Recognition, appreciation, learning, and fun mark the 2015 Graduate Education Week at Virginia Tech, which kicks off Monday. 

Sponsored by the university's Graduate Student Assembly and the Graduate School, the week celebrates students, faculty, programs, and initiatives at the university. 

Most events are planned for the university community, but Wednesday's Graduate Research Symposium is free and open to the public at the Graduate Life Center at Donaldson Brown, 155 Otey St. It includes poster, video, and short-discussion presentations from graduate students.

Here's the Blacksburg campus schedule:

  • Monday's events include a morning coffee gathering for graduate students at Newman Library’s first floor multipurpose room and a buffet lunch at the Graduate Life Center. Later, Citizen Scholar awards will be presented to graduate students who have put theory to practice for the advancement of a community. 
  • Tuesday, Graduate School staff will provide a workshop “Removing the Mystery of the Electronic Thesis Dissertation (ETD) Review.” The session explains how to format ETDs, use citations, and follow the process as the thesis/dissertation moves through the steps to final approval.
  • Wednesday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the graduate life center will be filled with graduate students sharing their scholarship and projects at the annual research symposium. At 2 p.m., Career Services staff will offer a lab in the Graduate Life Center lobby on using Linkedin effectively. And at 6 p.m. the Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Statistical Analysis will provide a workshop at the Graduate Life Center on building research capacity in developing countries.
  • Thursday, top doctoral and master’s degree students will be honored at an annual awards banquet. The Graduate School will also recognize the first class of Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society scholars and will name the outstanding graduate student of the year.
  • Friday, Vice President and Dean for Graduate Education Karen P. DePauw will meet with students at a two-hour forum in the Graduate Life Center multipurpose room to discuss ongoing inclusion and diversity efforts. This is the second of three such conversations between students and DePauw focusing on issues and concerns. Part of the discussion will include an update on progress related to topics raised at the first forum in January. The forum will include an activity aimed at helping answer university President Timothy D. Sands’ question, “What would InclusiveVT look like if we were successful beyond our wildest dreams?” Advance sign-up is requested here

Event and recognition stretch beyond Blacksburg and will be celebrated at the university’s National Capital Region campuses, too. For information about the week’s events and to register for those that require sign-ups, visit the website.

The Graduate School at Virginia Tech promotes graduate education as a critical component in the transmission of new knowledge, research, ideas, and scholarship. It is responsible for the development, administration, and evaluation of graduate education throughout the university, providing support to faculty, staff, and more than 6,000 graduate students. The Graduate School is committed to building a diverse graduate community and vibrant intellectual environment to help prepare graduates to lead. Virginia Tech, the most comprehensive university in Virginia, is dedicated to quality, innovation, and results to the commonwealth, the nation, and the world.

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