ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE
NORTHEASTERN ASSOCIATION OF GRADUATE SCHOOLS

Plenary Session Abstracts 2003  

Plenary Session I: “The Patriot Act and SEVIS: Implications for Graduate Education”

Presenters: Perry Dees, Director, Office of Institutional Research, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Jeffrey Grundy, Director, Office of International Students and Faculty, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Laura Taylor, National SEVIS Coordinator, NAFSA and Associate Director, International Students and Scholars Office, Cornell University

Moderator: Ronald Kane, Dean of Graduate Studies, New Jersey Institute of Technology

The events of September 11, 2001, the Patriot Act, the introduction of SEVIS, the reorganization of federal agencies dealing with international students, and more recent events have had a major impact on graduate education, particularly in those programs with large numbers of international students. This session will provide up-to-date information on the changes that have occurred, impact on campuses and students, and how institutions throughout the United States are coping with tightened regulations and reporting requirements. Perspectives will come from the national level and from a technological research university with a highly diverse international population.

Plenary Session II: “The Scholarship of Teaching”

Presenters: Brian Coppola, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan
Stacey Lane Tice, Assistant Dean of the Graduate School and Director of the TA Program and Future Professoriate Project, Syracuse University

Moderator: Jack Narayan, Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, SUNY Oswego

Educators today are encouraged to integrate an understanding of student learning into their teaching. Current and future faculty are expected to understand how their students learn, and to use this understanding in combination with their strong understanding of the subject matter in order to design effective instructional environments. Teaching that is informed, reflective, gathers evidence of student learning, and made public can be considered as a scholarly activity as proposed in the 1990 report, Scholarship Reconsidered, by former Carnegie Foundation President Ernest Boyer. This session will discuss ways in which current and future faculty can be prepared to engage in this scholarship of teaching and learning.

Plenary Session III: “Program Quality Assessment in Canada and the USA including plans for the 2003/04 NRC Assessment of Research Doctorate Programs”

Presenters: Charlotte Kuh, Deputy Executive Director, National Research Council
Louis Maheu, Dean ad Vice Principal of Graduate Studies, Universite de Montreal
John Lennox, Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies, York University

Moderator: Lawrence Martin, Dean of the Graduate School, Associate Provost for Analysis and Planning and Director of International Programs, Stony Brook University;
This session will examine both academic and commercial approaches to the assessment of quality of graduate programs in Canada and the United States. It will include discussion of plans for the upcoming NRC Assessment of Research Doctorate programs and the possible extension of this study to Canadian universities.

Plenary Session IV: “Profiles of Excellence: The Faculty Role in Recruiting and Retaining Minorities in Graduate Programs”

Presenters: David Ferguson, Professor, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Stony Brook University
Ralph Pollack, Professor and Chair, Department of Chemistry, University of Maryland, Baltimore County Jocelyn Spragg, Lecturer on Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University

Moderator: Scott Bass, Dean of the Graduate School and Vice Provost for Research and Planning, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

The workshop will bring together national faculty experts who have established effective activities to recruit, support, and mentor graduate students from traditionally under-represented groups to the successful completion of the Ph.D. degree. Graduate education is a highly decentralized activity concentrated on the relationship between the student and faculty member. Key to successful outcomes is the engagement of faculty in broadening their respective fields or disciplines to be more inclusive. While national figures show overall growth in minority student enrollments, selected fields in the physical sciences, life sciences, mathematics, IT, and engineering still face challenges in the production of minority Ph.D.’s. In this plenary session, we will hear from faculty about specific approaches that have proven to be successful.

Plenary Session V: “Graduate Student Life/Student Services”

Presenters: Pamela DeMartino, Associate Provost, Graduate Student Affairs, University of Maryland University College
Brian Dineen, Doctoral student and Coordinating Fellow at the McDougal Graduate Student Center, Yale University

Moderator: Susan Guma, Dean of Graduate Studies, Sarah Lawrence College

This session will explore the role of the graduate school in accessing services for both part time and full time students; the array of services available; the role/relationship of a graduate student center with the traditional service units in a university; and a discussion on the most needed services: finances, mental health needs, career/job placement.

Plenary Session VI: “The Development and Maintenance of Interdisciplinary Degree Programs”

Presenters: Margo Gill, Associate Dean of the Graduate School, Harvard University
Helen Siu, Professor of Anthropology, Yale University

Moderators: Richard Sleight, Associate Dean, Graduate School, Yale University
Gwendolyn Davies, University of New Brunswick
This session will focus on the development and maintenance of interdisciplinary programs and the challenges that they present. Multiple disciplinary perspectives will be presented from the Humanities, Social Sciences and the sciences.

Plenary Session VII: “The Role of Liberal Arts in Graduate Education”

Presenters: Mary Brabeck, Dean, Lynch School of Education, Boston College
Tom Moore, Dean, Graduate Arts and Sciences, Winthrop University and President of the Association of Graduate Liberal Studies Program

Moderator: Martha McKenna, Dean, Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences, Lesley University

Increasing numbers of Graduate Schools are offering advanced courses in the liberal arts and sciences to meet the personal and professional needs of adult students. This panel will discuss two such initiatives. First, the national initiative of the Association of Graduate Liberal Studies Programs, which supports the development of interdisciplinary arts and sciences degree programs as an alternative to the more discipline-focused research programs in graduate education. And, second, a statewide initiative in Massachusetts in which deans of Education and Arts and Sciences are collaborating on the design of new teacher licensure programs rich in the liberal arts and sciences. Following the panel’s presentation, participants will be invited to share creative initiatives in the liberal arts and sciences in their graduate programs to advance the dialogue.

Plenary Session VIII: “Academic Freedom, Research Integrity, and the Responsibilities of Graduate Schools in the Era of Homeland Security and a Time of War”

Presenter: Bruce Mallory, Senior Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate School, University of New Hampshire

Commentator: Scott Bass, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

This concluding session will depart from the groundwork established in Plenary I and raise broad issues related to academic freedom, graduate curricula, and the protection of research integrity within the historical context of a nation in crisis. After framing the historical and contemporary dimensions of the topic, and summarizing the views of a range of learned societies and professional organizations, the program will conclude with a “town meeting” to discuss and reflect on the role of universities, and in particular, graduate deans, in helping to safeguard civil liberties and open inquiry during a time of heightened security and international conflict. We will also explore specific strategies and tactics graduate deans might employ to help guide constructive responses on their campuses, including the role of the humanities and social sciences to better understand terrorism, war, and evolving forms of globalism.
 

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