Dean's Message: Supporting the whole student

There are only thirty days left of summer. How will you spend your time?

If you’re like the majority of graduate students, you’ve been working on your research and scholarship all summer. While that’s commendable, hopefully, you are also making time for other aspects of your life. We all need to stay in touch with everything that makes us feel fulfilled. Those things include work, study and finances, but also spirituality, health, family and social connections, and the environment. Recent research shows that graduate students are at high risk of stress-related illness. We, at the Graduate College, are working on several fronts to serve the whole student. In this issue of the Graduate Insider Newsletter, we cover topics that will support this goal and ensure graduate student wellness.

First, ASU offers holistic resources to support student wellness. For instance, graduate students can take individualized on-line assessments, get involved with support groups, and participate in various services such as ASU Counseling Services and ASU Health Services. A critical resource is Live Well @ ASU. Additional useful resources are listed in the sidebar to the right (or, if you're on tablet or mobile, at the bottom of the article).

In search of meaning

When people work on solving abstract and/or complex problems, it can be easy to lose perspective, particularly in regard to the impact of their efforts. This is why it is necessary to remind ourselves why our work matters and develop strategies to gauge the impact of our work.

The Graduate College’s initiative in knowledge mobilization will enable you to learn how to articulate the importance of your work and document its impact. Convincing others your ideas matter is a powerful resource to find meaning in what you do. It also opens doors to social communities and professional opportunities.

In search of funding and recognition

A major source of stress can be financial strain. The Graduate College and GPSA provide fellowships, research and travel grants you should take advantage of. Take a look at the Graduate College and GPSA’s websites for more information. 

We also added two new members to our staff, Joshua Brooks, program manager for distinguished awards and Jill Lemna, manager for research engagement. 

Josh Brooks will lead our efforts to further develop our Distinguished Awards Program, jointly administered by the Graduate College and Barrett, The Honors College’s Lorraine W. Frank Office of National Scholarship Advisement. Josh’s number one priority is to help you be as competitive as possible for the world’s most distinguished academic awards. Be on the lookout for emails, and check our social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and website for upcoming informational sessions.

Jill Lemna is working on obtaining funding to support graduate students with grants and fellowships as well as seek out interdisciplinary opportunities. 

In search of mentorship

Graduate school is designed to expose students to multiple perspectives. At once engaging and challenging, these new demands can be stressors that can become barriers to academic success. Being able to turn to a mentor who can help you navigate the turbulence of graduate school can be an effective way of bolstering your success and persistence.

The Graduate College has developed a Mentor Network consisting of multi-cultural and cross-cultural organizations, where everyone can feel welcome and accepted. The Graduate College also recognizes faculty mentors with the Outstanding Mentor Awards. We collect and disseminate their mentor philosophies to inspire all faculty to be excellent mentors to their students.

Other communities also offer meaningful mentoring opportunities, such as the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. Check out Research Blitz to see what postdocs have been up to lately! 

Reminders and tips

I encourage you to explore the rest of the articles in the Graduate Insider. You’ll find important reminders for all graduate students about various resources such as the Writing Center’s availability during the summer, deadlines for when you should submit your thesis or dissertation for format review, or register for TA Orientation. Learn more about the improvements you can expect to see in your interactive plan of study (iPOS) and get tips for your digital portfolio.

Announcing an addition to the newsletter—Online Learning: News from EdPlus

There are 19,986 graduate students enrolled at ASU for the upcoming fall semester. More than half are online students! This is why I invited EdPlus, the central enterprise unit for online learning and education at ASU, to contribute a regular column to this newsletter. 

The inaugural article in Online Learning: News from EdPlus introduces you to ASU Online’s success coaches, whose goal is each online student’s overall wellness. Read the article here.

Keep well!

Alfredo J. Artiles,
Dean