Graduate School Newsletter February 2016

Dean’s ColumnI am delighted to be celebrating the first edition of the Graduate School Newsletter, and am looking forward to other reasons for celebration this semester. For many of you February 9 probably suggests Mardi Gras as one

of those reasons, but there is another one: it's also National Pizza Day. We want to celebrate both, and aretherefore delaying this second festival to Friday, February 12. I am inviting you to join me and the Graduate School staff for "Pizza and Conversation" at noon in David Boyd.

"Pizza and Conversation" will be the first of this semester's "Conversation with the Dean" series, which will be every Friday at noon in the foyer of the Graduate School. There won't be pizza at future events, alas, but there will be a chance for you to ask questions, talk about concerns, and make suggestions for improving graduate education and experience at LSU. Some of you joined Provost Koubek and me at last semester's "Conversation and Camaraderie" events. If you did, come and renew the discussion; if you didn't, come and begin it.

We'll soon be sending you news about opportunities for professional travel, research support, and a faculty/graduate

student summer seminar through our new Monday "Announcements," as well as other ways in which you can meet new colleagues from across campus, both through the Graduate School and the Graduate Student Association. Mark your calendar for key events, such as our inaugural Graduate Studies Fair on April 15 (at which we'll ask you to talk to undergraduates about the graduate school experience), Graduate Student Success Week, Graduate Student Appreciation Day, and our spring series of workshops on professional development.

I'm hoping that you'll participate in many of these events, that you'll suggest others, and that you'll give us your ideas about how we can work together to make the Graduate School an integral part of your time at LSU. We're streamlining protocols (in process), making it easier for you to schedule appointments with program officers, and addressing topics that will support you both now and in the future. Come join us and help to shape what promises to be an exciting time ahead. Cordially,

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Important Dates

February

8 – Mardi Gras Holiday begins, 7:30am

10 – Classes Resume

12 – National Pizza Day with Graduate Dean, Dr. Michelle Massé – Graduate School Lobby, 11:30am

18 – Final date to receive a 50% refund of University fees (see Registrar’s Office for questions).

Graduate Dean Michelle Massé

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Graduate School Headliner

Student Spotlight : Clay S. Tucker

1.What brought you to LSU?

I am a native and 7th generation Baton Rougean. I have many friends and family who have attended, are attending, or will attend LSU. I have a B.S. and M.S. in Geography from LSU and am excited to continue my education here. LSU is a premier institution for my research interests and I am proud to be a part of that wonderful tradition.

2. What is your current involvement with the LSUgraduate students community?

I am a member of Gamma Theta Upsilon, the International Geography Honors Society, and I participate in many graduate events for the Department of Geography and Anthropology. I find that graduate school recruitment is very important for the future of academia and I am active in recruiting undergraduate students to our LSU.

3.If you could travel back in time, who would you like to meet and where would you wantto go?

It may sound nerdy, but I would have loved to see many of the scientists that were heavily influential in scientific discoveries of Louisiana. I have had limited contact with many of the researchers that have influenced my research, many of whom were professors at LSU during the mid-20th century and are now retired. These include, but are certainly not limited to, Drs. Richard Russell, Jesse Walker, Jim Coleman, Carl Sauer, Richard Kesel, Harry Roberts, and Gene Turner. I always enjoy my time spent with highly respected researchers and their contributions to science, especially that science which is pertinent to Louisiana. 

4. What is your favorite book and why?

I have always loved To Kill a Mockingbird. I've read it multiple times and it has been a constant source of life lessons since middle school. Realizing the necessity of "putting yourself in someone else's shoes" is a life lesson applicable to many careers.

5. Can you think of an event that changed your life in a significant way?

I was not the most successful undergraduate student during my time at LSU. However, I can recall the specific event that caused me to start a career in Geography. I was enrolled in GEOG 2050, an elective class with Dr. Barry Keim, during my sophomore year. I had a low GPA at the time, yet I was the highest grade in a class of 120 students for GEOG 2050. At the end of the semester, I switched majors and the rest, as they say, is Geography.

Clay S. Tucker, on an adventure.

