March 2022 Edition

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March 2022

“… those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.”

-- Charles Dickens

DAY OF STUDENT RECOGNITION –Apply for scholarships up to $1250!

Are you an engaged club leader, officer, or service project organizer? Are you a volunteer at nonprofits around Gallatin County? Submit an application to be recognized for your contributions in leadership and service. You could win a scholarship worth $100-$1,250! The Day of Student Recognition application is now open and will close on Monday, Feb. 28, at 11:59 p.m.

Calendar

March 14-18: Spring Break (no classes); offices open.

Friday, April 15: University Day (no classes); offices open.

Friday, April 29: Last day for master’s and doctoral comprehensive examination or thesis/dissertation defense if student plans to graduate Spring 2022.

Friday, May 6: Last day for approval of thesis, dissertation, or professional paper (if the professional paper is submitted to the library) by the Formatting Advisor

Thursday, May 12: Last day of classes. Spring Semester ends. Last day to withdraw Graduation Application and file for One-credit Extension

Friday, May 13: Spring Commencement 2021

Monday, May 16: First six-week and 12-week sessions, classes begin. One-credit Extension deadline.

Announcements

"Invite the Dean"

Craig would like to get out and meet groups of graduate students in your labs, research, or study spaces. If you would like to host the dean for a ~30min. informal chat, please contact craig.ogilvie@montana.edu

Resources to Help with the Transition from Box to OneDrive

As most active Box accounts are now in the initial sync phase, UIT is receiving many questions about what users should do now.

Everyone can keep working in Box as you have been.

The Box migration process will continue to scan your Box folders and keep them in sync with the Box Migrated Data folder in OneDrive. This is called the Delta Sync, a one-way sync that picks up any changes in Box and synchronizes them to OneDrive.  

When should I stop using Box and start working in OneDrive?

The MSU community should stop using Box at the end of business on April 1 and exclusively work in OneDrive beginning April 4. On April 2 Box accounts will be marked as read-only.  

What else should I be doing during the period between now and April 1?

Between now and April 1, UIT recommends faculty and staff review the contents of the Box data copied into the Box Migration Data folder in their OneDrive accounts. Check that files and folders appear accurate, spot-check for important files and that collaborators appear in the Shared area of OneDrive folders. If you feel there are any discrepancies, please contact the UIT Service Desk. 

Workshops & Events

The Revolution of Indigenous Food Systems of North America with Sean Sherman of The Sioux Chef

Monday, Feb. 28, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Norm Asbjornson’s Inspiration Hall

An evening with Chef Sean Sherman -- this in-person event is free and open to the public and will be followed by a book signing. Seating is general admission. Indigenous hors d’oeuvres will be served at 6:30 p.m., followed by the keynote presentation at 7 p.m. Related eventsfollow on Tuesday, March 1, including master’s class and culinary class.

Implementing Inclusive Practices in the Classroom, Research, and Outreach

Monday-Friday, Feb. 28-March 4

12 noon-1 p.m. via WebEx

A series of online one-hour sessions with three presenters each day will provide an opportunity to learn about how faculty and staff at MSU are changing the culture through their inclusive practices in advising, teaching, mentoring, podcasting, writing workshops and more. After you register, you will receive a link to the WebEx.

Four DEI Workshops with Coach Colene

Tuesday, March 1, Inspiration Hall

Wednesday, March 2, SUB Ballroom C

Open to all faculty, staff, and graduate students, these diversity, equity and inclusion workshops will be presented by Colene Elridge, an HR professional who is passionate about transforming workplaces through leadership, communication and engagement. Of particular interest to grad students may be the second Tuesday session, “Integrating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Fields.” There is also an option to join virtually.

MSU Writing Center Graduate Student Workshop: Science Writing

Tuesdays, March 1 and 8, 11 a.m. - 12 noon

Writing Center, Wilson Hall

Let’s talk science writing! This two-part workshop discusses Joshua Schimel’s book Writing Science: How to write papers that get cited and proposals that get funded. The first session examines story structure and how clarifying the "story" of the science can connect with the reader. The following session will look at sentence level choices that can make writing more clear. Writers are encouraged to take their work to the Writing Center’s graduate tutors to apply Schimel’s concepts to their own writing.

994-Calling! with Jayne Downey

Monday, March 21, 4-5 p.m.

