VPGP Sally Pratt Addresses USC Annenberg Graduate Fellowship Symposium

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Thank you to all of the graduate students, faculty, staff, and friends of the Graduate School who attended the USC Annenberg Graduate Fellowship Research and Creative Project Symposium yesterday. It was a great event! Please enjoy Vice Provost for Graduate Programs Sally Pratt’s address to the symposium audience.

USC Annenberg Graduate Symposium Address
VPGP Sally Pratt
April 10, 2013

In case there was any doubt at all on your mind, let me confirm that this is the annual Annenberg Graduate Fellowship Symposium for Research and Creative Projects.  Let me further confirm that the symposium brings together Annenberg Graduate Fellows from the Viterbi School of Engineering, the School of Cinematic Arts, and the Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism.  It showcases innovative research in communication and digital media – presented by you, our Annenberg fellows – and it serves as the culminating celebration in a year-long program of activities that began with the Annenberg Micro Seminars last September.

The papers and e-posters represent a diverse collection of work, ranging from a poster that maps nuclear radiation in Japan, to an app that tracks gym traffic at the USC Lyon Center, a chip that switches radio frequencies to make encryption unnecessary, and an animated city symphony that celebrates the hidden world of background noises.

There are 65 participating fellows.  And let me tell you, I salute each and every one of you.  I salute the work you have done to bridge disciplines, the work you have done to coordinate your lives as busy people in order to work together, and most of all. I salute you as scholars and creative souls with “fire in your belly” – the “fire” to push not only your ideas, but also your ability to express your ideas, to the nth degree.  It was this notion of an ability to grab ideas, work with others, and push and push the material that caused the gleam in the eye of the Annenberg Foundation when it funded this program.  It is this same notion that puts a spring in the step of your faculty advisors, your deans, and the staff of the Graduate School and Provost’s Office.

I have been reading a book by William Dalrymple, called City of Djinns:  A Year in Delhi.  In Dalrymple’s portrayal, Delhi is a city of many layers:  diachronic historical layers of civilization after civilization that occupied the same geographic spot; and synchronic layers of all the different cultures and economic classes that exist together at any one time.  According to local folklore, it is the djinns, the fire-formed spirits always on the move, that make the city whole, that keep the city alive as a city in all its manifold identities.  Djinns fulfill different functions in different belief systems.  But if you can say that the university is like the city of Delhi in its historical and cultural multifacetedness – and I believe that you can – then, like the djinns, you are lively, life-giving spirits of energy and cohesion that make us whole.  As an individual faculty member, and as an official representative of “The University,” I am so grateful to you for that!

Before closing, I want to acknowledge both the faculty who are here, and all the faculty who have nurtured you and your projects along the way, even if they’re not here at this moment. Please join me in giving a round of applause to our dedicated USC faculty.

I would also like to thank the staff of the Davidson Conference Center for their excellent service.  They help not only with the food, but with the humane and personal tone of this symposium.  Thank you!

And finally, we should thank the graduate school staff who have been helping today, most particularly Assistant Dean for Fellowships, Meredith Drake Reitan and Kate Tegmeyer. They are the brains and the engine of this symposium and the Annenberg Fellows program.  Thank you, Meredith and Kate. We owe you a huge debt of gratitude!

And now, let the celebration of knowledge continue!  Thank you.

UCLA-USC Holocaust and Genocide Studies Graduate Working Group

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The UCLA-USC Holocaust and Genocide Studies Graduate Working Group will hold its inaugural meeting — a research resources workshop — this Friday, April 12 from 9:30am to 1pm at USC. All graduate students interested in Holocaust and Genocide Studies are invited to attend.

Event information: 

9:30am – 10:00am — Introductions (SOS 250, History Department Conference Room)
10:00am – 10:55am — Information Session by Crispin Brooks, Curator of the USC Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive (Loc. TBD)
11:00am – 11:55am — Information Session by Lynn Sipe, Librarian for the USC Holocaust and Genocide Studies Collection (DML B-24, Location of the Collection)
12:00pm – 1:00pm — Lunch and discussion of research interests (SOS 250)

If you are already familiar with these resources and their plans for the future, then join the group for lunch and share your research interests.

Please contact Lori Rogers (lrogers@usc.edu), as soon as possible, to RSVP and indicate if you will only be joining for part of the day.

