Strategy: Advance the role of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the research enterprise

Point People: Jeffery Gibeling and Enrique Lavernia

Narrative Summary of Second Year Implementation Efforts:

Over the past year, graduate student support has remained a high priority for the campus as a result of two factors -- the pre-eminence of many of our research programs and the preparations for the comprehensive campaign. Graduate programs continue to report that their efforts to recruit talented and diverse cohorts of students are constrained by financial resources and that we consequently lose applicants to peer institutions. Recognizing these concerns, the Provost has supported graduate education as a campus priority by allocating additional funds for student support for 2005-06 and by funding a development officer position to assist in raising fellowship funds. In addition, the Academic Senate Executive Council identified graduate student support as the highest campus priority.

During the past year, we have also continued to focus attention on the services that are available to graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. As the diversity of the graduate student population increases, additional efforts to support students from underrepresented backgrounds are critical to their academic success. The UC system received funding from the National Science Foundation for an Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) program. A key component of the Davis AGEP effort is a summer bridge program that helps entering underrepresented students become established on campus prior to the start of the academic year. In addition, Graduate Studies, and the various schools and colleges continually seek new opportunities to expand career and professional development programs and retention programs that strengthen community among graduate students and postdoctoral scholars.
The campus does not have all of the information systems needed to measure progress using the proposed metrics. We continue to devote attention to planning for these systems in order to facilitate our future actions and monitor our progress.

Advances and Ongoing Programs Consistent with Strategy:

• Central campus investment in graduate block grants and other student support was increased approximately 40% over the prior year.
• Implementation of the nonresident tuition remission policy for Graduate Student Researchers has increased student support, but has also continued to raise concerns regarding the high cost of graduate education.
• The comprehensive Graduate Student Support plan was revised and is under review; will guide investments over next five years.
• Graduate Studies continued to sponsor grant writing workshops.
• Graduate Studies and the Graduate Student Association collaborated to produce a Graduate Student Handbook to help students survive and thrive at UC Davis.
• Center for Engineering Professionalism writing and professionalism workshops open to graduate students (http://cep.engineering.ucdavis.edu).
• Graduate Council and Graduate Studies assumed responsibility for administration of the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award.
• Graduate Studies continues to support the Black Graduate and Professional Association for African-American graduate and professional students.
• The Graduate Student Assistant to the Dean and Chancellor has implemented a mentoring workshop to assist junior faculty in acquiring the skills they need to become good mentors.
• Postdoctoral Scholars Association and Graduate Studies collaborated to offer the first Excellence in Postdoctoral Research Awards.
• Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Scholar career services and professional development workshops provided through collaboration between Graduate Studies and the Internship and Career Center were significantly expanded during 2004-05 (http://icc.ucdavis.edu/iccdocs/gradpost.htm).
• Pathways Career Symposium sponsored by Internship and Career Center and Graduate Studies for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars (http://icc.ucdavis.edu/areas/phd/symposium.htm).
• Graduate Studies continued to expand recruiting activities, with emphasis on identifying underrepresented students who have had undergraduate research experiences.

Short Statement of Plans for 2005-06:

• Finalize implementation of the Training Grant Support Services unit to assist faculty who are interested in writing training grant proposals.
• Issue a revised Graduate Studies Handbook.
• Recruit and hire a development officer for graduate education; develop a strategy to increase graduate student support endowments.
• Continue focus on increasing the amount of graduate student support funding from all sources (campus funds, gifts, extramural grants, extramural fellowships, etc.).
• Continue development and implementation of database systems to track all forms of graduate students support.
• Collect baseline data on mentoring and support services programs.
• Promote collaboration among units currently providing career and professional development services (e.g. Engineering and Graduate Studies). Identify mechanisms for increasing the availability of these services and for assessing their effectiveness.
• Develop and implement database systems to track graduate student and postdoctoral scholar placement. Ensure that historical information is available, at least for the past five years.
• Work with the Graduate Student Association and Postdoctoral Scholars Association to develop programming for graduate and postdoctoral scholar research conferences.
• Provide additional administrative support to graduate students and postdoctoral scholars applying for extramural fellowship awards.
• Postdoctoral Scholars Association to continue developing ideas for postdocs to gain mentored teaching experience.
• Continue planning for graduate student and postdoctoral scholar housing needs in the West Village development.
• Continue developing concept of a Graduate and Postdoctoral Community Center (endorsed by GSA).
• First ever (and annual) Laboratory Management Training Program for Postdoctoral Fellows to be offered; developed in cooperation with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund.