Dean’s Corner: Thank You and Good-Bye

Dr. Denis Medeiros

Dr. Denis Medeiros

 Many of you are aware I am retiring from UMKC.  As such, I want to reach out to the Graduate Students and Faculty to thank them for their support.  All of you deserve credit for the important roles you have in making UMKC a research university.  UMKC has a large graduate student population compared to other institutions of similar size.  Our degree offerings are competitive with many other major U.S. universities.  The Graduate Faculty has been committed to offer graduate students a top notch graduate experience.  UMKC graduate students will find their career possibilities expanded and experience greater personal satisfaction.

While there are a number of accomplishments we have made together, one area that I was not able to achieve is a significant improvement in the Graduate Assistantship Stipend level.  While we have made a proposal, the recent series of economic developments in this state has hit higher education significantly hard.  The challenges that we have cannot be understated; but we are educated people and we will come out of this stronger.  I have observed and experienced such situations at other institutions and with hard work, my experience is that we can come out stronger and focus on what we do best.  One guarantee is that graduate education will both continue and become stronger at UMKC.

The real force behind the graduate school are the people who have worked here tirelessly.  We do have some individuals who will be leaving.  Quincy Bennett Johnson has worked here for 18 years and will be retiring late this year.  She has worked closely with the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. program during this period of time.  Dr. Jennifer Friend, Associate Dean, will be leaving at the end of June to become Dean of the College of Health and Human Services at Rockhurst University.

The backbone of the staff support for graduate education will be Nancy Hoover, Michelle Heiman, and Alphia Curry.  We will continue to have the Graduate Writing Initiative with Kara Kynion (Bollinger).  And of course, we’ll continue to rely on the support of our graduate assistant and work study students.

An item of note is that this year will be one of change.  There will be interim administrators appointed from current UMKC faculty ranks for both the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program and the School of Graduate Studies. These individuals will take leadership to explore effective ways to help units administer and offer programs, streamline admission and student progress monitoring, as well as being more responsive to both faculty and students.  The upcoming year and beyond will be full of changes and challenges.

However, let’s celebrate what we have done in the last 5 years:

  1. Eliminated a quarter of a million dollar deficit that existed in the Graduate School
  2. Developed the UM System-wide Graduate Student Leadership Development Program
  3. Launched the Three Minute Thesis Competition
  4. Formed a campus-wide Graduate Student Council
  5. Created the Dean’s Graduate Student Advisory Committee
  6. Approved the ability for graduate students to enroll in additional courses from the Bloch School to enhance employment opportunities
  7. Developed the School of Graduate Studies Research Grant program
  8. Increased funding for graduate students from under-represented groups
  9. Developed an endowment for students’ scholarships and launched fundraising efforts for the first time
  10. Partnered with the Writing Studio and developed a Graduate Writing Initiative with resources for graduate students
  11. Increased Graduate Student Travel funding
  12. Added a Bioinformatics Discipline and a Humanities Co-Discipline for the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. program
  13. Celebrated the 50th year anniversary of the School of Graduate Studies
  14. Developed the SGS Spotlight newsletter.

I have enjoyed my time here at UMKC and hopefully I am leaving it better than when I entered.  I can assure you that as I depart, the School is in sound fiscal shape despite our statewide fiscal concerns.  Whatever the future holds, we cannot compromise the quality of our educational programs, and this University will make every effort to sustain your excellent academic experience.

Best wishes to the Graduate Students, Faculty and Staff involved with our programs!

 

Posted in Dean's message | Comments Off on Dean’s Corner: Thank You and Good-Bye

Important Dates to Remember

June 5 – Classes start

June 16 – Last day to file for graduation

June 30 – Theses and Dissertations due to the School of Graduate Studies for format review.  (Include this link for this item:  https://sgs.umkc.edu/current-students/thesis-dissertation-guidelines/submitting-your-thesis-or-dissertation-for-review/

July 4 – Holiday, UMKC closed

July 28 – Last day to defend theses and dissertations for Summer 2017 graduation

August 9 – Last day to upload final theses and dissertations to ProQuest

Posted in Dean's message | Comments Off on Important Dates to Remember

Graduate Writing Initiative Summer 2017 Calendar

This gallery contains 2 photos.

More Galleries | Comments Off on Graduate Writing Initiative Summer 2017 Calendar

Working on a Writing Project This Summer? Check out these Graduate Writing Initiative Resources

For many graduate students, summertime means knocking out those projects that couldn’t take priority during the regular semester – or that just didn’t get finished. If you’re writing this summer, then we’ve got resources to support your work. Need accountability … Continue reading

More Galleries | Comments Off on Working on a Writing Project This Summer? Check out these Graduate Writing Initiative Resources

Staff Spotlight: Dr. Peggy Ward-Smith – New Interim Dean

This gallery contains 1 photo.