**UCLA students: Parking at USC is $10/day.  Carpooling is recommended. 

Group information:

A cross-campus initiative organized by Rachel Deblinger (UCLA, History) and Sari Siegel (USC, History), the UCLA-USC Holocaust and Genocide Studies Graduate Working Group aims to bring together graduate students from the Southern California Institutions with overlapping interests, in order to facilitate dialogue and further research across campuses and academic disciplines. After Friday’s research resources workshop at USC, our next meeting will take place at UCLA in the Fall of the 2013-2014 school year. We hope future meetings will support ongoing informal conversation and provide opportunities for participants to present papers, rehearse job talks, and engage prominent Holocaust or Genocide Studies scholars.

 

College Night at the Getty Center

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Mark your calendars for College Night at the Getty Center, taking place this coming Monday, April 15, 2013. This annual event includes special presentations and curator-led tours, music, and food for university students. This year, the featured exhibition is:

“Overdrive: L.A. Constructs the Future, 1940–1990,” featuring hundreds of drawings, photographs, architectural models, films, animations, oral histories, and more documenting how Los Angeles rapidly evolved into one of the most populous and influential industrial, economic, and creative capitals in the world.

Also on view are “Japan’s Modern Divide: The Photographs of Hiroshi Hamaya and Kansuke Yamamoto,” “In Focus: Ed Ruscha,” and “Looking East: Rubens’s Encounter with Asia,” as well as highlights from the Museum’s permanent collection, including masterpieces by Van Gogh, Monet, and others. 

Graduate students will also have the opportunity to talk to internationally exhibiting artist Sam Durant of CalArts and Getty staff members to discuss the exhibitions, exchange ideas about the role of museums in representing culture, and learn about a day in the life of designers, curators, and other staff members working at the Getty. Interested students may RSVP at the Getty website, http://www.getty.edu/education/college/center_collegenight_2013.html

Phi Beta Kappa Alumni Association International Scholarship

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USC will nominate two international students for the 2013 Phi Beta Kappa Alumni Association International Scholarship. The nominated students will be expected to complete their studies in 2013 – 2014. The award is for $1,500.

Students are asked to return the completed application via email to gradfllw@usc.edu by Monday, May 6, 2013. Faculty recommenders may send their form and/or letter via email to gradfllw@usc.edu by Monday, May 6, 2013.

When preparing the application, students should keep in mind the following criteria:

  1. The award is intended for foreign students completing their graduate work. Students are only eligible for one award.
  2. Awardees are expected to be returning to their home countries, preferably just after completing the degree. However, postdoctoral study, especially where it is expected for the study to be “finished” and/or  is unobtainable in the home country, has always been an area where some latitude has been permitted.  It is also recognized that political or economic conditions may prevent the student from returning home.
  3. Awardees must have both academic excellence and significant need.
  4. Awardees must be fully enrolled to receive their scholarships. (Proof of enrollment is required to get the checks.)
  5. Awardees are not limited to persons who come from underdeveloped or developing countries. 
  6. Awards are to be made without discrimination on the basis of sex, race, age or creed.

The “Statement Regarding Awards,” on the Phi Beta Kappa Alumni Association website provides a general description of the scholarship. To reach the site, go to <http://www.pbksocalalumni.com>, then to “Scholars and Scholarships,” then “International Scholarships.”

Announcing the Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Humanities at UC Berkeley

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The Dean of Arts and Humanities at the University of California, Berkeley is now accepting applications for the 2013-15 Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Humanities, established with a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.  Four new fellows will be appointed for 2013-15, to teach and carry out research in a sponsoring department in the humanities.

Appointment will be for two years as a Visiting Assistant Professor. Fellows will be expected to teach one course per semester, for four consecutive semesters (not including summer sessions). Salary will be approximately $61,000 a year, with mid-level benefits. New Fellows will receive a $1,500 computer and technology allowance, and in each year of their appointment, Fellows will receive a flexible research fund of $5,000 to cover such costs as travel and research assistance.

The Application deadline is April 12, 2013.

This year’s eligible applicants must have received the PhD no earlier than July 1, 2010 and no later than June 30, 2013. UC Berkeley PhDs are not eligible for this fellowship.

For additional information and to submit an application online, please visit: http://ls.berkeley.edu/art-hum/mellon/Applicants may not hold an appointment in a tenure-track position, and Mellon Fellows may not hold any other appointment during the period of the fellowship. Applications from international scholars are accepted.

The University of California is an EO/AA/ADA employer.

 

5th Annual Graduate Research Symposium

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Question:
What do dark matter, eating disorders, air marshals, robots, ruins in Pompeii, Kodak cameras all have in common?

Answer:
They are all research subjects in the 5th Annual Graduate Research Symposium!

