This is your personal invitation to submit a poster proposal for the

Fourth Annual Graduate Student Research Poster Session
Thursday, January 28th, 2010
Graduate Student Presentations 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm
Stern Student Ballroom

As a graduate student who has worked on or is currently working on a research or creative project, you are encouraged to submit and present a poster at the Fourth Annual Graduate Research Poster Session.  We are inviting you to participate because you were accepted and have received a Graduate Student Research or Presentation Grant to support your research within the past year.

Poster session process and details can be found on our website under the link to research at http://gradschool.cofc.edu/currentstudents/research/research.php We have examples of past posters for reference in case you are unfamiliar with poster formats.  Please get in touch with our office for assistance if you need it when your poster proposal is accepted.   We will be sending out more detailed information later to all students whose proposals have been accepted.

We would like your program to be represented and will display as many posters as possible.  In the past all students who submitted poster proposals were able to present their posters and research or creative project, so it is a good idea to begin working on the poster early.

A brief timeline:

By November 17 – Deadline extended to November 20 — poster proposals are due to the Program Director from the student  (see website for proposal format)

By November 24 – reviewed and selected poster proposals are due to Dean McCandless, from the Program Director

By December 1 — ad hoc committee will select the 50 posters proposals to include in the poster session

By December 8 — students and program directors, supervising faculty, will have been notified of the selections (poster printing details will go out to those selected)

By December 20 — posters are due from students graduating in December, electronic versions to be sent to the Graduate School and posters to be printed and ready to hang

By January 15 — last chance for those students enrolled in spring classes to have posters printed and ready to hang

January 28 — Poster session — students set-up posters from 8 am to 2:30 pm and presentations are from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm, the selection of winning will also take place. Prizes will be announced and awarded the following week.

The members of the Board of Trustees will be on campus on the day of the poster session and will each receive personal invitations to attend that day. All faculty, staff and students will be invited to attend the event. Refreshments will be served.

Please contact Regina Semko with any questions: semkor@cofc.edu

At the College of Charleston, we are fortunate to have one of the nation’s foremost centers of study for African-American history and culture: The Avery Research Center. Many students, especially those studying African-American history and literature, find the Avery Center’s amazing wealth of knowledge and resources to be an invaluable asset for their scholarly work. Their museum also hosts fascinating exhibits of interest to anyone who desires to explore the cultural heritage of the South Carolina Lowcountry, with the current exhibit featuring Sweetgrass Baskets.

And tomorrow night, they will be hosting a panel presentation on the role of youth in the Charleston Civil Rights Movement from 1960-1965. For more information, read their announcement below:

Panel Presentation: “Role of Youth During the Charleston Movement, 1960-1965″

Particular attention will be given to members of the NAACP Youth Council, as they gave leadership to direct action campaigns.  These campaigns sought to desegregate schools, lunch counters and motels, improve employment opportunities and secure all other rights of full citizenship.

For additional information contact: Curtis Franks – 843.953.7610

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Howdy,

The Graduate Student Association has formed a team to participate in this year’s Dance Marathon and we want you to be a member.

Dance Marathon is the largest philanthropic event on our campus. This is the third year at CofC raising money for Children’s Miracle Network and MUSC Children’s Hospital right down Calhoun Street. Each participant pledges to raise at least $150 leading up to the 15 hour event February 26th-27th. This event is essentially an all-night party for all of the participants to thank them for their hard work and dedication. There are various bands throughout the night, energy drink flip cup, root beer pong, great giveaways, and excellent food. Also, every hour participants will learn segments of a 6 minute dance that is performed for the patient families in the morning. It is an amazing event that helps others in our community as well as bringing students from our campus together.

This year the Dance Marathon committee is trying to get 650 participants and GSA wants to help them accomplish this goal. If you are interested in participating in Dance Marathon as a member of our team you can register for the event at:  www.dancemarathon.clubs.cofc.edu

When you are filing out your registration form, add yourself as a member of the GSA team. Also, please send me an email at keclancy@edisto.cofc.edu, with your name and your t-shirt size is so that I make sure we have all of our participants. Please join us for a night of fun and help the Children’s Miracle Network and MUSC Children’s Hospital.

Thanks,
Kathleen Clancy
keclancy@edisto.cofc.edu
GSA Social and Outreach Committee Chair

The Graduate School and the Office of Research and Grants Administration are teaming up with the coordinator of Nationally Competitive Awards to present you with a workshop on applying for grants, scholarships and fellowships.

Topics covered include:

• Identifying opportunities for research grants, scholarships and fellowships.
• How to make an average proposal a really competitive proposal.
• What and who are the local offices, and who can really help.
• How does a research grant really work at a university.
• How to choose your battles, and win them.
• What scholarships and fellowships are available to College of Charleston graduate students.
• Grant terminology, grantsmanship strategies, and how grant budgets work.

Be sure to register for this opportunity today. (The registration button is at the top of the page.)

P.S. Don’t forget to register and attend Saturday’s Responsible Conduct of Research. This workshop is highly recommended for all graduate students, regardless of discipline.

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Hello fellow graduate students,

MJ, Crystal and Joe at the first GSA Kickoff

I am writing on behalf of the GSA telling you to mark your calendars for Saturday, September 12th from 5-9 pm for the 3rd Annual GSA Kickoff. It will be held on James Island at the Fort Johnson Marine Lab Complex (same place that CofC’s Grice Marine Lab is). There will be food provided by Moe’s. There will be limited free beer as well. Only graduate students with college ID will be allowed in. 21+ only. Students are allowed one guest. There is a limit to 200 people at a time, so get there early.