SUB #235 and via WebEx

Jayne Downey, Professor of Education and Director, Center for Research on Rural Educationwill “tell her story,” including some fun background, where she trained, how she came to MSU and a few key highlights on research and scholarship. Refreshments will be served.

Diversity Certificate Workshop: Body Size

Tuesday, March 22, 1-4 p.m.

via WebEx

Participants will learn about systemic body size discrimination. There will be a particular focus on ways this impacts individuals within education systems. Participants will have the opportunity to engage in critical self-reflection and exploration regarding weight, body size, and related areas of bias. Additionally, this workshop will provide opportunity to increase acceptance and consider ways to enact change within MSU and the broader community.

Inclusive STEM Teaching Project

March 23-May 4 via edX

The Inclusive STEM Teaching Project, a NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education program, is hosting a six-week Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). The course is designed to advance ability and awareness for cultivating inclusive STEM learning environments. A community of more than 2,000 faculty, postdocs, graduate students, and staff, is expected to register for the free online course.

Spring ePortfolio Showcase

Thursday, March 31, 1-4 p.m.

Norm Asbjornson Hall

MSU's Office of Academic Affairs is sponsoring the Spring ePortfolio Showcase to celebrate ePortfolio efforts at MSU. The Showcase will feature guest speaker Dr. Brian Johnsrud ('06), and include student and faculty presentations, refreshments, prize drawings, and more. ePortfolios are part of the university's strategic plan to encourage sustained reflection on curricular, co-curricular, and dynamic learning. This event is open to all faculty, staff and students to learn more about ePortfolios and how they are being used at MSU. 

MSU Writing Center services for Graduate Writers

The MSU Writing Center offers ongoing support to students working on graduate-level writing in the following ways: 

One-on-one appointments, both in-person and online with graduate or undergraduate peer tutors: Make a tutoring appointment.   

Interdisciplinary graduate writing studios, a small group of graduate students who meet regularly to work on improving their own writing and give feedback to others. Read more and register to join a group at the MSU Writing Center’s website

Focus Fridays, a weekly “write with us” time for grad students to work alongside each other in the Writing Center on Fridays from 9 a.m.-12 noon. Tutors are available to answer questions. Can’t make it to campus? Join us online on MS Teams.

For more information, go to www.montana.edu/writingcenter/graduate_writers or contact our Graduate Program Coordinator, Erin Strickland, at erin.strickland@montana.edu or call (406) 994-5315.

Funding and Fellowships

Identify scholarships and research funding for your graduate education

  • Visit the Grad School fellowships page, scroll to “External Funding Opportunities” and expand “SPIN funding alert service” for instructions.
  • The University of Illinois has an excellent Fellowship Finder featuring awards that are open to grad students from any university. It features several filters to aid your search.

University of Montana recruiting summer STEM camp counselors

STEM summer camp for native middle and high school students

June 13-22 and July 11-22

Looking for a way to give back to your community, yet make some good money? Apply to be a camp counselor for MT AIMS STEM summer camps. Spend some quality time mentoring Native middle and high school students with the University of Montana in Missoula. Pay is $1250/week for up to four weeks; food and housing also included. Fill out the application online.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation fellowships and internships

The Gates Foundation offers a program that places fellows in their Global Development, Global Health, and Global Policy & Advocacy divisions, and in a U.S. Program for a term of two to three years. Fellows have opportunities to work on projects that cut across program areas. The foundation also offers paid, 12-week summer internships for graduate students. The program primarily targets MBA, MPH, and DrPH students but has also includes medical students and students from MSW, MPA, and MPP programs.

DOE Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Program

The Department of Energy’s SCGSR Programprovides supplemental awards to outstanding U.S. graduate students to pursue part of their graduate thesis research at a DOE laboratory/facility in areas that address scientific challenges central to the Office of Science mission.

For more funding opportunities, visit MSU’s Research Funding Opportunities or the Graduate School’s Funding & Fellowships webpage.

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Archive

February 2022 - Spring Events

November 2021 - End of Fall Semester

October 2021 - Mid-Semester update

September 2021 - First month of Fall semester

August 2021 - Beginning of Fall semester

June 2021 - Upcoming Fall, GA opportunities

April 2021 - End of Spring semester

March 2021 - Career opportunities

February 2021 - Spring Events

January 2021 - Assistantships and scholarships

December 2020 - Winter break workshops