to subscribe to the assumption of undergraduates that all information is online, and anyone who has worked in archives knows that most information hasn’t even made it into books. At the same time, no one would deny the enormous advantages offered by the Internet. How can the new and the old means of access to knowledge be combined? An attempt to answer that question takes the form of a literary tour de France on the eve of the French Revolution. The message at the finish line: far from being enemies, old books and e-books should be allies, and their alliance can point the way toward modes of scholarly communication that will make the most of the new information technology.
- The History of the Book, by Robert Darton
Monday, March 2 at 4:30 p.m.
Hardin Hall (Rebecca Crown Center, 633 Clark St., Evanston campus)
Reception to follow
To learn more about Robert Darnton, see http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2007/05.24/99-library.html
For more information on the lecture, consult the Center for Historical Studies Web site, e-mail chs@northwestern.edu or phone CHS at 847-467-0885.
Participate in Applied Research Day!
Applied Research Day (ARD) returns to the Northwestern University Technological Institute in Evanston on February 19, 2009.
Organized by McCormick, Weinberg, Kellogg, and Medill students from the entrepreneurial and innovation club InNUvation, the event will focus on the importance of translational research. More specifically, it seeks to combine the technical expertise of scientific researchers with the entrepreneurial knowledge of aspiring businessmen. For scientific researchers, this is a unique opportunity to learn to present to a non-technical audience and to consider the broader context of taking research beyond the lab bench. For business students, it provides an opportunity to collaborate with actual researchers to create novel business ventures.
Cash prizes will be awarded to outstanding poster presenters, and there will be opportunities to meet with venture capitalists. This event provides an opportunity to create collaborations for the InNUvation Venture Challenge later in the spring, where substantial cash prizes provide funding to bring ideas to market. Please consider presenting posters at Applied Research Day. Research that has already been publicly disclosed is appropriate, as is new research. Registration is now available at http://ard.innuvation.org/
One Book One Northwestern Keynote Address: David Quammen
Learn fascinating details about the life of Charles Darwin from the author of this year's selected book "The Reluctant Mr. Darwin: An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin and the Making of His Theory of Evolution"
David Quammen is an award-winning nature and science writer who is one of the current masters of conveying information about biodiversity, the environment, and evolution to the general public. Quammen is Wallace Stegner Chair in the Department of History and Philosophy at Montana State University.
- "Darwin Against Himself" Caution versus Honesty in the Life of a Reluctant Revolutionary"
Thursday, February 5 at 7:00 PM
Ryan Family Auditorium (2145 Sheridan Road, ) Evanston Campus
Using as background his portrait of Darwin in "The Reluctant Mr. Darwin," Quammen will explore the way these two character traits -- his tendency toward caution and his extraordinary intellectual honesty -- balanced against each other to affect the way he lived his professional (and personal) life, the way he conceived and developed his evolutionary theory, and the peculiar 21-year delay that intervened before he published that theory in The Origin of Species. The lecture is co-sponsored by the Office of the President, the Interdisciplinary Committee on Evolutionary Processes, and the Harris Lecture Fund, and is open to the public as well as Northwestern faculty, students, and staff.
The first 100 students in attendance receive a free flash drive; all students in attendance are eligible to enter a raffle for a free IPOD shuffle to be given away. Please see the One Book One Northwestern Web site for more details.
Winter Quarter Library Workshops
Let the University Library help with your next research project
The University Library offers quarterly workshops designed to help you take advantage of the wealth of electronic and other resources available for scholars. Taking one of these workshops could save you time and lead you to valuable sources you may have otherwise been unaware of. To register for Winter Quarter workshops on Endnote, Newspaper Sources, Statistical Sources, and other topics, go to http://www.library.northwestern.edu/reference/workshops/
Celebrate Darwin’s 200th Birthday
On Darwin Day, February 12, One Book One Northwestern will be celebrating Darwin’s 200th Birthday with an Evolution-themed musical performance at 11:30am in McCormick Auditorium at the Norris Center.