Join us Tuesday, April 2nd in the Tutor Campus Center Grand Ballroom for a showcase of the best graduate research at USC. This is the only university-wide academic event for graduate students. Similar to a “TED talk,” students will each present for 5 minutes with the help of a single power point slide. 

STEM (Sciences, Tech, Engineering, Math) Presentations take place from 9:00am-12:00pm
Social Sciences, Arts, Humanities Presentations take place from 12:30-3:30pm

Undergraduates welcomed! This is a great chance to learn about what graduate research is all about.

FREE Food and USC SWAG!!
More info here: http://tinyurl.com/USCGradsymp

RSVP kindly requested but not required. RSVP to: http://tinyurl.com/GRSrsvp

USC Graduate School Honors Two-Time Trojan with Rockwell Dennis Hunt Award

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Kenisha Strong works as a graduate assistant for the USC School of Social Work and an English instructor for the Office of International Services. (Photo/Nathan Carter)

Kenisha Strong ’09 remembers the first time she visited the USC Campus.

“My grandmother rounded up all her grandchildren, drove us an hour to the USC campus and proudly gave us a tour of her alma mater,” Strong recounted. “I remember how happy, excited and proud she was, and I vowed then that I would also become a Trojan.”

Strong made good on her promise when she earned her bachelor’s from USC with a double major in anthropology and communications in 2009. She is now in her first year as a master’s student in Postsecondary Administration and Student Affairs (PASA) at the USC Rossier School of Education.

It’s not surprising that Strong will be a two-time USC alumna — Trojan blood runs in the family. Besides her grandmother, who received a master’s degree in psychology in 1984, Strong’s grandfather earned his PhD in education in the 1970s.

In honor of her achievements and dedication to USC, the USC Graduate School recognized Strong with the 2013 Rockwell Dennis Hunt Scholastic Award. Each year, the award is given to one graduate student who also completed his or her bachelor’s degree at USC. The award is given in honor of Dean Hunt, who in 1920 became dean of the USC Graduate School, a position he held until his retirement in 1945.

In addition to pursuing two degrees at USC, Strong has been a vibrant presence in the USC community — athletically, academically and professionally. During all four years of her undergraduate career, Strong was a pole vaulter on the USC track team, and ultimately earned a place among the top 10 women pole vaulters in USC history. She accomplished this all while maintaining top marks in her coursework: Strong earned the scholar-athlete recognition during her junior and senior seasons.

Strong also got involved with AngeLingo, an undergraduate online writer’s magazine sponsored by the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences. She became an editor for the magazine during her senior year and also worked on a blog connected with the publication.

Taking advantage of the many opportunities USC had to offer, Strong studied abroad for a semester in Brisbane, Australia, in 2007, where she became interested in learning about other cultures. The experience influenced not only her anthropology major, but also her future career trajectory.

Following commencement in 2009, Strong moved to Stockholm, where she began teaching English-language courses to children between the ages of 5 and 14. It was during this time that her interest in education as a profession really took hold.

After nearly a year in Stockholm, Strong returned to California, where she taught English as a second language to adult learners at the University of Laverne. Now, as a graduate student at USC Rossier, Strong is an English instructor in the Office of International Services’ English Language Program, which helps the families of international students at USC transition into their new environment.

Strong has continued to work as an instructor of English as a second language because of the tangible difference it makes in people’s lives, and, in joining USC Rossier’s PASA program, she is preparing herself to make the greatest impact possible in the lives of students.

“I know the transformative power of education,” Strong said. “I hope to work in a community college environment where I can aid students with their transition into a university, opening doors for them that they may have never considered themselves.”

The USC Graduate School will present Strong with the Hunt Award at the Academic Honors Convocation in April. Strong’s family, including both of her Trojan grandparents, plan to attend the ceremony.

 

Published March 12, 2013 on USC News

USC PhD Candidate Awarded the David J. Morafka Memorial Research Award from the Desert Tortoise Council

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Michael W. Tuma, a PhD Candidate in Integrative and Evolutionary Biology, was recently awarded the David J. Morafka Memorial Research Award from the Desert Tortoise Council.

 The award, named in honor of David Morafka, a USC graduate and former authority on North American gopher tortoises, will enable Tuma to investigate life history variation in the Agassiz desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), a threatened species listed under the California and federal Endangered Species Acts. Tuma will develop population models to determine how climatic differences have contributed to natural selection pressures that have affected the tortoise’s life span, growth rates, size and reproduction rates.