Category Archives: Undergrad

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Goldwater scholarship nominations

I serve on the National Fellowships Committee which provides support and institutional endorsement for the nation’s most prestigious fellowships and scholarships. We are currently seeking nominees for the Goldwater Scholarship; see eligibility criteria here.

Although typically focused on students in the natural sciences and engineering, the program specifically identifies psychology as one of the sciences for which students are eligible to apply. Nominees must be U.S. citizens, and currently sophomores or juniors. Competitive applicants typically have a 3.8+ GPA, significant research activity, and a desire to pursue a Ph.D. and research-related career.

Please send me the names of your best students that you think might be interested and competitive for this award.

 

Opportunities for your female students

There are two opportunities that might be of interest to your female undergraduates. From Monica Schneider, POL:

I am part of a group of people bringing Elect Her to Miami’s campus on November 11. Elect Her is a training program that trains college women to run for student government on their college or university campuses. Research has shown that women who run for student body elections in college are more likely to run for office as adults. The training addresses the disparity between the high percentage of women in colleges and universities and their low percentage in student governments (and in government more generally).

The daylong Elect Her training teaches college women why more women are needed in student government and provides them with the skills to run successful student body campaigns. Students learn how to create campaign messages and communicate them effectively as well as how to reach out and mobilize voters on campus. They will also meet with student government and an elected official. The organization is geared towards student government elections, but the skills will still be relevant for seniors or those thinking of a political career after Miami.

If you know a student that you believe would benefit from the program, please provide their information in this form. They will receive a personalized invitation to attend the workshop, which is free for students. Research shows that women need to be asked – and asked several times! – before they think they will be good enough to run for any type of office. If you know of an excellent student, please don’t hesitate to contact them directly (in person/by email) in addition to submitting their name.

Thanks for helping me get a great turnout for this exciting event! I’m hoping that everyone I know can invite 4-5 women – especially since I know you know a lot of great students on this campus!

And in case you missed her email, from April:

We are very excited to be starting the second year of the Miami Body Project. The Body Project is a cognitive dissonance-based body-acceptance program designed to help college-age women resist cultural pressures to conform to the thin ideal and reduce their pursuit of unrealistic bodies. The Body Project is well supported by research as an effective prevention program for disordered eating (more details here).

We will be offering multiple Body Project workshops this semester and I could really use your help to get the word out. I created a PowerPoint slide that provides information about upcoming Body Project workshops, and I would be very grateful if you would consider showing this slide in your classes, lab meetings, etc. [See April’s email or contact her for the slide].

Please let me know if you have any questions. Also, please consider “liking” our Facebook page and/or following us on Instagram #MiamiBodyProject.

April is also looking for peer leaders for the Miami Body Project. Peer Leaders will be expected to attend a training (that will take 1.5 days) and run 1-3 Body Project workshops over the course of this semester. The 1.5 day training will take place on Friday, September 29 (9am-5pm) and Saturday, September 30 (9am-1pm). Please have students contact April by Monday, September 25.

 

CTE seminar calendar posted

The Center for Teaching Excellence has not only retained its name for two years in a row now, but they have updated their calendar to reflect offerings for the CTE as well as some other partners. The calendar can be found here, and includes sessions on funding opportunities, service learning, study abroad, diversity, the new Title IX reporting requirements, and more; specialized topics such as Chinese names, Peer review of writing, or Teaching large classes; and systems and software such as Qualtrics.

I would encourage you all to check it out and think each of you might find something to contribute to your professional development.

Two requests from CAS and Admissions

From Ted Peters, Asst. Dean in CAS, regarding some need for faculty to help with recruitment efforts. First, they are looking for instructors willing to allow prospective students to attend a class. If you might consider allowing an occasional guest in your class, please enter it directly in the Google Sheet here. They are also looking for faculty willing to sit on panels during recruitment days; he writes:

The Office of Admissions is seeking one faculty representatives from each academic division to serve on panels for the following events this fall semester. Participants will be asked to respond to questions asked by students and/or admissions staff; there is nothing faculty need to prepare beforehand. Admissions will likely ask panelists to address two questions: 1) what’s special/unique about Miami?; and 2) What advice do you have for prospective students about being successful in this environment?

