GLS eNews April 20, 2020

GLS Weekly Update - April 20, 2020

Please note that GLS House is closed until further notice. GLS staff are working remotely and may be reached via email. Join us for some virtual porch sitting every Thursday from 5-6 PM via Zoom.

In this edition:

• Message from Director Anne Whisnant
• GLS Alumna Volunteers Filmmaking Talents
• Graduate School Dean Awarded Distinguished Professorship
• TGS to Host Online Discussion: Coping with COVID-19
• Online Coronovirus Resources for Graduate Students
• GLS Bulletin Board: Upcoming Application and Proposal Deadlines

Message from the Director

Hello GLS Community, 

It’s again rainy and dreary outside, so no garden update today. But at least there are no trees down this week! Maybe next week, I can take you all for a virtual hike on the path from our house to Morgan Creek that my husband and I spent part of the weekend restoring.  

For now, I have other good news to share: this about our year-end plans! The university has backpeddled on the instruction that individual departments cannot hold their own online graduation celebrations! While they are still developing a centralized platform for certain aspects of Commencement, we have been liberated to revive our original plan of a “virtual hooding ceremony” at 1:00 PM Eastern time on Saturday, May 9th. This guidance just arrived on Saturday, so plans aren’t yet formed. Stay tuned for more details about celebrating the nearly twenty students who will receive their MALS degree this spring! 

As we plan for celebrating, we are also looking ahead. Our two summer courses will be conducted online, and we are so grateful to our faculty, professors Debby Gold and Susan Thorne, for being willing to help us maintain continuity through virtual instruction at a time when many other summer offerings have dwindled.  

We don’t yet know about how things will look in the fall: whether in-person instruction will have resumed, whether our newly admitted international students will be able to get to the U.S. at all. For all of our international students, the current situation creates many uncertainties. Fortunately, The Graduate School has compiled answers to many questions in an FAQ for international students, which can be found here.   

Meanwhile, let me remind everyone again that we have re-opened our application process for Fall 2020 admissions with a new deadline of May 15th. If you know of people who’ve thought about doing a MALS degree, send them our way. 

Finally, I look forward to seeing many of you at Virtual Porch Sitting this Thursday from 5:00 to 6:00 pm eastern time! We’ll send a reminder with the Zoom link on Thursday. 

Warm regards,

GLS Alum Creates for a Cause

Filmmaker Rhonda Klevansky (MALS ) is volunteering her time and skills to the City of Durham, producing public service announcements urging citizens to stay at home to help curb the spread of COVID-19. In an earlier edition of the GLS weekly news we featured Keepers of the House, a short film featuring interviews with some of Duke Health Systems most essential workers. You can view both videos below.

TGS Dean Awarded Distinguished Professorship

Dr. Paula McClain, Dean of the Graduate School, has been named James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Political Science, effective July 1, 2020. She is among 29 faculty members from eight Duke colleges and schools to be awarded distinguished professorships. Dean McClain is Professor of Political Science and Professor of Public Policy as well as Vice Provost for Graduate Education. She is the recipient of numerous awards and in 2014 was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Read more about the Dean here.

Graduate School to Host Online Convo on Coping with COVID-19

This week The Graduate School is holding two online sessions to help students cope with the current disruptions and two informal virtual gatherings to provide support, feedback, and community as they keep working toward their professional development goals. See the TGS website for times and other details.

Online Resources for Graduate Students

• The Duke Student Assistance Fund was established better support master's students who may be experiencing difficulty providing for their basic needs during this extraordinary time.
• Blue Devils Care is a new mental telehealth service that can provide support wherever you may be located currently. You can access the service by using the key DUKE2020.
• COVID-19 updates for students are available on Duke's Coronavirus Response website.
• Graduate School-specific COVID-19 updates are posted here. TGS has also created a FAQ for continuing and incoming international students.
• The Career Center now offers online drop-in advising for graduate students on Wednesdays and Fridays. View the schedule here.

EVERY THURSDAY THROUGH MAY 7:

Opportunities Around Campus and Beyond

Visit the GLS Bulletin Board for a list of funding, volunteer, and other opportunities beyond GLS.

Kenan Institute for Ethics Opportunities for Graduate Students

Ethical Tech Competition

In a memo, identify and propose a solution to an ethical problem in the area of emerging technology. Deadline, 11:59pm (EDT), SUNDAY, APRIL 26.

One graduate and one undergraduate winner from Duke University will each receive a prize. Application guidelines and more information here.

Kenan Moral Purpose Award essay competition

In this time of upheaval and uncertainty, moral purpose is more important than ever. The call for submissions to the 2020 Kenan Moral Purpose Award essay competition is now open, with a deadline of 11:59pm (EDT), SUNDAY, APRIL 26.

One graduate and one undergraduate winner from Duke University will each receive a prize. Application guidelines and more information here.

What is Good Art? Ethics in the Age of Coronavirus art competition

The Kenan Institute for Ethics invites graduate and undergraduate students from across Duke to submit artwork for What Is Good Art?–an exhibit on ethics and art, to be shown virtually. The submission deadline is 11:59pm (EDT), SUNDAY, APRIL 26.

Separate prizes for graduate and undergraduate students will be awarded. Find competition rules, submission guidelines, and link to online application form here.

Purpose Coaching

This spring, the Kenan Institute for Ethics is offering individualized purpose coaching for all Duke graduate and undergraduate students. Our goal is to help students determine how best to find meaningful life and work, now and in the future. Each student’s context, skills, hopes and dreams are different—and we anticipate that the process will be distinctive for each student with whom we work.

Daily one-on-one office hours schedule listed here.

Important Dates for GLS Students

• Graduate reading period - Thursday-Sunday, April 16-April 26
• Last day of semester - Saturday, May 2
• Virtual Hooding Ceremony - Saturday, May 9, 1 PM