Dr. Peggy Ward-Smith, currently the SGS Faculty Fellow and an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and Health Studies, has accepted the position of Interim Dean for the School of Graduate Studies for the next year. “The overarching duties … Continue reading

More Galleries | Comments Off on Staff Spotlight: Dr. Peggy Ward-Smith – New Interim Dean

Staff Spotlight: Dr. Joe Parisi – New Interim IPhD Director

This gallery contains 1 photo.

Dr. Joe Parisi, Professor in the Conservatory of Music and Dance, has been chosen as the interim Director of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program, to oversee the standard operations of the program. “I plan to interface with students, alumni, program coordinators, … Continue reading

More Galleries | Comments Off on Staff Spotlight: Dr. Joe Parisi – New Interim IPhD Director

Faculty Spotlight: Candace Schlein – New Interim Program Director for Graduate Student Development in SGS and Interim Program Director of FaCET

This gallery contains 1 photo.

  Dr. Candace Schlein, an Associate Professor of Curriculum Studies in the School of Education, is now the Interim Program Director for Graduate Student Development in the School of Graduate Studies. “My new duties will include overseeing and maintaining the … Continue reading

More Galleries | Comments Off on Faculty Spotlight: Candace Schlein – New Interim Program Director for Graduate Student Development in SGS and Interim Program Director of FaCET

Student Spotlight: Siamak Riyazi

This gallery contains 1 photo.

Siamak Riyazi is a current Ph.D. student in Engineering and Geosciences. He chose UMKC for its surrounding city and atmosphere. “I am born and raised in Tehran which is the capital of Iran. Living in a big city changes your … Continue reading

More Galleries | Comments Off on Student Spotlight: Siamak Riyazi

Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Kimberly Johnson

This gallery contains 1 photo.

Dr. Kimberly Johnson earned her Ed.D. in Educational Administration at UMKC in 2016. This was her fourth UMKC degree, including a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, a Master of Arts in Higher Education Administration, and an Education Specialist in Higher … Continue reading

More Galleries | Comments Off on Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Kimberly Johnson

Dean’s Corner: Gain a Competitive Edge through Enhancing Your Writing Skills!

Dr. Denis Medeiros

Dr. Denis Medeiros

Many of you have received information from me about UMKC’s Graduate Student Writing Initiative.  Some of you may be thinking, “There he goes again.”  But stay with me, because the simple fact of the matter is that employers continue to rank writing and oral communication skills as often lacking in today’s graduates.  I urge graduate students to access avenues of both oral and written communication excellence through our writing initiative.  I recently learned that UMKC is one of the few higher education institutions that offers such diverse writing resources to graduate students. Conducting your research or learning more about your discipline is of limited value if you cannot communicate information to others, both within your field and with outside audiences. Thus, this issue of the Spotlight is a theme issue focusing on the Graduate Student Writing Initiative.  In this issue you will read perspectives from alumni, students, librarian, writing specialist and the Director of the Writing Center.

As we engage in our second year of operation of the Graduate Student Writing Initiative, we have already seen a large number of successes with graduate students who have accessed our resources.  We now have a half-time graduate writing specialist devoted just for you.  Some of you may have noted that we have offered writing workshops focused on special topics such as grant writing or writing for the sciences.  However, there are other opportunities to enhance your writing skills.  Recently we had a packed “Write-In” at the Diastole Center on Hospital Hill where students spent an entire Saturday engaged in writing.  Students brought in an assignment or project (e.g. thesis or dissertation section) and spent the day working with each other and the writing specialist sharing their writings and obtaining immediate feedback. During the Spring 2017 semester there will be more Write-Ins held at both the Volker and Hospital Hill campuses. Also equally successful have been writing groups where students continue to meet throughout the semester or year to write together and exchange ideas and feedback.  Sharing your writing with fellow students is important as it is an opportunity to learn whether you have clearly communicated and followed writing conventions in your discipline.

Another resource we have are faculty mentors from the Emeritus College who, with their years of experience, will teach a student how to edit and proofread their work and make your paper better.  Through a one-on-one mentoring process initiated by the student, you will learn how to organize and express your ideas to complete a writing project such as an article submitted for publication or a grant application.

In my career, a common mistake that graduate students make is underestimating the time it takes to write an effective paper.  This is especially true for those who are doing a thesis or dissertation.  A term paper or literature review is especially time consuming and here many students fall short in time estimation.  However, learning how to write effectively can shorten the time it takes, result in fewer drafts and likely earn you a better grade.  We will continue to offer writing workshop sessions on writing a literature review, thesis and dissertation formatting, and citation managers such as Zotero, in addition to proofreading tips and techniques.

If you don’t attend any of our sessions, remember that you can access many materials on how to write effectively through our Blackboard organization site.  Video tutorials are also available.

Effective writing in your discipline not only makes you more competitive in the subject matter; but you will learn eventually that even your letter of application for employment will improve as well.  The best part of this service is that there is no charge for you. Take advantage of the Graduate Student Writing Initiative this semester!

Posted in Dean's message | Comments Off on Dean’s Corner: Gain a Competitive Edge through Enhancing Your Writing Skills!