Monthly Archives: September 2017

Save the date: CAS recognition football game

From the Dean’s office, a night to support Miami athletics in appreciation of our achievements:

The first one was such a hit that our friends in Intercollegiate Athletics have invited us back for more! We’re now planning the second annual “CAS Football Game,” to be held on Senior Night (the last home game of the year), Wednesday, November 15 against Eastern Michigan; kickoff will be at either 7:00 or 8:00pm.

Note that this is separate from the Faculty & Staff Appreciation Day for the game against Buffalo on October 15, for which you can purchase tickets at special prices, starting at just $10, by using promo code FACSTAFF17.

Career development/internship workshop for students

From the Dean’s office, sponsoring an in-person career workshop specifically for liberal arts majors:

This October CAS is partnering with Vocatio to help students identify and hopefully land great internship or job opportunities. Vocatio’s Career Hacks program will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7-9 p.m. for three weeks in October, culminating in a showcase to employers. Students will have an opportunity to find jobs that best fit them, increase their career-readiness, work one-on-one with potential employers, and land an internship or a job. This video can give you more of a feel for the program. Students who participated last year found it very helpful and many got internship/job offers, so please make your students award of this opportunity. The program is limited to 200 students. If they are interested they should sign up today or sooner than later.

Online professional development opportunities

Miami now has an institutional membership to the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity, which offers an impressive collection of resources for professional development. These are available to all Miami personnel including faculty at all levels, graduate students, and staff. Programming includes a slew of webinars, including multi-week short courses, on topics ranging from writing tips to “the art of saying no.” There is a 12-week Dissertation Success curriculum, discussion forums, and links to relevant events. You need to create an account using the link above in order to access the content.

Seriously, you must do the ethics survey

All faculty should have received an email (from General Counsel) about the annual Ethics Questionnaire and External Services. The dean has made very clear that faculty will need to complete the ethics survey, as we need 100% compliance as an institution.

Also, in this email was a link to report external services for things you do for outside entities (even journal service, publisher contracts, etc.). You need to complete this form as well, unfortunately for each such activity that you do (due to lawyers making surveys). Note that many of us have something here–things like serving on an editorial board are included. See the clarification on the matter in MUPIM here. It’s essentially trying to protect the “university’s time” by making sure we aren’t overcommitted to outside activities, but may be quite pro forma.

There are no survey links here as the emails are specific to each of you, to my understanding. Please see me if you did not receive this email or have any questions.

Do you use open access materials in class?

The Open Educational Resources/Affordability committee is looking to promote and facilitate the adoption of affordable course texts, including open sources. The week of October 23 is Open Access Week, and during that period, the University Libraries and Provost Office would like to recognize those faculty who are using open educational resources in their classes. If any of you currently use these materials, please let me know so I can pass your information on to Carolyn Haynes, Associate Provost and committee co-Chair.

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship panel

If you are considering the possibility of your graduate students competing for predoctoral fellowships, you may be highly interested in this panel discussion. This has been announced in ProSem and the first-year students have been encouraged to attend in preparation for the grant training they will receive this year. From Anne Schauer, OARS:

The Office for the Advancement for Research & Scholarship will host a panel discussion on the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) Wednesday, September 27, from 3:00 to 4:30 pm in the ORU space of King Library (First floor- Suite 134).

In addition to covering basic information about applying for the NSF GRFP, the discussion will offer participants an opportunity to ask questions of recent fellows and mentors.

Apollo Astronaut lands at Miami next week

The Astronaut Scholarship is a $10,000 prize awarded annually to Miami students in STEM, awarded this year to Jana Cable (MBI) and Avnika Bali (CHM). Each year, an astronaut visits Miami to present the award and give a public lecture. This year we are honored to host Charles Duke, Jr., Brigadier General, USAF, Retired. He was the lunar module pilot for Apollo 16, and the tenth and youngest person to walk on the moon.

As an aside, dinner with an astronaut is by far the best perk of any committee service (National Fellowships Committee)! Hope to see some of you at the lecture.

CTE and Howe Center listservs

I would recommend those interested in faculty development and writing subscribe to email updates from CTE and Howe Center, respectively. You can visit their websites to subscribe or contact either office. CTE in particular covers an extensive range of issues beyond “just” teaching that may be of great interest.

I am a member of both of these lists, but will no longer regularly post about CTE or Howe events here to prevent duplication for those that also subscribe. I may occasionally post about events or announcements that are particularly relevant. Otherwise, if you are interested in that content, go to the source!

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.