GLS eNews August 10, 2020

GLS Weekly News - August 10, 2020

Weekly Porch Sitting is back! Our Thursday afternoon virtual porch sitting resumes this Thursday at 5 PM. Please note the new meeting room link: https://duke.zoom.us/j/99662930148 

GLS House remains closed until further notice. GLS staff are working remotely and may be reached via email.

In this edition:

• Message from the Director
• Message from Dink
• Duke Tuition Frozen for 2020-21
• Dean's Research Award Applications Open
• Orientation for New Students
• Graduate School Updates and Coronovirus Resources

Message from the Director

Hello GLS Community! 

Well, ready or not, here comes fall! We are excited this week to officially welcome our incoming students with their Graduate School orientation, Responsible Conduct of Research training, and GLS welcome and orientation. Like so much else in our lives these days, these events – along with our regular Thursday porch sitting -- will take place on Zoom.  

We do have some important news this week. As you’ll read below, Dink Suddaby, our long-serving, beloved Staff Assistant, has announced her retirement from Duke and GLS as of September 4th.  Dink has given 35 years of her working life to Duke, nearly 25 of them to GLS, and it is hard to imagine “replacing” her. I have been so grateful for her warmth, competence, and deep programmatic and institutional knowledge as she has “onboarded” me into my role as Director, and I’m sorry that the pandemic means we cannot celebrate her as we’d like to at GLS House. But we trust she’ll join us for future events, and we wish her all the best as she is turns her attention more to her extended family and her precious fur babies. 

As for GLS, in light of the pandemic-induced budget tightening, we will be delaying a search for Dink’s successor, probably until at least the spring of 2021. I appreciate Kent and Lisa joining me in taking on some of her duties so that we can assure continuity in the near term. For students, probably the most important changes are the division of Dink’s student-coordinating duties between Lisa (who will become the Director of Graduate Studies Assistant) and Kent (who will manage advising and master’s project scheduling). We are fortunate at GLS to have such a committed and capable staff to help me navigate this transition with minimal disruption.  

A second piece of news is that Duke announced last week that a previous decision to raise tuition for the 2020-21 year would be reversed. This change applies to GLS as well, and Lisa has posted our revised tuition rates on our website.

Looking ahead, we’ll soon be moving into our recruitment phase for new students to enter in spring and fall 2021. To create an admissions environment that better aligns with the diverse needs of our students, we are adjusting deadlines – especially those for fall 2021 – this coming year.  

The deadline for spring 2021 entry will be October 15, 2020. But for fall 2021 entry, we’ll have a priority deadline of February 15 and a final deadline of June 1, 2021. The priority deadline will assure applicants consideration for scholarship aid and promise a decision by mid-March, since early applicants may be considering several schools. The June deadline will allow us to keep the GLS doors open for later applicants who may be juggling work, family, or other concerns that make it difficult to plan so far ahead about returning to school. We will be asking all in our community to help us with recruitment this year, as our advertising budget will also be sharply curtailed.  

As always, I invite you all to join me for porch sitting on Thursday at 5:00 pm eastern time! 

Warm regards, 

Dink Suddaby Announces Retirement

To my beloved GLS community,

I write to let you know that I will be retiring from Duke effective September 4, 2020.  After 35 years at Duke, almost 24 of them in the GLS program, I truly feel that it’s time to move on to a new phase in my life. 

I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you how much I have enjoyed and grown from being associated with such talented staff, students, alumni, and faculty in the GLS program as well as in The Graduate School.  It has truly been my privilege and joy to work with all of you, to cheer you on, and to celebrate your accomplishments. In my tenure in GLS (MALS to the “olden goldens”!), I have watched and helped shepherd approximately 650 alumni through the program. What a wonderful blessing to have had that many people enrich my life and share their stories with me over the years! 

I am very uncomfortable being “spotlighted” and have asked that no special event be planned to mark my retirement. Anne, Kent, and Lisa along with The Graduate School have graciously agreed to honor my wish. We would not be able to gather together anyway with COVID-19 still very much with us.   If you wish to honor me, please consider making a small contribution to the GLS scholarship endowment in my name. Knowing that some students’ education could be partially funded by a scholarship would please me to no end. 

So in closing I’d like to include a favorite quote of mine from Dr. Seuss. “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”

Be well, my dear friends, and all my best,

Dink

Dink fires up the crowd as Employee Team Captain at the 2016 Duke-NC Central football game.

Duke Freezes Tuition for 2020-21

In light of the financial hardships students and families may be experiencing as a result of COVID-19, Duke has frozen tuition for the coming year. Tuition will not increase, but will remain at the current tuition of $1,404 per unit, or $4,212 per 3-unit course.

Lisa Robinson Bailey is adjusting scholarships accordingly and awards should post to students' accounts later this week. If you have questions about your GLS scholarship, email Lisa. Read Dean Paula's McClain's message to graduate students here.

New Student Orientation Underway

See below for a schedule of GLS/TGS orientation events. Please note that the RCR Forum is required for graduation.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13, 2020

10:00 am - GLS New Student Orientation via Zoom

2:00 pm - Cultivating Your Network of Mentors, Sponsors and Collaborators (Webinar)

FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, 2020

3:00 pm - RCR Forum: Library Toolbox for Responsible Research in the Humanities (GS714.02)

Be sure to visit The Graduate School's Fall 2020 and COVID-19 Updates page for the latest information.

Applications Open for Dean's Research Awards for Master's Students

The Dean’s Research Award for Master’s Students will provide up to $1,000 to fund the purchase of materials and supplies relevant to a master’s student’s degree completion. Current students who are in one of The Graduate School’s master’s programs and in good academic standing are eligible to apply.

Application instructions for students are posted on The Graduate School's website. Please note that completed applications must be submitted via email to GLS.

The 2020-2021 application period runs from August 1 to August 31, 2020, and recipients will be notified by September 30, 2020, with the award being disbursed via noncompensatory payroll in October 2020. The awards must be spent by May 31, 2021.

Exemplary Master's Project Videos Posted

In you missed it last week--Videos of our 2019-2020 Exemplary Master's Project awardees are now posted on our special Graduation 2020 website. Below, Dr. Kent Wicker explains the Exemplary Master's Project designation and introduces the student videos. Click here to watch our grads discuss their work.

Online Resources for Graduate Students

• 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 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.
• The Career Center now offers online drop-in advising for graduate students on Wednesdays and Fridays. View the schedule here.

Important Dates for GLS Students

Wednesday, August 12 - Fall 2020 Registration Ends

Thursday, August 13, 10 AM - GLS New Student Orientation (via Zoom)

Monday, August 17 - Fall semester classes begin

Friday, August 28 - Fall 2020 Drop/Add ends

Tuesday, August 31 - Deadline to apply for Dean's Award

Monday, September 7 - Labor Day holiday - GLS office closed, classes in session

EVERY THURSDAY :