Graduate School Newsletter vol. 13 February 2017

Dean’s ColumnThis month’s column marks the advent of the Newsletter’s second year. In our first edition a year ago, I hoped that you would participate in upcoming events, that you would suggest others, and that you would give us your ideas about how we could work together to make the Graduate School an integral part of your time at LSU.

I proudly announced that we were streamlining protocols and that has indeed happened and continues to happen. We have made guidelines more transparent by assuring that you can see the forms faculty members use on your behalf (http://www.lsu.edu/graduateschool/current-students/forms-policies.php# ), by making it easier for you to schedule appointments with program officers, by improving the ETD process to load theses and dissertations, and by using InfoReady for competitions such as the funds we have devoted to the Dean’s Travel Awards.

We have come together through multiple forums such as the three-week long Summer Institute on the Future of Graduate Studies, workshops on personal and professional topics, the Three-Minute Thesis Competition, the campus-wide faculty/student voluntary mentoring program, and informal gatherings such as Pizza Day. But what unites these events, and us as participants in them, is the theme of “community” that is a core assumption of every major initiative, every dimension of graduate education.

Rafael Luna, Executive Director of the National Research Mentoring Network and author of The Art of Scientific Storytelling, firmly stated at his presentation earlier this month when he talked about how crucial mentoring is that “People are interested in your being successful.” I would expand upon that statement to say that I am interested in “our being successful.” We at LSU are a community of scholars and teachers connected to other communities across the world.

As President F. King Alexander reaffirmed in his January 30, 2017 broadcast, “Academia depends upon the exchange of ideas with colleagues from around the world. . . . [O]ur colleagues from the international community are more than simply welcome at LSU – they are respected and valued.” I look forward to hearing your ideas about strengthening our community through events such as Conversations with the Dean (Fridays at noon), mentoring workshops this spring, and forums such as those listed on this page.

Graduate Dean, Michelle Massé

Cordially,

Important Dates and Events

February

• Wednesday, February 8 - LSU Law Center Forum: “The Executive Order Travel Ban” at the LSU Law Center Auditorium, 6 p.m.

• Monday, February 27 - Mardi Gras holiday begins at 7:30 a.m.

Graduate School Newsletter vol. 13 February 2017

Graduate Student and Faculty Spotlights

Graduate students Hughes, Pappalardo, and Torres, under the direction of Dr. Goldgaber, present papers on affect theory at the South Atlantic Modern Language Association (SAMLA) Conference.

Charla Hughes, Mary Pappalardo, and Alejandra Torres proposed an independent study course on affect theory to Dr. Deborah Goldgaber after reading Lauren Berlant’s Cruel Optimism in Goldgaber’s Feminist Theory course. Dr. Goldgaber explained that affect theory is the idea that in order to maintain one’s morale and to keep going under difficult conditions, he or she is forced to adapt an attitude of being positive and/or optimistic in order to cope. As part of their independent study, Hughes, Pappalardo, and Torres were each required to write a paper on affect theory based off of their own research and teaching interests. After writing abstracts of their papers and putting together a cohesive panel description, they submitted their proposal to several conferences. After receiving acceptances, they decided that SAMLA was the best venue for their presentations. At SAMLA, they had 15 minutes each to present their papers, and the session closed with a Q&A session. Hughes was the first presenter, and her paper focused on how affect theory relates to the growing popularity of long-distance running events. Torres presented next with a focus on cruel optimism in relation to morale. She particularly focused on the realm of education and how teachers can continue to work even though their conditions can be awful. Pappalardo closed with a presentation on the concept of “the good life” and what that looks like in non-Western contexts, thinking about whether or not Berlant’s theory of cruel optimism can be applied in such contexts.

On the following page, Hughes, Pappalardo, Torres, and Dr. Goldgaber all share their thoughts on the successful independent study and the SAMLA presentation.

Charla Hughes, Alejandra Torres, and Mary Pappalardo at SAMLA

Graduate School Newsletter vol. 13 February 2017

Graduate Student and Faculty Spotlights (continued)

Mary Pappalardo

Alejandra Torres

Dr. Deborah Goldgaber

Charla Hughes

Charla Hughes is a third-year Ph.D. candidate in the English department, and she is completing a graduate minor in Women’s and Gender Studies. Her research focuses on 20th century transnational modernism. On campus, Charla is a member of the English Graduate Student Association, the Women’s and Gender Studies Graduate Organization, and the Graduate Student Association College Council. When asked about her experience presenting at SAMLA, Hughes shared, “It was a really rewarding experience to start with a class that was required as part of our coursework, and then take it on to something that was a lot more specialized and outside of the classroom.”

Mary Pappalardo is a Ph.D. candidate in the English department and is also a Women's and Gender Studies minor. She works on contemporary American and global Anglophone literature with a focus on new media studies and the novel. Pappalardo shared that preparing and presenting at SAMLA was a wonderful experience. “It was exciting to do a collaborative project in a field that I did not know much about but that I was very interested in,” said Pappalardo. “I liked that it was useful and important at LSU, but then we got to take our research to a wider audience. That was really exciting.”

