Oct 13th:

1)  Due to budget cuts, the meetings will no longer have refreshments. L

2) The November 10 meeting will be moved to November 17.  (B/C of move, there may be cookies J)

3)  Most of the time was spent discussing the external review of the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology.  It seems like the external review was quite negative and there were lots of complaints from graduate students in the dept.  However, the MGM dept has already implemented a lot of changes since the external review report came in.  They now have a new chair, a new DGS, and a new DGSA.  They have also completely restructured their prelim system and have a new weekly graduate student seminar.  The new chair and new DGS came to the meeting for about 30 minutes to discuss their response to the external review.  After they left, it was the consensus of the ECGF that the MGM dept has responded well to the external review.  There are still some concerns about how genetics research at Duke is fragmented across many departments and institutes and that this may be contributing to some of the problems in MGM.  However, the consensus of the committee was that the structure of genetics research at Duke is above the power of the MGM dept itself and should maybe be considered strategically by a higher committee.4) Dean Jo Rae Wright of the Graduate School discussed her strategic plan.  It was due yesterday, but she got an extension.   We were short on time, but she highlighted 3 areas that she wanted us to consider:a) Study Skills program for graduate studentsb) Ways to decrease the time to graduate, particularly in the Humanities which have the highest average number of years.  One way suggested was to have more deadlines.c) International study abroad programs for graduate studentsThere will be more info posted on the Blackboard site about the 3 areas above and we are supposed to think about them and come back to the next meeting with ideas and thoughts.

5) The November 10 meeting will be moved to November 17.  (B/C of move, there may be cookies J)

Oct 27th:

1) Final discussion of external review of MGM dept.  I suggested that they inform the dept that they currently have an open GPSC seat and that it would be beneficial for them to select a GPSC rep for their department.

2) Discussion of external review of the Graduate Program in Liberal Studies.  The external review was fairly positive.  This program consists of only night classes. The instructors are Duke professors and the average age of the students is 40.  The degree is a masters of arts.  There was discussion of extending the program to grant Doctorates of Liberal Studies.  However, this seems unlikely to happen in the near future.

3) 2 representatives from the Information Technology Advisory Committee came to the meeting to inform us of a change to the security/privacy policy at Duke.  The changes were to make it more clear that Duke University does have the right to seize personal emails of faculty/staff/students under certain cases.  They also reminded us to protect our passwords and never tell them to anyone else.

see above

The MGM dept has on open GPSC seat.  What is GPSC doing to try to make sure that all departments fill their seats?

N/A

Rachel McKinney

Rachel McKinney

Rachel McKinney

I am very interested in undergraduate teaching and would like to serve on a university committee related to teaching.  I am a 4th year graduate student in the mathematics department and I have already had substantial teaching experience.  In the fall of 2006, I was a laboratory assistant for Calculus I (Math 31L).  In the fall of 2007 and the fall of 2008, I was a full instructor for a section of Calculus I (Math 31L).  In 2007, I had a class of 32 students and in 2008, I had a class of 25 students.  In this position, I designed my own course policies, gave three 50-minute lectures each week, wrote my own quizzes and exams, met with students individually, etc.  I also taught Probability (Math 135) in the summer of 2008.  This is a more advanced undergraduate course and is not usually taught by a graduate student.  I have really enjoyed teaching and have received very high teacher evaluations.  I also received the L.P. Smith award for teaching excellence from the mathematics department in 2009.  I am interested in pursuing a career as a professor after I graduate.

I believe that I would be a great representative on the Undergraduate Teaching, Academic Standards, and Honors Committee.  My interests are very well aligned with the committee and I would have a lot to contribute.  I would also enjoy serving as the Academic Council Liaison or on the Arts and Sciences Council, as they are also semi-related to undergraduate teaching.

 As fourth and fifth choices, I would also enjoy serving on the Academic Programs Committee or the Executive Committee of Graduate Faculty.

I have not served on a university committee in the past, but I have had much experience serving on other committees.  I am on the organizing committee for the Graduate Student Conference in Probability.  This past May we held that 3rd Annual conference with over 100 participants in attendance.  We are also already actively planning the 4th Annual conference which will be held in May 2010.  I am one of the 5 organizers for the conference and have gained much experience coordinating large events.  I am also on the Duke University Calculus Committee, which evaluates the calculus curriculum and proposes improvements.

Please see above sections on Interests and Qualifications.

A resolution for the Economics external review was approved.

 Dean Wright discussed the National Research Council study and rankings that should come out very soon.

none

none

none

The Mathematics and Economics external reviews were discussed.

none

none

none

The Developmental Biology Training Program was approved to change its name to Developmental and Stem Cell Biology Training Program.

 A resolution on the Immunology external review was approved.

The Mathematics external review was discussed.

none

none

none

Dean Jo Rae Wright described the new PhD tuition structure.  Starting July 2009, Duke will move to a tuition remission structure - tuition and fees will now be consistent for all PhD students. (Engineering students will no longer have to pay the Pratt tuition/fee.)  Faculty will have to do some re-budgeting on existing grants.  This took a lot of negotiation with the Deans of the different schools, but Dean Wright got it done.  Details should be available on the Grad School website within a month or two.

 Minor amendments to the Graduate School bylaws were approved.

 A new Certificate program in History and Anthropology was approved.

 Discussion began on the Immunology external review.

In the Spring, ECGF will discuss issues that graduate students face when trying to coordinate faculty schedules for required Graduate School exams (the Preliminary Exam and Final Defense).  It has come to the Deans' attention that many students have difficulty getting 5 faculty members to meet.  Currently, an exemption must be requested and approved if any faculty member cannot be physically present at a Graduate School exam and intends to participate by phone or video conference.  The number of students requesting this exemption is climbing - perhaps this policy should be revisited.  Most examples are anecdotal -I have volunteered to conduct a survey to try to quantify the problem.

see Issues for GPSC