Birthday cake will be served. One Book One Northwestern is a series of events presented by scholars with national and international reputations in the study of Charles Darwin, the science of evolution, and the history and philosophy of science. The goal of the lecture series is to educate the public and the university community about the science of evolution and the continued impact of Charles Darwin's research on modern society. Please see the One Book One Northwestern Web site for more details.
Also, are you an artist, scientist, or programmer with an interest in Evolution or Darwin? Enter your original work in our Darwin Day exhibit. Download the Call for Entries and submit it for consideration. Winners will receive cash prizes and be part of the exhibit on display in the Norris University Center from February 12-17. The deadline for submissions is 11:59pm on February 6th.
Events for Graduate Students in February and March
The Graduate School partners with many organizations inside and outside of Northwestern to provide valuable academic and social opportunities for graduate students. Click on any event name to view more information. Coming up in February:
Northwestern Graduate Student Quilting Guild Meeting
Date: Wednesdays, February 4 and 18, 2009
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Ryan Hall (Room 1004), 2190 Campus Drive, Evanston Campus
We are a quilting guild open to all graduate student quilters or aspiring quilters. Students of all abilities are welcome. We will be holding meetings on Wednesday February 4th and Wednesday February 18th at 7 pm in 1004 Ryan Hall. Food and drinks will be provided. Please contact s-standridge@northwestern.edu or visit the Quilting Guild Web site for more information.
Africa In Motion: Global Health, Markets and Human Rights
Date: Friday, February 6 and Saturday, February 7, 2009
Time: 9:00am – 4:45pm each day
Location: Friday – Hardin Hall (Rebecca Crown Center, 633 Clark Street, Evanston Campus); Saturday – Program of African Studies (620 Library Place, Evanston Campus)
A conference in celebration of The Program of African Studies at Northwestern University’s 60th anniversary and co-organized with the Kellogg African Business Association. This interdisciplinary two-day conference focuses on some of the key issues in African Studies today while reflecting on each topic as an issue that originated from a moment in history and that will continue to develop in different directions in the future. The conference will involve established and up-and-coming scholars, graduate and undergraduate students from all disciplines. Participants will be drawn from the humanities as well as from the law and business sectors.
Friday
- 9:00-10:30 African Studies: The Diaspora and Brain Drain
- 10:45-12:15 Human Rights and Violence
- 1:20-2:50 International and Sino-African Relations
- 3:15-4:45 Entrepreneurship and African Capital Markets
Saturday
- 9:00-10:30 Global Health and NU in Africa
- 10:45-12:15 Public Policy in Africa
- 1:20-2:50 Student Involvement in Africa
- 3:15-4:45 Closing Lecture with Dan Volman ‘Obama, AFRICOM, and U.S. Military Policy Toward Africa’
TGS Night Out
Date: Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Time: 7:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: Fire House Grill, 750 Chicago Avenue, Evanston, IL 60202
Registration is now closed for TGS Night Out. Three hundred students have been selected to enjoy Winter Quarter 2009 "TGS Night Out" at the Fire House Grill February 10, 2009. This gathering provides an opportunity for students to get outside the lab and library, have a drink and a bite to eat with colleagues from across campus.
American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Meeting
Date: Thursday, February 12 through Monday, February 16, 2009
Location: 151 East Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60601 (Hyatt Regency Hotel)
More Information: http://www.aaas.org/meetings/2009/
Among the many offerings of the AAAS annual meeting are a wide array of career development workshops for those in science, technology, and engineering, which are free and open to the public. For a list of the many career development workshops, go to the Program Planner to browse for the list of sessions. Registration is open at: http://www.aaas.org/meetings/2009/registration/
Mary Ann Mason: “Do Babies Matter in Academia?”
Date: Friday, February 13, 2009
Time: 5:30pm – 6:30pm
Location: Hardin Hall (Rebecca Crown Center, 633 Clark Street, Evanston Campus)
Mary Ann Mason, PhD, author of "Mothers on the Fast Track" and "The Equality Trap", will discuss the career paths of those who enter fast-track professions of academia, law, medicine and business, why and when women leave the fast track, and what allows some to succeed. For additional information and to register for this event, please visit the NU Directions Professional Development Web site.
Film Premiere: 'Herskovits At The Heart of Blackness'
Date: Friday, February 13, 2009
Time: 8:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: Block Cinema Theatre, 40 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston Campus
Film premiere of 'Herskovits at the Heart of Blackness' with Llewellyn Smith, Producer/Director; Vincent Brown, Producer/Director of Research; Christine Herbes-Sommers, Executive Producer. For more information, contact Kristine Barker at 847-491-7323 or african-studies@northwestern.edu.
A New Kind of Scientist: Professional Master's Education and U.S. Competitiveness
Date: Saturday, February 14, 2009
Time: 8:30am - 11:30am
Location: 151 East Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60601 (Hyatt Regency Hotel), at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
More Information: http://www.aaas.org/meetings/2009/
In spite of its history of scientific and industrial achievements over recent generations, America is gripped by concerns about its ability to remain at the technological and economic forefront. High profile studies, debates and legislation scream “Innovate or abdicate!” Given the key role of human talent in successes past and future, educational programs must be central to any discussion of innovation. But often lost amid talk of K-12, collegiate baccalaureate, and doctoral education is the master’s degree.
The master’s has been undervalued in many scientific disciplines, treated as a “consolation prize,” unlike in many other disciplines, such as business and engineering, in which master’s degrees are more widely respected. In the mid 1990s, a critical mass of motivated individuals and organizations took initial steps to add a new kind of training, the professional science master’s (PSM) degree, to the suite of educational tools. The PSM is uniquely driven by demand from students who seek advanced scientific training but who have little interest in academic careers and exhaustive, doctoral-level focus. It is similarly fueled by demand from industry for talented individuals who integrate technical fluency and skills with sophisticated business, communications and interpersonal skills. This session will address the evolution of the PSM on the American educational landscape. Discussions will focus on what PSM has been, what it might become, and the forces shaping it throughout.
John Fredrick Walker book signing and lecture
Date: Monday, February 16, 2009
Time: 4:00pm - 6:00pm
Location: 620 Library Place, Evanston Campus
John Frederick Walker will give a lecture related to his most recent book, "Ivory's Ghosts: The White Gold of History and the Fate of Elephants," followed by a book signing. For more information, contact Kate Dargis at 847-491-7323 or african-studies@northwestern.edu.
TGS Town Hall, “Parenting in the Academy”
Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Time: 6:30pm - 8:00pm
Location: Hardin Hall, 633 Clark Street (Evanston Campus)
The Graduate School hosts quarterly evening forums, dubbed TGS Town Halls, devoted to issues facing higher education in general and Northwestern students in particular. The topic of the upcoming Town Hall will be “Parenting in the Academy.” Dean Wachtel, along with a panel of Northwestern University faculty, will be discussing their own experiences of balancing family and work and will respond to students’ questions and concerns on this topic.
Preparing Future Faculty Site Visit and Colloquium
Date: Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Time: 12:30pm - 3:45pm
Location: Northeastern Illinois University
The PFF colloquia are organized by TGS in cooperation with Chicago universities and colleges to offer Northwestern graduate students and postdoctoral fellows the chance to learn about different types of academic institutions. This year's colloquium will be held at Northeastern Illinois University and will include faculty panels, opportunities to meet individual faculty, and a lunch. For additional information and to register for this event, visit the NU Directions Professional Development Web site.
Survival Skills for Graduate Students and Junior Faculty Women
Date: Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Time: 12:00pm to 1:00pm
Location: Women’s Center, 2000 Sheridan Road, Evanston Campus
A panel of three prominent NU female professors will discuss tips on how to get through graduate school and how to launch a successful academic career. This year’s panelists are: Caroline Bledsoe (Professor, WCAS Anthropology), Suzan van der Lee (Associate Professor, WCAS Earth & Planetary Sciences), and Teri Odom (Associate Professor, WCAS Chemistry).
Performance by Muntu Dance Theater of Chicago
Date: Friday, February 27, 2009
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Location: Norris University Center (McCormick Auditorium), 1999 Campus Drive, Evanston Campus
Dance performance by Chicago dance troop, the Muntu Dance Theater of Chicago. For more information, contact Kristine Barker at 847-491-7323 or african-studies@northwestern.edu.