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Graduate School Headliner

Faculty Focus : Jacqueline Stephens

1.What brought you to LSU?

In 1996, an Assistant Professor position opened in an affordable city that did not have lots of snow.

2.What is your current involvement with the LSU graduate students community?

I mentor MS and PhD students in my own lab. I have done this for nearly twenty years and it is one of the most challenging and rewarding aspects of my job. I also serve on committees for graduate students and offer seminar/journal club courses about once a year. I did a three-year stint as Associate Chair of Graduate Studies in the Biological Sciences Department. I am a strong graduate student advocate.  

3.If you could travel back in time, who would you like to meet and where would youwant to go?

I would love to go to England in the Middle Ages or Paris in the 1920's. Yet, ancient Greece or Pompeii or Rome in its heyday are also highly alluring. I love to travel and if I could go back in time or forward in time, I would definitely go back in time. I would love to have met Marie Curie or Joan of Arc or Elizabeth I. Today, I am sure I would enjoy chatting with Madeleine Albright.

4. What is your favorite book and why?

Asking me about my favorite book is similar to asking me about my favorite food. I love literature, especially fiction. In 2015, I read nearly a dozen apocalyptic books. I read the old ones such as Alas, Babylon and did not include the recent dystopia genre of books. Based on my thorough enjoyment of Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch, I decided that my 2016 theme will be novels set in Las Vegas. I am patiently waiting for about a dozen or so used books I have ordered from small book retailers across the country.

5. Can you think of an event that changed your life in a significant way?

When I was an Associate Professor at LSU, I took a sabbatical in Cambridge, England. I was there for 4 months and met my future husband the second week I was there. We met in a pub near the flat I was renting. I was working 12-hour days and I didn’t know anyone and the staff at this pub were really kind. I was 38 years old and never imagined myself married. We married 14 months after we met and he immigrated to the US for me. I like to call this experience my nuptial sabbatical. Last year, we celebrated our 10-year anniversary.

Dr. Jacqueline Stephens

Graduate School Newsletter February 2016

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Frequently Asked Questions

• I would like to change the date of myexam. Do I need submit a new form?

No, a new exam request is notnecessary. Simply email yourprogram officer (see list here) with thenew date. Additionally, you mayprovide this information over thephone at 225-578-3181.

• I would like to add an additionalmember or change a committeemember. What should I do?

You should have your committee chair and head of your department contact your program officer stating your desire to add or change a member of your committee. Finally, you should ensure that the new member is listed on the Graduate Faculty list or has submitted the appropriate forms for approval.

Other Announcements

• Come and celebrate National Pizza Day with LSU Graduate School Dean Michelle Massé - Friday, February 12th 11:30am - 1:30 PM in the the Graduate School Lobby (East David Boyd Hall). Free pizza and soft drinks provided.

• STEM Women of Color Initiative - This new initiativewill meet regularly throughout Spring semester 2016 andwill introduce participants to other professionals,administrators, and students of color in the STEM fields.For more information, visit www.lsu.edu/aacc.

• The newly formed Disability Student Organization(DSO) would like to start a reading group this semesterthat will cover issues such as gender and sexuality, raceand ethnicity, and identity politics, as well as questionsregarding disability. Meetings will be held monthly.Students interested can email lsudso@gmail.com to beadded to the DSO listserv.

• The Southern Historical Association announces the C.Vann Woodward Dissertation prize awarded annually tothe best dissertation in Southern History completed anddefended in 2015. The prize consists of a $3,000 stipendprovided by the Woodward Fund. The award will bepresented at their 2016 meeting in St. Pete Beach.Inquiries should be directed to the Secretary-Treasurerat berry@uga.edu

• LSU Graduate Student Association President VernonDunn has been selected as a recipient of the ForeverLSU Ring Award which will be presented to him at theLSU Ring Ceremony on Sunday, April 17, at 1 p.m. inthe LSU Union Theater.

Credits

Editor-in-Chief: Madalina Robison

Assistant Editor: Diana Cordero

Assistant Editor: Alex D. Cole

Image courtesy of cliparts.co