Alejandra Torres is a third-year English doctoral student and a Women’s and Gender Studies graduate minor. Her research interests include literacy, second language acquisition, youth studies, and affect theory. Her current research centers on the ways that critical literacy methods, such as critical participatory action research, can increase English language learning motivation in immigrant youth. Torres said, “The whole experience [of the group independent study and conference presentation] shows that project-based/peer-based learning is incredibly effective. It keeps the students motivated and makes the process enjoyable.”

Dr. Deborah Goldgaber is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Women’s and Gender Studies. She works at the intersections of contemporary continental philosophy, critical theory, and feminist philosophy. When asked to describe her experience advising Hughes, Pappalardo, and Torres through the independent study course, Dr. Goldgaber shared, “I have had them all in class before, and they are just really great students. They stand out, and, of course, it is always a pleasure to work with motivated, sharp students.” Dr. Goldgaber also believes that having a project as part of the independent study course really made a difference, as it was fun for all of them.

Graduate School Newsletter vol. 13 February 2017

Alumni Spotlight

Michael Barron - Master of Science in Plant, Environment Management, and Soil Science (2014)

Graduate School alumnus Michael Barron named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in Science. “I did not find out I was named to the list until I saw the list!” said Michael Barron.

Barron found out he was nominated a few months before the list was published, but when he did not receive a final confirmation from Forbes, he was convinced he did not make the cut. So, when he decided to check out the list when it was announced, he was surprised to see his name and picture featured.

Barron still does not know who nominated him, but he knows he was nominated for his work in designing a series of improvements that significantly improved his company’s yield (see image).

Barron received his Master of Science in Plant, Environment Management, and Soil Science in 2014, and two weeks after graduation, Barron landed the job at AeroFarm. He is currently the senior plant scientist and leader of the research and development team at AeroFarm.

Barron shared that he is grateful he has been able to apply knowledge and use skills obtained during his time at LSU at his current position. Barron knows it is rare for graduates to land jobs in their respective fields doing exactly what they want to do, so Barron considers himself very lucky. When asked what advice he had for current students who want to make the most of their LSU Graduate School experience, Barron encouraged students to take the time to learn as much as they can. He urges students to truly tap into the knowledge of their professors and learn technical skills relevant to their field. Barron also encourages students to keep reading and learning throughout their lives.

http://www.forbes.com/profile/michael-barron/

Graduate School Newsletter vol. 13 February 2017

Credits Editor-in-Chief: Madalina Robison Assistant Editor: JoLena Broussard Assistant Editor: Stacey Amo

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the fees for graduation?

• Fees will appear on your regular fee bill.

• Master’s degree fee—$35; processing fee, $20

• Doctoral degree fee—$55; processing fee, $35

• Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree fee, $40

• Duplicate diploma fee—$20 (charged if a diploma is ordered and student does not graduate at that commencement)

Announcements

Congratulations to the Spring/Summer 2017 Dissertation Year Fellowship/Assistantship Recipients Fellowship Recipient:

• Warren Kimball, College of Music and Dramatic Arts, Department of Music

  Assistantship Recipients:

• Lei Zou, College of Coast and Environment, Department of Environmental Sciences

• Jeremy Foreman, College of Human Sciences and Education, Department of Kinesiology

• Nagarjuna R. Cheemarla, College of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Pathobiological Sciences

• Maitreyee Kulkarni, College of Science, Department of Mathematics

Travel Awards Dean's Travel Awards The Graduate School Dean’s Office is offering travel awards up to $1,500 that provide reimbursement of approved travel expenses to qualified LSU graduate students who present or perform at an international, national, regional, or in-state scholarly conference/exhibition. For more information and to apply, visit http://www.lsu.edu/graduateschool/current-students/assistantships-funding/travel/dean-travel.php.Graduate Student Association Travel Awards The Graduate Student Association is offering travel awards up to $450 that provide reimbursement of approved travel expenses to qualified students who attend professional conferences to present the results of their research. For more information and to apply, visit http://www.lsu.edu/graduateschool/current-students/assistantships-funding/travel/index.php.

LSU Curriculum Camp LSU Curriculum Camp (February 10-11, 2017) is designed to showcase the work of graduate students engaged in research on a host of subjects, such as curriculum theory, gender, race, culture, higher education research (K-20), policy analysis, political and/or intellectual thought (including but not limited to narrative, feminism, postmodernism, poststructuralism, queer theory, chaos and complexity theory). The deadline to submit a proposal is Friday, February 3. Visit http://www.chseproed.com/events/lsu-curriculum-c a m p / e v e n t -summary-12de7224a8a2467d9cd509f83c8e716a.aspx to submit a proposal and/or register to attend the camp. Food for Thought: Seminar Series for Graduate Teaching Assistants Thursday, February 16 at 10 a.m. — Can You Tell Me Why? The Power of Self-Explaining for Learning Dr. Jennifer Baumgartner, School of Education, leads this hour-long session on increasing learning in the classroom through the use of “self-explaining.” She will share some easy ways to incorporate this into your teaching. To register for the webinars, visit http://training.lsu.edu/.