Alison Miller, Ph.D.: “Finish Your Dissertation or Thesis Once and For All”
Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Time: 5:30pm - 8:00pm
Location: Norris University Center (McCormick Auditorium), 1999 Campus Drive, Evanston Campus
In this workshop, graduate students will learn to create a sound, structured approach to completing their dissertation, thesis or other important graduate milestone. In addition, students will learn about common cognitive, emotional, and behavior pitfalls that interfere with their progress in graduate school. Strategies to overcome perfectionism, increase motivation, learning, and productivity, and work effectively with faculty are discussed. This workshop is for students at any phase of earning a master’s or doctoral degree. To register and for additional information, visit http://www.tgs.northwestern.edu/research/nudirections/Calendar/dissertation/
Restaurant Club Visits Addis Ababa
Date: Friday, March 6, 2009
Time: 6:30pm
Location: Addis Ababa, 1322 Chicago Ave, Evanston, IL 60201
More information: Sign up at studentassociations.gsad.northwestern.edu/rc. Sign up closes Feb 20, 2008
To take advantage of Northwestern University's diverse student population and learn about people's culture and backgrounds, the Restaurant Club brings graduate students together every few months during the first weekend to learn about a specific culture and share a paid meal with cuisine from that culture. Each meal is led by a student who initiates conversation with information about the culture and in this relaxed setting, not only can students of different disciplines meet, interact, and form relationships, but they also have the opportunity to get out of the lab and explore Chicago's many neighborhoods. Sign up at studentassociations.gsad.northwestern.edu/rc. Sign up closes Feb 20, 2008.
Graduate Student Conference: Dress, Popular Culture and Social Action in Africa
Date: March 13 - 14, 2009
Time: 9:00am - 5:00pm
Location: 620 Library Place, Evanston Campus
How does dress in particular and popular culture in general constitute and inspire social action? The dressed body readily becomes a flash point of conflicting values, fueling contests in historical encounters, in interactions across class, between genders and generations, and in recent global cultural, and economic exchanges. Popular culture as mass circulations of expressive forms rising from day-to-day discourse and action becomes the real and imagined reflections of the complicity and contestation, the desire and discontent, of power and it machinations.
This interdisciplinary conference focuses on the dynamic range of micro and macro social action and how it is generated, sustained, and may culminate into transnational social movements that are enlivened by dress and popular culture. This two-day event will involve established and up-and-coming scholars (graduate students) in presentations, visual, and performance events. For more information, contact Kristine Barker at 847-491-7323 or african-studies@northwestern.edu.
Storytellers Festival
Date: Saturday, March 14, 2009
Time: 12:00pm - 2:00pm
Location: University Library Ver Steeg Faculty Lounge (Third Floor, South Tower) 1970 Campus Drive, Evanston Campus
A day of storytelling and workshops featuring two professional storytellers, Onawumi Moss, Joni Jones and Mshai Mwangola. Open to the public. Performance at 8:00pm at Blackbox Theater, Annie May Swift Hall. For more information, contact Kristine Barker at 847-491-7323 or african-studies@northwestern.edu.
University Events
NU's Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), Searle Center for Teaching Excellence and University Career Services all offer valuable programming to the graduate student population.
Please see the following links for a full list of events:
Other Graduate Student Resources
In addition to the University offices mentioned above, there are also units dedicated, at least in part, to graduate student quality of life and professional development. For more information, please visit the following links:
Student Services Staff
The Graduate School's Student Services staff is here to help with any questions or concerns.
- Lesley Perry, Director of Student Services, l-perry2@northwestern.edu
- Stephen Scott, Assistant Director of Student Services, sms@northwestern.edu
- Kate Veraldi, Coordinator of Student Services, k-veraldi@northwestern.edu
- Antoaneta Condurat, Counselor Student Services, a-condurat@northwestern.edu
- Mike Wachowski, Data Specialist, m-wachowski@northwestern.edu
Last updated: Feb 3 2009 8:32PM
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