RIT Office of Graduate Studies
Graduate Student Success Workshop Series and Activities 2014-2015
August 19th Incoming Graduate Student Orientation and opening BBQ
September 8th Student Mingle 5 p.m. in the Reading Room of the Campus Center. This night is set aside to mingle
with other students and meet the Dean and Assistant Dean in person.
September 15th Writing Your Thesis – Tips on Writing your Thesis- 5 p.m. Reading Room
September 17th Library Resources – RIT has many resources that will help you in your research. Linette Koren of
the Library will walk you through how to use them to your advantage. 3 p.m. Biblab on the third floor of the library.
October 20th Guest Speaker Chip Sheffield - October 20th 2014
Reading Room Second Floor of Campus Center
Special Speaker at 4 p.m.
Chip Sheffield
“The Virtues of Critical Thought and Its Importance for Graduate Education”
Critical thinking is often characterized by certain core abilities (evaluation, identification, synthesis, recognition and
critique, as well as effective communication). It has also been described in terms of certain underlying attitudes
(introspection and self-reflection, continuous questioning, and a commitment to core intellectual virtues such as
civility, humility, empathy, integrity, and courage). Critical thinking demands accountability and curiosity. It
requires that one take responsibility for one’s beliefs and values, and engage actively in the world. While
intellectual rigor, logical argumentation, and rational judgment are vital, they must not occur in isolation from the
broader lived world. Critical thinking need not always be drily cerebral, but it should demonstrate agility, and admit
the playful and ironic. What is criticality? Does it always necessarily imply a refinement, improvement or
sharpening of the issue under consideration? What are the implications of the belief that “thinking critically is the
quintessence of what it means to be truly alive in the fullest sense of the term?” This talk will examine such
questions, and underscore their significance, especially for graduate education at RIT.
Clarence B. Sheffield, Jr. "Chip" is the Eugene H. Fram Chair in Applied Critical Thinking at RIT. He was trained
as a modern art historian at Bryn Mawr, with a particular interest in the theory, criticism, and history of visual and
material culture. His field of special scholarly expertise is Scandinavian Modernism--very broadly construed to
include art, architecture, design, film and literature. He is an associate professor in RIT's College of Imaging Arts
and Sciences. He majored in philosophy as an undergraduate, and has had a deep and abiding interest in philosophy
and critical inquiry for much of his academic career.
October 23rd Graduate Student Commuter Mingle - cosponsored by the Commuter Student office 3 p.m. Reading
Room of the Campus Center
October 23rd Graduate student mingle in the lobby area of the Innovation center from 5 - 6 p.m. This will be an
opportunity for you to meet students from other programs and to meet with Dean Flores and myself. It will be a
town hall type forum the first 30 minutes and then a mingle the last half of the gathering. If you have concerns or
questions we want to hear them. There will be a limited number of cookies so please register here.
October 24th Noon – 1 p.m. Tiger Tales Toastmasters Bldg. 70 (GCCIS) - Room 2455 this event occurs every Friday
when school is in session.
October 27th 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. - Graduate Advisor and Mentoring Workshop – Graduate Advising and Mentoring is
an essential component of the drive towards further excellence in all graduate programs, an especially for terminal
graduate degrees such as MFA and PhD programs. However, this aspect of graduate faculty development is not
usually addressed in current faculty development initiatives at RIT.
Following the success of a pilot program that the Office of Graduate Studies conducted last spring, we are pleased to
announce our 2nd Graduate Advising Mentoring Workshop on Monday, October 27, 2014 from 9:00-11:00 am in
the Bamboo Room (Campus Center Room 2650).
This workshop is aimed at all graduate faculty, but we especially encourage junior and recently hired faculty to
consider participating. The purpose of this two hour workshop is two-fold:
1.
2.
To provide a general introduction to the principles of, and best practices for, graduate advising and
mentoring through an interactive one hour dialogue facilitate by Dean Hector Flores.
To conduct a graduate advising and mentoring panel led by some of our best and experienced graduate
faculty. This will also be an interactive event aimed at a deeper discussion of graduate advising and
mentoring, and also networking activity setting the stage for building a stronger culture of graduate
education at RIT.
The following faculty members have kindly volunteered to participate in the panel:

Dr. Mark D. Fairchild, Associate Dean of Research & Graduate Education; Director, Program of Color
Science; Director, Munsell Color Science Laboratory; Professor, College of Science

Dr. John Kerekes, Professor, Center for Imaging Science, and Imaging Science Graduate Program
Coordinator

Dr. Callie Babbitt, Assistant Professor, Golisano Institute for Sustainability

Dr. Linwei Wang, Assistant Professor, PhD Programs, B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and
Information Sciences
Special workshop for Graduate faculty.
October 27th Applying for a Ph.D. panel - Reading Room SAU - 5-6 p.m. - come with your questions about
applying for a Ph.D. There will be faculty and students in attendance who will help to answer your questions.
Nov 3rd Biblab 3rd Floor of the Library - 3-4 p.m. Graduate Thesis: The Endgame! This workshop is geared
toward those graduate students planning to defend a thesis or dissertation in December or May. Library staff
members will lead the workshop informing you of the requirements for submitting print and electronic copies of
your final work. They will discuss how and where to submit in print and electronically as well as where your
electronic work will be available for the world to view and download! They will also discuss how to apply for an
embargo of your work if necessary. This is a great opportunity to ask questions about title pages, signatures,
abstracts, costs, editing, and general guidelines. Attending this workshop will help you understand all the steps in
the process and will make a very stressful time in your graduate career proceed smoothly.
November 5th Noon – 1 p.m. Bamboo Room - An introduction to the Co-op office at RIT – Sharitta Gross
November 10th 3- 4:30 p.m. Bamboo Room – Cross Cultural Communication in Academic and Everyday Settings –
Stan Van Horn Presenter – This workshop is specifically targeted for our TA’s but any graduate student is welcome.
If you are a TA or are interested in being a TA please attend this workshop.
November 17 Graduate student mingle in the lobby area of the Innovation center from 5 - 6 p.m. This will be an
opportunity for you to meet students from other programs and to meet with Dean Flores and myself. It will be a
town hall type forum the first 30 minutes and then a mingle the last half of the gathering. If you have concerns or
questions we want to hear them. There will be a limited number of cookies so please register here.
November 19 Noon – 1 p.m. GIS 81-3140– Creating your CV – Sharitta Gross
Dec 1st - Test Taking Tips - Reading Room SAU 5-6 p.m.
December 8th Dealing with Graduate Student Stress - Reading Room SAU - 5-6 p.m.
Spring
January 22nd and 23rd Spring Orientation for incoming graduate students - Schedule to be posted.
January 26th - How to present your research at the Research Symposium or a conference - Reading Room SAU - 56 p.m.
February 9 - Student panel discussion on Interdisciplinary Research - Reading Room SAU - 5-6p.m.
February 23rd – Critical Thinking Workshop – Innovation Center 9-11 a.m. Part of Graduate Education Week
February 25th – Introduction to Grant Writing – Rebecca Sumner, Proposal Development Specialist, Sponsored
Research Services, 9-11 a.m. CIMS 2240/2230
February 25th Cross-Cultural Communication in Academic and Everyday Settings – Stanley Van Horn 3-4:30 p.m.
February 26th “Top Ten List of things I wished I knew back then” with a focus on small business and the barriers to
growth. Patrick Talty, Time and location TBD
February 27th Research and Creativity Symposium – Registration 8 a.m. Program begins at 8:45 a.m. All day oral
presentations, poster session and luncheon with Keynote speaker Raymond Ptucha – For more information check
our website
March 2nd Tips on writing your thesis - Reading Room SAU - 5-6 p.m.
March 16th Graduate Thesis: The Endgame! This workshop is geared toward those graduate students planning to
defend a thesis or dissertation in December or May. Library staff members will lead the workshop informing you
of the requirements for submitting print and electronic copies of your final work. They will discuss how and where
to submit in print and electronically as well as where your electronic work will be available for the world to view
and download! They will also discuss how to apply for an embargo of your work if necessary. This is a great
opportunity to ask questions about title pages, signatures, abstracts, costs, editing, and general guidelines. Attending
this workshop will help you understand all the steps in the process and will make a very stressful time in your
graduate career proceed smoothly. - Room and time to be announced
April 27th Networking - Reading Room SAU 5 - 6 p.m.