Important Representation and Grant Information for USU Graduate Students

Hello Everyone,

This email is meant to be brief and will highlight the important changes of Graduate School Representation (GSR) as well as important deadlines and information pertaining to graduate grants.

First off, my name is Zach Portman, your new Graduate Studies Senator. I am a PhD student in Biology. My office is located in TSC 327 if you feel like stopping by or email me at zportman@gmail.com <mailto:zportman@gmail.com> .

You may know that the Graduate Studies Senate was dissolved this past year and you are now only represented by a single college senator. In the past, these have all been undergraduates, though graduate students can run for these positions. My job is to make sure there is a voice for graduate students and to act as a liaison with the Office of Research and Graduate Studies. In addition to me, you are represented by the Director of Graduate Campus Affairs, Xin Zhao, a Psychology PhD student (xinzhao@aggiemail.usu.edu <mailto:xinzhao@aggiemail.usu.edu> ), and the Director of Graduate Research, Jinni Meehan, a Physics PhD student (jinni.meehan@gmail.com<mailto:jinni.meehan@gmail.com> ). If you have any questions/concerns/angry rants, feel free to send any of us an email. In addition, if you are interested in becoming involved in any way, please let us know. We can also be found online at: http://www.usu.edu/asusu/gss/

USU offers four grants that are available to graduate students. They are: Travel Awards, Graduate Research and Project Grants, Graduate Enhancement Awards, and Library Open-Access Publishing Grants. Each is detailed below. The information on the Graduate Studies Senator website will be updated shortly.

Travel Awards
The old GSS Graduate Student Professional Conference Awards have been phased out. They have been replaced by the RGS Graduate Student Travel Awards and are now handled by the Office of Research and Graduate Studies. More information on requirements, eligibility, and the amount of remaining funds can be found at: http://research.usu.edu/rgsgradtravelawards/ <http://research.usu.edu/rgsgradtravelawards/>

Total money available: $50,000
Amount of each award: $200 - $400 depending on criteria and matching funds
Application: http://research.usu.edu/rgsgradtravelawards/htm/apply<http://research.usu.edu/rgsgradtravelawards/htm/apply>
Note: awards are given out on a first-come-first serve basis until the money dedicated to that semester runs out

Graduate Research and Project Grants
The purpose of this award to provide funding to help exceptional projects and research. While we will take the financial need of the applicants into account, this award will be primarily merit-based and will be awarded to the projects that show the most potential for original research and broader impacts.

Total money available: $12,000
Amount of each award: up to $1,000
Number of awards given out: at least 12
Applications due: November 19th, 2012 by 5pm, must be emailed to asusugradrep@aggiemail.usu.edu
Application: attached


Graduate Enhancement Awards
The purpose of this award is to support outstanding graduate students at USU who have consistently shown a track record of excellence. We are redoing the application in order to make the award merit-based, as it has historically been need-based. We will provide further updates on these awards and their criteria in Spring semester

Total money available: $80,000
Amount of each award: $4,000
Number of awards given out: 20
Applications due: March 8, 2013 by 5pm
Application: TBA


USU Libraries Program to Support Open-Access Publishing
This is a program run by the library that funds graduate student and faculty publications in open access journals. It grants up to $1,500  to cover journal processing fees as long as matching funds are provided. Awards are given out on a first come first serve basis. For more information, visit:
http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/oadc/6/<http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/oadc/6/>



Thank you for your time and please feel free to email me any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Zach Portman
zportman@gmail.com
Graduate Assistant, PhD Student
Graduate Studies Senator
Utah State University, Department of Biology
USDA Bee Biology and Systematics Laboratory
Logan, UT 84322