There is a tentatively scheduled hurricane date of the following Saturday, Sept. 19th at the same times.

If you have any questions, feel free to email the GSA at gsa.cofc@gmail.com.

Hope to see you all in a couple of weeks.

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To keep your bike, you need to do two things: invest in a U-Bolt and a cable lock; secure your bike to an immovable object.  Public Safety included the below graphic to give you an idea of the best way to secure your bike.

Every year, the Student Government Association and the Department of Public Safety host a bike auction. This year’s auction just happens to be tomorrow (Wednesday, September 2). It starts at 11:00 a.m. in Physician’s Promenade and will run until 1:00. If you don’t have a bike, you can find a really good deal at the auction tomorrow.

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Register for the Interactive Leadership Seminar

School starts in 11 days, and here I am wondering if I need to start another countdown.  My ever-growing task list tells me I have more important things to do.  So far, I’ve helped launch the Graduate School’s new webpages as part of College of Charleston’s overhaul.  If you haven’t seen it yet, you should take a moment to browse the new site.  I also sent our new information pieces out to print, and am working the behind-the-scenes work for Tuesday’s launch of our new information system, Banner. Don’t even get me started on my Fall travel schedule.  I haven’t RSVP’d for one Graduate & Professional School Fair!

I am also getting ready for something even more important: Graduate Student Orientation.  If you’re a new graduate student, don’t forget that we are hosting Orientation on Thursday, August 20 at 6:00 in Wachovia Auditorium.  The Graduate Student Association will also host their Meet & Greet at Yo Burrito following the Orientation.

For all graduate students, please check your Edisto email account.  You’ll see an invitation to September’s Responsible Conduct of Research seminars.  These seminars are strongly encouraged for all graduate students, and we are offering two opportunities to attend next month. The first is Tuesday, September 8, and the second is Saturday, September 12.

Anyone watching the College of Charleston through the next semester will see a whole new virtual university emerge.  The first overhaul you’ll see is our website.  The smallest change is our address: we’re moving from cofc.edu/gradschool to gradschool.cofc.edu.  The biggest is the launch of our new website.  Thanks to the hard work of IT, Marketing and countless others, the website is in beta release and should go live by August 10. Want a sneak peak?

Students, faculty and staff will see another change, and that’s a replacement of CougarTrail with the MyCharleston portal.  Everyone, including applicants, will be able to access “information and services previously limited by location or hours of operation.”

While we’re all incredibly excited about these changes, it takes a lot of work from just about everyone on campus. Susan and Regan, our directors of admissions and student records respectively, have been in countless hours of meetings and training sessions.  While I haven’t been in nearly as many meetings, I have been working on making sure the graduate school’s website is ready for the proposed August 10 launch.

With all of these meetings, I wonder who’s been planning the big launch party, and if sparklers will be involved? Or how large the scissors will be.

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Thanks to The Citadel Graduate College for this wonderful invitation to the 2009 Leadership Seminar!  Be sure to reserve your seats today.

The Krause Center for Leadership & Ethics and The Student Government Association of The Citadel Graduate College will host the 2009 Citadel Graduate College Leadership Seminar at no cost to participants.

The Seminar will be held Wednesday, July 22, 2009 from 9am – 4pm in Mark Clark Hall on The Citadel campus. This dynamic program is open to graduate students of The Citadel and The College of Charleston. Lunch will be provided.

This seminar was created in response to strong graduate student participation in the “Principled Leadership Symposium” held this past March, and demand for more opportunities to explore graduate-level leadership issues and opportunities.

With its interactive format, the sessions include two keynote speakers:
Colonel Allison Dean Love, CGC alumnus, Executive Director of SC Insurance News Service and CGC member of The Citadel’s Board of Visitors.
Dr. Nancy McGinley, Superintendent of Charleston County School District

You will participate in personal leadership assessments, engage in group decision-making exercises, and use real case studies to develop team project presentations.

Act now – the last day to register is July 15^th and seating is limited! Take advantage of this special opportunity to give your career a competitive edge in today’s demanding market.

You can review the full agenda and register today by visiting http://www.citadel.edu/krause-center/latest-news/65-the-2009-citadel-graduate-leadership-seminar.html.

Grace Beahm/The Post and Courier

I heard about this on the news this morning, and am sharing with you in case you haven’t heard yet.  Below is an email sent to the College of Charleston community by the Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions.  Please be sure to think of Philip Simmons as you walk through our campus today.

Hello All,

The Office of Admissions and the Division of Marketing and Communications would like to inform you that 30+ white bows will be placed on gates around campus in remembrance of Philip Simmons, the famed Charleston blacksmith who passed away Monday evening.

An article in the Post and Courier this morning elaborates on the symbolism of the white bows in reference to Simmons’ work.

One little known fact about legendary blacksmith Philip Simmons is that he wasn’t crazy about his work being painted black, although much of it was. Instead, he preferred it be painted white. Philip Simmons, 97, passed away Monday evening. That’s why the city of Charleston plans to tie white ribbons to Simmons’ ironwork in tribute of his passing Monday at age 97. It’s the first of several tributes expected in the coming days as the Lowcountry bids farewell to one of its most talented and beloved craftsmen. Simmons died at 9:30 p.m. Monday, and those who were influenced by him remembered him as a father figure, mentor, teacher and friend. Charleston Mayor Joe Riley said Simmons was “at once a very gentle man and a great life force. His beautiful artistic creations, made out of wrought iron, grace the Holy City of Charleston throughout the downtown area and beyond.” Riley invited others to honor Simmons by tying white ribbons on their wrought iron gates or railings, regardless of who forged them.