  • Sat. 9/9 @ 10:45AM (Admission Visit Center – Shriver; access via ground level in the rear)
    • Day of Champions: multi-cultural recruitment event.  Please arrive no later than 10:45AM; will take the stage at 11:00AMand finish by 12:00PM
  • Fri. 10/6 @ 9:15AM (Wilks Theater- Armstrong Ctr)
    • Red Carpet Day: high ability student recruitment.  Please arrive no later than 9:15AM; will take the stage at 9:30AM and finish by 10:15AM.
  • Sat. 10/7 @ 9:15AM (FSB 1000)
    • Admission Preview Day: first-year recruitment event.  Please arrive no later than 9:15AM; will take the stage at 9:30AM and finish by 10:15AM
  • Fri. 10/20 @ 9:15AM (Wilks Theater- Armstrong Ctr)
    • Red Carpet Day: high ability student recruitment.  Please arrive no later than 9:15AM; will take the stage at 9:30AM and finish by 10:15AM.
  • Sat. 11/4 @ 9:15AM (FSB 1000)
    • Admission Preview Day: first-year recruitment event.  Please arrive no later than 9:15AM; will take the stage at 9:30AM and finish by 10:15AM
  • Sat. 11/11 @ 9:15AM (FSB 1000)
    • Admission Preview Day- first-year recruitment event.  Please arrive no later than 9:15AM; will take the stage at 9:30AM and finish by 10:15AM

Please let Ted know directly if you are able to help out, have any questions, or have trouble accessing the form. These are some important and impactful recruitment efforts to continue to attract a strong and diverse incoming class.

New Art Therapy minor

As the title suggests. Advise interested undergraduates accordingly:

This minor is for students interested in learning more about the field of art therapy; in some cases the minor may prepare students to apply to art therapy graduate programs. Art therapists can work in any setting that employs helping professions, for example: hospitals, schools, correctional facilities, domestic violence shelters, geriatric facilities, psychiatric facilities, residential facilities, day programs for developmental disabilities and chronic mental illness, etc. Art therapy uses the art process and the therapeutic relationship between the client and art therapist to process trauma, enhance self-esteem, improve relational abilities, decrease anxiety/depression, and increase an overall enhanced sense of well-being

Important info concerning your undergrad RAs

As you sign up your RAs for this year, please be aware that ALL undergraduates working in your lab or with you on other special projects should be signed up for *77 independent study credit. This should match their standing (e.g. 377 for a junior) and be in appropriate number according to the nature of the experience; generally 1 cr. = 3 or 4 hrs/wk averaged over the semester. You must use the .R modifier if it is a research assistant. This is critical for the student to earn their experiential learning MP designation and for us to be able to properly track students for reporting, etc. Students who are not registered for credit will not be included during evaluations of faculty research mentoring. If you have questions about this or situations where you think students should not be credit-bearing, please let me know.

 

OARS Research Fair

In response to requests from new and continuing faculty for more information about the research support services available here at Miami, OARS will sponsor a research fair on Tuesday, September 12 from 10:00am to 2:00pm in the Heritage Room in Shriver Center. No registration required. Modeled after Miami’s annual benefits fair, the research fair will offer resources related to a range of services, including:

  • Internal funding for research
  • Collaborative research opportunities
  • Research centers
  • Laboratory services
  • Program evaluation services
  • Statistical services
  • Writing support services
  • Proposal development assistance
  • Research ethics and integrity support
  • Undergraduate research support
  • Crowdfunding

Who are your interesting undergrads?

Jason Barone is now seeking students for CAS Student Spotlight interviews. These are a great way to advertise the work we do through the students we involve, and a way to identify students for further programs, nominations, etc. He writes:

As always, I’m looking for a good variety of students in terms of majors, backgrounds, accomplishments, and so on. Please provide me with some names and majors — and ask your department faculty for some suggestions as well. I’ll do my best to contact the students for face-to-face interviews this fall.

This year, in order to make these profiles more dynamic and interesting, one new feature I hope to add to the written spotlights is a short video portion, in which students talk about a specific accomplishment or activity at Miami — study abroad, research, internship, etc. This will increase their potential use across the web and our social media platforms.

Feel free to reply via either email or the online submission form I’ve set up for this process