Graduate-Professional Student Appreciation Week is April 1-7, 2018. The Graduate School and the Graduate and Professional Student Federation (GPSF) are honored to recognize the many contributions graduate and professional students make to research, teaching and outreach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
We encourage you to promote the hashtag #CarolinaLovesGraduateStudents on social media with a photo featuring Carolina graduate students.
“Our University depends on the work and original ideas of graduate students. They are vital in making powerful connections – teaching to research, undergraduates to faculty and the lab to the field, to name only a few. Through their outreach, graduate students also invite the public to share in the life of our University. I am also grateful to faculty and staff members and administrators, who support our graduate students and are so pleased to see them succeed.”
—Steve Matson, dean of The Graduate School
Here is a list of campus events, open to the public, that focus on the lives and achievements of current and former graduate students.
MONDAY, APRIL 2
- Graduate and Professional Student Appreciation Week kick-off
8:00-9:30 am, Sonja Haynes Stone Center
The Graduate School is partnering with Dunkin’ Donuts to provide donuts and coffee for the graduate community. Please stop by for your Monday morning sugar and caffeine fix. While you’re there, pick up a button to show your support for graduate students at Carolina! - UNC Graduate Research and Policy Expo (GRaPE) Conference
8:00 am – 3:00 pm, Sonja Haynes Stone Center
Now in its fourth year, The GPSF’s premier academic research conference, the Graduate Research and Policy Expo, is a great opportunity for students to share their research with policymakers, administrators and the Carolina community. The GPSF is working with the Science Policy Advocacy Group to give graduate and professional students the chance to participate in policy panels, communication training, and the chance to meet friends of Carolina. This free, half-day conference includes poster presentations, research talks, an exciting keynote speaker, prizes, and food for attendees and presenters. - Platelet Drive
8:00 am -4:30 pm, UNC Blood Donation Center
The Graduate and Professional Student Federation is partnering with the UNC Blood Donation Center for a platelet drive 4/2-4/6. Please read the information sheet, check your eligibility, and schedule an appointment. Up to four people can donate at the same time. Groups of two get free AMC movie tickets and groups of three-to-four will get free pizza (if you are scheduling a group, please call to make your group’s appointment: 984-974-8290). The UNC Blood Donation Center is located on the third floor of the N.C. Cancer Hospital on UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus. Appointments last two hours, so please plan accordingly.
“We encourage everyone – students, faculty and staff – to celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of our graduate and professional students during Graduate-Professional Student Appreciation Week and every day before and after!”
—Hoi Ning Ngai, Associate Dean for Student Affairs, The Graduate School
TUESDAY, APRIL 3
- Practicing Social Justice Within the System
12:00 pm – 1:45 pm
Featuring Durham City Council Member DeDreana Freeman, this conversation will focus on the opportunities and challenges of promoting meaningful social justice and change from within established systems of power.
Event registration - Enhancing Interpersonal and Leadership Effectiveness Workshop
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm, Graduate Student Center
The focus of this session is to provide participants with needed “people” skills that are paramount to team and organizational effectiveness. Each will learn how to create work environments that foster engagement and productive working relationships. Participants will be able to better understand their own and others differing personalities and learn how to better work with, manage, mentor, communicate with and motivate the various types measured by the Peoplemap assessment. Facilitator: Peter Metzner, Dynamic Change, Inc.
Workshop registration - “The PHD Movie” screening
7:30 pm – 9:00 pm, Carolina Union room 3408
The comics of Jorge Cham have resonated with graduate students for years, and now we have the opportunity to show his new film, “The PHD Movie,” here at UNC-Chapel Hill. Check out The PHD Movie trailer. - Platelet Drive continues (see above)
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4
- UNC Student Stores Graduate Regalia Sales
UNC Student Stores
In honor of GPSAW and our upcoming graduates, UNC Student Stores will be hosting special regalia sales days on Wednesday and Thursday. Students who stop by in person to purchase keepsake robes or order custom regalia on these days will be entered into a special drawing for a UNC prize pack! Staff will be available in person to assist with purchase and order details, as well as diploma frames and other graduation needs. - Graduate Student Tour
2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m., UNC-Chapel Hill Visitors Center
Get a glimpse of what your next chapter could look like in this 90-minute tour for both enrolled and prospective graduate students. A current Carolina graduate student will introduce you to our campus and community and review helpful information on housing, dining, recreation and life at Carolina as a graduate student. More information on all UNC Visitors Center-led tours is available from the UNC Visitors Center. - “Leaving Eden” by Mike Wiley with music & lyrics by Laurelyn Dossett
7:30 pm, Paul Green Theatre
World Premiere of a PlayMakers Repertory Company commission: Mike Wiley, UNC-Chapel Hill alumnus and acclaimed playwright of “The Parchman Hour,” returns to PlayMakers with singer-songwriter Laurelyn Dossett to explore, through words and music, the cyclical nature of humanity. This unearthing of yesterday yields a hymn for our future, with its glimpse into identity, immigration and economic struggle—all told through the lens of a small town in North Carolina. American Theater has called Wiley’s plays “sophisticated blends of narrative and wit.” “Leaving Eden” is in previews April 4-6, with opening night on April 7. Wiley also received an Impact Award from The Graduate School in 2004, while a graduate student, for his research project: “Inspiring Underprivileged Youth Through Historical Plays.” Learn more about “Leaving Eden”.
Mike Wiley receives UNC’s Distinguished Alumnus Award from Chancellor Carol Folt
THURSDAY, APRIL 5
- Annual Graduate Student Recognition Celebration,
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm, Alumni Hall in the George Watts Hill Alumni Center
The Graduate Student Recognition Celebration recognizes students who receive prestigious fellowships and awards. These honorees are making a significant contribution to the mission of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in a wide variety of fields of study. The event begins with the awards ceremony at 4 p.m. and followed by a reception with research poster presentations.
Research Poster Presentations and Reception, Graduate Student Recognition Celebration - Stigma Free Carolina – Expert Panel Discussion
5:30-7:00 pm, Graham Memorial Hall, Room 039
Stigma towards mental illness: Examining mental healthcare and policies within the context of criminal justice system and fear of gun violence.
This expert panel will explore influence of the stigma in guiding policy-based and public conceptualization and treatment of mental illness . Experts include stigma and mental healthcare researchers from UNC – School of Medicine and from the national mental healthcare policy arena.
Panel Registration - Platelet Drive continues (see above)
- UNC Student Stores Graduate Regalia Sales continues (see above)
FRIDAY, APRIL 6
- Navigating the Pipeline: The Progression of First-Gen Students Through Doctoral Education
12:00-1:00 pm, Nelson Mandela Auditorium in the FedEx Global Education Center
As part of the Diversity and Student Success Spring 2018 Speaker Series, The Graduate School is bringing Dr. Karri Holley from the University of Alabama to speak on “Navigating the Pipeline: The Progression of First-Gen Students Through Doctoral Education.” This presentation is open to the public. - Friday Treats at The Fountain
2:30-4:00 pm, Fordham Fountain in front of Bynum Hall
The Graduate School is partnering with Yelp to provide cotton candy, popcorn and other treats for the graduate community. Carolina loves graduate students! - Platelet Drive continues (see above)
Additional Events
SATURDAY, APRIL 14
- The Pretty Huge Dance (PhD)
7:00-10:30 pm, Sheraton Chapel Hill
To continue our celebration of graduate and professional students, A Pretty Huge Dance (PhD) — UNC’s first-ever graduate school-wide prom will be taking place on April 14th.
The Pretty Huge Dance (PhD) details and tickets.
