Professional Development Seminar: How to Pick a Postdoc
Dr. Rhonda Sutton, Director of the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs

As you consider life after your doctoral degree, you may wonder whether to pursue a position as a postdoctoral scholar as a stepping stone on your career path. Dr. Rhonda Sutton will share her perspective as Director of the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs on the reasons you might choose a postdoc position, how to select the right postdoctoral research experience, and how to make the most of your postdoc. Registration required.

7th Annual Research Symposium

The 7th Annual Research Symposium at McKimmon Center. Sponsored by UGSA and the Graduate School at NCSU. The goals of the symposium are to showcase the outstanding quality and diversity of graduate-level research at NC State, in addition to providing students with the opportunity to practice their communication skills with those outside of their discipline. The symposium is also designed to demonstrate the importance of graduate level research to state decision-makers.

Responsible Conduct of Research Seminar: Ethical Issues in Genomics Research and Gene Patents
Dr. Robert Cook-Deegan, M.D.
Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy Director
Center for Genome, Ethics, Law & Poilcy

The field of genome based diagnostics, as we move towards whole-gene sequencing, was impacted by the legal verdict against Myriad Genetics in the case that invalidated patents held by Myriad on the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. The legal status of gene patents remains a contentious issue and has implications for researchers and anyone interested in personal genomics. Join Dr. Cook-Deegan for an interesting discussion regarding gene patents and the future of research in genomics. Dr. Cook-Deegan is also the author of The Gene Wars: Science, Politics and the Human Genome. Registration required.

Professional Development Seminar: Faculty Work-Life Balance: A Panel Discussion
Faculty Panel:
Dr. Ana Maria Staicu (Statistics),
Dr. Rajade Berry-James (Public Administration),
Dr. Christian Maltecca (Animal Science)

Wednesday, 3/21, 4:00-5:00pm, Room 100, Winslow Hall

Co-sponsored with the Building Future Faculty Program

Professional Development Seminar: Presentation Skills for Corporate Culture
Dr. Melissa Bostrom, Director of Graduate Academic and Professional Development, The Graduate School

You may be an expert at delivering academic-style presentations, but are you prepared to give presentations in a U.S. business environment? You'll learn tips for organizing your content, delivering with confidence, and complementing your talk with effective PowerPoint slides. The speaker is a former faculty member in Management and Corporate Communication at UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School. Registration required.

UGSA "Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant" Awards

The University Graduate Student Association is pleased to announce the call for nominations for the 2012 Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Awards. The ceremony will be held on Friday, March 23, 2012 from 12:00-3:00 pm at the McKimmon Center. This annual event is a celebration of excellence in graduate student teaching and serves as the primary university-level forum for recognizing instructional efforts in the laboratory and classroom. We strongly encourage all departments to participate so that your students may receive the recognition they deserve.

We encourage you to nominate the top 10% of the teacher's assistants within your program. For details on the nomination process, please go to the following page on the UGSA website: http://ugsa.ncsu.edu/?page_id=67. All of the forms required to complete the nomination process are located on this page. The deadline for completed nominations is Monday, February 27, 2012 by 5:00 pm.

Once all nominations have been received, they will be reviewed by the Teaching Effectiveness Committee. The top students will be selected to receive an award from the Graduate Student Association. All students will be notified of their nomination and will be invited to the ceremony. We will also invite the Associate Deans for Academic Affairs of your college to attend the awards event. A luncheon will precede the awards ceremony. Each nominated student will be recognized and the top students will receive their awards. Please encourage all nominated students to attend.

The UGSA looks forward to receiving your nominations in the upcoming month! If you have any questions or problems with submitting nominations, please contact ugsa_teaching@lists.ncsu.edu or alcoles@ncsu.edu.

Habitat for Humanity

The UGSA is pleased to announce that as part of NC State’s 4th Annual Graduate Education Week, you can participate in a service event with Habitat for Humanity of Wake County. All graduate students and Graduate School staff who volunteer for the event will be helping to build houses in Habitat’s Long Acres Neighborhood in Raleigh!

Habitat has given us 30 volunteer spots for two different time periods (60 spots total). The morning session is 8:30 am to 12:00 noon; the afternoon is 12:30 pm to 4:00 pm. Registration is required.

To register for the morning session: http://gew2012-habitat-am.eventbrite.com.

To register for the afternoon session: http://gew2012-habitat-pm.eventbrite.com.

Make sure to follow the directions at the link carefully. We hope to see you there!

8:30AM - noon

12:30PM - 4:00PM

Service Raleigh

The UGSA is pleased to announce that as part of NC State’s 4th Annual Graduate Education Week, you can participate in a service event with Service Raleigh. All graduate students and Graduate School staff who volunteer for the event will be working at a variety of service locations around the city of Raleigh. There are still over 100 spots available, but they will go quickly, so sign-up today! Registration is required.

To find more information about and to register for the event: http://gew2012-serviceraleigh.eventbrite.com.

Make sure to follow the directions at the link carefully. We hope to see you there!