Diversity events this week

From the Diversity and Inclusion committee, by way of Laurel Sarfan:

Chinese New Year Celebration
When: Friday February 16th @ 7-9PM
Where: Hall Auditorium
Description: An exciting performance to celebrate the Chinese New Year, involving music, dance, and theatre.

Cross-Cultural Lecture 2: Cupping Therapy and its Demonstrations
When: Tuesday, February 20th @ 7PM
Where: McGuffey Hall 221
Description: Li Xiaoqian, a doctor from Guangdong Sports Hospital and team doctor of Guangdong Swimming team, will give a speech on “Those Mysterious Cupping Marks (on the Back of Michael Phelps)–Cupping Therapy and Its Demonstrations.”

HIV Voices: A Storytelling Project About Courage and Acceptance
When: Thursday, March 1st @ 6PM
Where: McGuffey 322
Description: A powerful storytelling event sponsored by the Women’s & LGBTQ* Center; Department of Global & Intercultural Studies; Department of English; Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies; American Studies

Dr. Damon Williams: Diversity Week Keynote Speaker
When: Wednesday, March 7th @ 6:30PM
Where: Taylor Auditorium, FSB
Description: Dr. Williams is a scholar, leader, and educator whose “Inclusive Excellence Tour” engages audiences in a unique TED Talk-like conversation about the most cutting-edge ideas regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) leadership today.

Keep your eyes open for more events during Diversity Week, coming up from March 5th-9th!

MPA reminder

From Allen McConnell:

MPA’s 90th annual meeting will be held April 12-14, 2018, at the Palmer House in Chicago. Interested people (faculty, graduate students, undergraduates) can register now for the conference on-line. We recently negotiated for significantly reduced room rates at the Palmer House and moved the conference earlier in the semester to avoid scheduling conflicts (e.g., graduation weekends, finals week). As a result, our discounted hotel block typically sells out well in advance of the registration deadline, and currently fewer than 20% of the discounted MPA rooms remain. Thus, I’d strongly encourage people to both register for the conference and grab a discounted Palmer House room as soon as possible (once our room block is sold, what remaining rooms are available will be considerably more expensive). More details can be found on-line: https://midwesternpsych.org

CADS multidisciplinary funding opportunity

Allison Farmer, Director of Miami’s Center for Analytics and Data Science, announces a significant funding opportunity:

For the second year in a row, the Center for Analytics and Data Science (CADS) is pleased to offer a call for CADS Research Fellowship grants. The purpose of this funding is to seed new multidisciplinary research in analytics and data science that is likely to result in scholarly publications and external funding. To encourage stronger multidisciplinary proposals, CADS will focus resources to fund one proposal of up to $25K. Proposals must feature researchers from multiple departments. Proposals with researchers from different academic divisions are strongly encouraged. The award period is one year, beginning June 1, 2018. Proposals are due to me by March 30, 2018 and will be reviewed by a multidisciplinary committee.

Those who might be interested can see me for more information and application instructions, or contact Allison directly.

Fulbright nominations and info sessions

Karla Guinigundo, Global Initiatives, is seeking nominations for student Fulbright candidates. Although the campus deadline is in the fall, these require extensive preparation and she is offering information sessions this spring. She writes:

Global Initiatives is currently recruiting Miami’s cohort of applicants for the 2019-2020 Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program supports approximately 1,900 U.S. students to engage in study, research, or English teaching assistantships abroad annually.

Academic excellence, leadership, and a commitment to increasing intercultural understanding between the United States and citizens of other countries are qualities the Fulbright program seeks in applicants.

Nominations by faculty members can be a powerful source of motivation for students. Are there students in your departments or programs that would be competitive applicants for the Fulbright U.S. student program? If so, please Nominate a Student so we can reach out with an invitation to attend one of the spring information sessions.

Dr. Icek Ajzen to visit Miami, Feb 22-23

You may recognize Dr. Ajzen’s name from your Intro textbook if nowhere else, as a developer of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB; and the precursor Theory of Reasoned Action). In 2010, it was reported that his research program had the highest scientific impact among 62 of the top social psychologists in the United States and Canada. The Department of Kinesiology & Health is sponsoring his visit to Miami, where he will give a colloquium and offer a workshop; they write:

  • A one-hour talk, “The Theory of Planned Behavior: A Uniform Framework for the Prediction and Explanation of Behavior,” will be held at 2:30 on Feb 22, in Shideler 152.
  • The purpose of the full-day workshop on Feb 23 is to spark new research ideas regarding theory and the TPB, foster collaborations across departments and colleges, and lead to the development of external grant submissions.

A detailed schedule of what he plans to cover in the workshop is available upon request. If you are interested in attending this workshop, please let me know or contact his host, Paul Branscum ([email protected]). The workshop has limited space, so please contact one of us ASAP.

