On Tuesday, January 20, 2015, Dr. Janet Rutledge, Dean of the Graduate School at UMBC, addressed the participants of the Winter 2015 Dissertation House. Dr. Rutledge, a national leader in graduate education, discussed the “process” of obtaining the PhD. She stated that the papers that were being written in high school or during undergraduate studies were generally “discovery papers,” or introductions to research. Graduate students are expected to learn the process of doing research in the discipline: gather background information, find out what others have done, learn what has worked well in the past and what didn’t work, and make strides toward possible solutions.

Dean Rutledge also discussed the need to develop skills for becoming an independent scholar, and the need to engage in scholarly activities outside of the classroom and the laboratory. She acknowledged that it can be difficult to develop a sense of scholarly independence, and said, “No one will lower your grade if you don’t submit to a conference.” Following this statement, the dean encouraged the graduate students to participate in their professional societies and begin to develop expert knowledge by connecting with others in the field. She noted that these activities may not necessarily be driven by others, and that students need plans of action to be sure that they are actively engaged in external academic activities that will be of benefit to their knowledge base, scholarly network, and future careers.

Dr. Rutledge’s research covered a mathematical model for speech using low bit-rate coding. In addition to being Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate School, she is on the faculty in the Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.  

At 9:00 AM EST, we opened the Winter 2015 Dissertation House at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC: An Honors University in Maryland). We have a wonderful group of students from UMBC and UMB in house, and we invite you to join us. Our Dissertation Coach is Dr. Wendy Carter-Veale. Dr. Carter-Veale is challenging the group to post “measurable” goals, and she urges everyone to be realistic so that each can accomplish an actual goal by the end of the week. Some people think that they will be able to accomplish huge tasks in a short period of time, and while you will be productive, we want to be sure that you are setting yourselves up for success. Therefore, it is not necessarily prudent to try to finish such a large task within a few days.

Graduate students who are participating in the Dissertation House here at UMBC had to apply to participate. If you are not participating in person, we invite you to join us online:

https://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/blog-online-challenge/winter-2015-challenge/

Post your goals and join others in the challenge to “get it done!”

At 9:00 AM EST, we opened the Winter 2015 Dissertation House at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC: An Honors University in Maryland). We have a wonderful group of students from UMBC and UMB in house, and we invite you to join us. Our Dissertation Coach is Dr. Wendy Carter-Veale. Dr. Carter-Veale is challenging the group to post “measurable” goals, and she urges everyone to be realistic so that each can accomplish an actual goal by the end of the week. Some people think that they will be able to accomplish huge tasks in a short period of time, and while you will be productive, we want to be sure that you are setting yourselves up for success. Therefore, it is not necessarily prudent to try to finish such a large task within a few days.

Graduate students who are participating in the Dissertation House here at UMBC had to apply to participate. If you are not participating in person, we invite you to join us online:

https://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/blog-online-challenge/winter-2015-challenge/

Post your goals and join others in the challenge to “get it done!”

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• visit our Rubric FAQ page

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Dear Graduate Students and Postdocs,

Our colleagues at Anne Arundel Community College are seeking scholars with science and/or math backgrounds, and at least a master’s degree, to teach classes in the sciences. There are at least three courses that need an instructor for the Spring 2015 semester. They are asking for applicants ASAP. In addition, the Math Department at AACC (where PROMISE AGEP Alum, Dr. Alycia Marshall is Chair) is seeking three full-time faculty positions. We have a partnership with AACC through our PROMISE AGEP and the PROF-it program (http://promiseagep.wordpress.com/archived-posts/prof-it-professors-in-training/) and we want to extend these opportunities to all graduate students and postdocs. Please consider these opportunities below.

—-FROM THE CHAIR OF THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT —–

The Physical Science department needs people interested and willing to teach General Physical Science Lecture and lab (PHS 100), General Chemistry Lecture and Lab (Che 111), Oceanography (PHS 109), and Physics Lecture and Lab (algebra or Calculus based).

The requirements for the position are a Master’s degree in the subject area or a related area (Many engineering degrees, or Science Education Degrees are acceptable).  Teaching experience is preferred but not required.

All of our courses have course coordinators, and sample materials are readily available.  All lab curriculum are set, and we have a full complement of lab staff, so instructors do not have to do any lab set up or take down.

If you are interested, send a resume/CV directly to me via email:

Kirsten Casey

Department Chair Physical Sciences

Anne Arundel Community College

kacasey@aacc.edu.

If you apply through the AACC website,  contact me directly so that I can get back to you quickly.

———–FROM THE CHAIR OF THE MATH DEPARTMENT—————-

The math department is searching for three new full-time faculty members to join our department for the upcoming academic year.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Master’s degree or higher in Mathematics, Mathematics Education or a related field with at least 18 graduate credit hours in mathematics.  Ability to teach a wide variety of courses included developmental and credit-level math courses is required.  Candidate should have demonstrated experience integrating technology and innovative teaching strategies to improve student learning.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Community College teaching experience is preferred.  Experience teaching online, hybrid, statistics and/or math courses for elementary education majors is highly desirable.  Experience in accelerated and/or technology-supported developmental mathematics programs and an ability to teach upper-level STEM courses such as the calculus series (Calculus 1, 2 and 3), Differential Equations, Linear Algebra and/or Discrete Structures is a plus.  A strong candidate has knowledge of the community college’s mission and issues directly related to serving community college students.  A Ph.D. is not required, but highly desirable.

Information can be found here:

Instructor/Assistant Professor, Mathematics

—–

Thank you to Dr. Alycia Marshall (degrees from UMBC, Bowie State University, and the University of Maryland College Park) for sharing these opportunities with us. Dr. Marshall chairs the Math Department at AACC, and is a former PROMISE Peer Mentor.  Another colleague and former College Park PROMISE Peer Mentor, Dr. Stacey O. Nicholls, http://ola4.aacc.edu/sonicholls/, is also at AACC. Dr. Nicholls and Dr. Marshall have served as speakers and mentors at some of our PROMISE Summer Success Institute (SSI) events over the years. Both former PROMISE Peer Mentors are tenured professors in the Math Department at AACC.