CIE Presents Writing to Win on Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Angel Gonzalez

On Tuesday, September 9th, the CIE, in conjunction with The Graduate School and The SUNY Research Foundation, hosted Writing to Win, a panel to familiarize students with the process of preparing a competitive application for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). The panel was comprised of past and current NSF GRFP Fellows, including Dr. Susan Brennan, Professor in the Department of Psychology, Dr. Cindy Leiton, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Anesthesiology, and Stephen Lee, Doctoral Student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.

The NSF GRFP supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees. The panel was well attended, with 70 undergraduate and graduate students getting the opportunity to learn about the general application requirements, the panelists personal journeys to becoming NSF GRFP Fellows, and the application review process. If you would like to review the presentation, you can find it here: Writing to Win 2014.

CIE Staff Steps Up to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

Angel Gonzalez
The CIE Staff Preparing for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

The CIE Staff Preparing for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

The CIE Staff braved 75 degree weather to step up to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge on the morning of Wednesday, August 20. The CIE was challenged by our very own Toni Sperzel, Program Manager of the Turner and GEM Fellowship Programs. Toni dedicated her participation in the challenge to her grandfather Clem Vicari and family friend William Johnke, who both passed away in 2010 after fighting long battles against ALS.

ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects as many as 30,000 people in the U.S. alone. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has been wildly popular in raising awareness to the disease, resulting in $22.9 million donated to The ALS Association over the last three weeks, compared to $1.9 million they received last year during the same time period. 

Post by Stony Brook University Center for Inclusive Education.

Watch the CIE take the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

The CIE Staff took their soaking in stride, calling out all CIE Scholars and Faculty and the Graduate School Staff to participate in the challenge. For more information on ALS or to find out where you can donate, please visit The ALS Association.

The Aftermath of the The CIE Staff Preparing for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

The Aftermath

CIE Faculty Career Week Returns!

Ann Gardner
Dr. Matthew Lerner addresses the job hunt for Social Sciences faculty positions

Dr. Matthew Lerner addresses the job hunt for Social Sciences faculty positions

This week we are focusing on Essential Elements of the Faculty Job Application.  Today Dr. Matthew Lerner, Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology in the SBU Psychology Department, was our featured speaker in an event targeting Social Science grad students and PhDs.

He introduced the faculty job search process by talking about the variety of traditional academic jobs, and what ingredients went into the “secret sauce” for entering the job market (hint:  recipe includes networking).

He suggests that RESEARCH STATEMENTS be a 2-4 page “review article of your research program,” that includes a clear and coherent collection of: your project(s) theme, findings, subthemes, and a brief summary of future plans (do not lock yourself in by being too specific).

TEACHING STATEMENTS should be 1-2 pages that include your teaching philosophy with specific examples from your experience, use of creative approaches/technology, “Courses I feel prepared to teach” (be sure you list them using their terminology/course titles), Teaching awards.  Remember that “teaching” includes TA, class, one-to-one, supervision and mentorship.  And convey your enthusiasm!

While not all reviewers will look closely at your teaching statement, they will ask to see your TEACHING PORTFOLIO.  This may be one page with:  Table of classes taught (when, what, to whom/# students, where), evidence of teaching excellence (cherry-pick the best quotes from a few student evals, and give a summary of ratings with benchmarks to compare them to.

Dr. Lerner concluded with a timeline and ideas about how to prepare for your search.  We appreciate his thorough approach, and willingness to answer questions from the participants.  Students, postdocs and staff agreed we learned a lot…

Dr. Lerner and the Essential Elements Participants

Dr. Lerner and the Essential Elements Participants

Creating Paths to Grad School in Science hosted by the Stony Brook Chapter of SACNAS on Monday, April 28

Angel Gonzalez
Creating Paths to Grad School in Science event hosted by the Stony Brook Chapter of the Society for Advancement of Hispanics / Chicanos & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) on Monday, April 28

Creating Paths to Grad School in Science hosted by the Stony Brook Chapter of the Society for Advancement of Hispanics / Chicanos & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) on Monday, April 28.

Thirty-five attendees participated in the Creating Paths to Grad School in Science event hosted by the Stony Brook Chapter of the Society for Advancement of Hispanics / Chicanos & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) on Monday, April 28. The event was aimed towards increasing awareness of the mentoring and research opportunities available on campus, to better prepare undergraduate students for science graduate programs. Graduate students made presentations where they each described how their interest in science emerged and their current research areas. The keynote speaker, Dr. David Ferguson (Associate Provost for Diversity and Inclusion & Distinguished Service Professor and Chair, Department of Technology and Society) talked to students about the importance of making the most out of mentoring opportunities. The event culminated in a networking dinner where undergraduate students had the chance to network with graduate students to discuss issues related to research opportunities, graduate school preparation, and identifying mentors. If you would like more information regarding the Stony Brook Chapter of SACNAS, please contact Chris Martinez at sacnas.sbu@gmail.com.

Faculty and students at the networking dinner following the Creating Paths to Grad School in Science event.

Faculty and students at the networking dinner following the Creating Paths to Grad School in Science event.

Community of Student Mentors Trivia Night on Friday, April 25, 2014

Angel Gonzalez
Team Ice Cream (consisting of Kevin Hauser, Christian Ruiz, Lyl Tomlinson, and Amber Bonds) deliberating on a trivia question.

Team Ice Cream (consisting of Kevin Hauser, Christian Ruiz, Lyl Tomlinson, and Amber Bonds) deliberating on a trivia question.

The Center for Inclusive Education hosted a Trivia Night for members of the Community of Student Mentors program on Friday, April 25. This event gave students a chance to catch up with each other as they tested their knowledge in a variety of trivia categories, including History, Music, and Sports. In the end, Team Purple, consisting of Benedette Adewale (Doctoral Student in the Department of Chemistry), Coreyn Goddard (Masters Student in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences), and Steve Tsotras (Doctoral Student in the Genetics Program) walked away victorious, each winning prize bag. If you are interested in participating in the Community of Student Mentors and would like more information, please contact Angel Gonzalez.