Awards reminders

Here is a summary of the award reminders announced by Allen McConnell, Chair of Awards Committee, at our last faculty meeting:

Undergraduate awards

March 5, Undergraduate Research Award Program (URAs)
http://www.miamioh.edu/research/student-research/project-funding/ura/index.html

March 6, Provost’s Student Academic Achievement Award (PSAAA)
https://miamioh.edu/academic-affairs/awards-recognition/psaaa/index.html

March TBD, Dean’s Scholars
https://miamioh.edu/cas/admission/scholarships-awards/deans-scholar/index.html

Graduate awards

February 9, Dissertation Scholar
Details were sent out on January 5 to all faculty in email (see its PDF)

February 15, McNair Graduate Assistantships
https://miamioh.edu/graduate-school/awards-recognition/ronald-e-mcnair/index.html

April 2, Marjorie Post Farrington Scholarships
https://miamioh.edu/graduate-school/awards-recognition/marjorie-post-farrington-scholarship/index.html

April TBD, Capretta Scholarships

Startup Weekend 2018

The dean would love to see increased representation from CAS students at this annual event, and Psychology majors in particular have valuable skills that could contribute meaningfully to any number of potential ventures. This year’s event is February 23-25.

Calling all Miami University Arts and Science students who want to turn ideas into reality! The Institute for Entrepreneurship is hosting its annual Miami University Startup Weekend. Pitch your idea, form a team, and bring it to life – all in one weekend! No business idea? No problem. Jump on to a team and contribute your skills and talents!

  • Develop idea from concept to reality in 48 hrs
  • Gain coaching and mentorship from entrepreneurs
  • Food provided throughout the weekend
  • Receive 1 hr of course credit
  • Open to all students!
  • The standard FSB surcharge applies for the course credit

For more information or to sign up, use this link.

Faculty development topic tables

From Amanda Diekman, chair of the Faculty Development & Welfare Committee:

The Faculty Development & Welfare Committee organized two successful topic tables in Fall 2017 (“grants from a Miami perspective” and “making time for what matters”; takeaways available here), and we request your ideas for topic tables this semester. Please email Amanda with suggestions about what discussions would be helpful in your professional development.

Wrap-up from career panel

Students are increasingly seeking advice during advising sessions about the value of their psychology major after graduation. Ginger hosted a panel to explore these topics with industry leaders and alumni, from which she reports:

On Wednesday, November 1st, 2017 from 12-1 PM, the Social and Behavioral Sciences Department (Regionals), Psychology Department (Oxford), and Career and Professional Services Office (Regionals) invited a panel of local experts to address these topics and answer students’ questions about breaking into the for-profit world, including human resources, industrial/organizational psychology, and business leadership.

Joining us for the panel were Mr. Tim Beatty (President, Bullen Ultrasonics), Mr. Brian George (Personnel Technician, Academic Personnel Services department – Miami University and Miami Regionals alumnus), and Mr. Justin Gregg (Manager, Predictive Analytics – CareSource, Inc. and adjunct professor at Miami). The panel members were wonderfully lively and candid, sharing their personal successes, struggles, and journeys as to how they arrived at their current professions. Among their key take-away messages:

  • Psychology is applicable in a wide array of job opportunities – you do not just have to be a psychologist to benefit from psychology classes or a psychology major. Businesses run better when leaders are thoughtful, considerate, and attentive to their employees’ and colleagues needs and goals, which are the things psychology emphasizes.
  • It is OK to switch careers and not necessarily have a “perfect life” or professional plan fully mapped out. All of these gentlemen have worn many different and varied hats at different stages of their lives and careers. The important thing is to be a life-long learner and never stop growing.
  • Experience and strong performance in statistics and research methods classes matter. Bosses will want to see that you are a critical thinker and problem solver, and these are tools to demonstrate those skills, whether or not you want to do research after you graduate. You still need to be able to understand the benefits of rigorous, detailed testing of ideas.
  • In both interviews and professional documents (e.g., cover letters and resumes), employers are looking for responsible, hard-working individuals who show initiative/leadership, strong interpersonal and conflict management skills, and self-motivation. Seek out and describe opportunities you have had both in and outside the classroom to provide evidence of claims you make about yourself. For example, if you say, “I’m a good leader,” your in-class, work, and volunteer experiences should clearly back-up your position. Build your skill set and have examples ready.

If you missed this event and but would like to see the panel for yourself, please contact Ginger for a weblink to watch the full video of this very helpful session.

Many thanks to our panelists, sponsors, and partners for helping us host this wonderful event. Special thanks to Ms. Christina Fitzpatrick, Dr. Beth Dietz, and Mr. Jacob Robinson for assisting with the WebEx and video-recording logistics for the session.