As the most common physical disability in childhood, one in 323 babies is diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy (CP) annually in the U.S. and most require medical devices to improve mobility. CP is a life-long disability due to damage of the developing brain, and there is no known cure. Ahad Behboodi, a doctoral candidate in biomechanics and movement science at the University of Delaware, is leading a team of researchers to improve mobility in children with CP.

Behboodi and his team recently received a QED grant from the University City Science Center in Philadelphia, “to develop a motorized ankle foot device for children with Cerebral Palsy that includes a novel artificial muscle.” The device will help correct and improve ankle motion, potentially leading to better mobility. Comprised of common elastic materials, the artificial muscle device is lightweight and compact and simulates the motion of skeletal muscle.

“For now, the device can only assist the wearer’s own muscle contractions, but we are able to customize where we put the force to change the movement,” said Behboodi. “In the future, we may add functional electrical stimulation technology, which is a major area of research in Dr. Lee’s lab, to also trigger muscles, when needed. This would improve the timing and power of the muscle’s activation, thereby strengthening the muscle and improving the user’s walking coordination.” To learn more about Ahad’s work, visit the University of Delaware website.

Visit the GradImpact Feature Gallery to learn more about the amazing, innovative research being done by graduate students and alumni across the world.

Photo Credit: University of Delaware

We still know surprisingly little about Ph.D. career pathways. So the Council of Graduate Schools’ data-collection effort on Ph.D. outcomes continues to yield valuable information. This time, the information is about recent jobs changes among Ph.D.s.

In terms of concerns about overborrowing, a cap already exists on Grad PLUS amounts, noted Dr. Suzanne T. Ortega, president of the Council of Graduate Schools.

She shared the view that any changes that would effectively push students toward private lending would disproportionately impact underrepresented students, especially Black students, who are more likely to borrow to finance their education at all levels and have more difficulty obtaining loans and credit of any type.

Chemistry and chemical engineering graduate school enrollment was up on average from 2007 to 2017, according to data from the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS).

New Deans Institute
July 13, 2019

Summer Workshop
July 14-17, 2019
 

Location
Westin San Diego Gaslamp Quarter
San Diego, California

CGS Summer Workshop and New Deans Institute Program

With over 275 meeting registrants, this year's summer meeting was an outstanding success! Meeting participants explored varied and important issues in graduate education. New and returning participants—graduate deans; associate and assistant deans; faculty and staff from colleges/universities; association, federal and state agency, and other education-related administrators; and others interested in graduate education—enjoyed a unique forum where they met leaders in their field and exchanged ideas and information.

Selected PowerPoint presentations from the 2019 CGS Summer Workshop and New Deans Institute are below. Presentations are in chronological order by each category. Presentations are offered as Adobe Acrobat PDF files. 

New Deans Institute Presentations

Session III: Managing Operations: Time, Staff and Partnerships
Paula D. McClain

Session IV: Managing Enrollment: Recruiment, Admissions, and Funding
Andrew Campbell and Tammi Vacha-Haase

Session V: Advocacy 101
Lauren Inouye

Summer Workshop Presentations

Plenary I: Survey Says: Undergraduates and the Prospect of Graduate School
Jeff Allum

Breakfast: Sponsored by ProQuest

ProQuest Dissertation and Thesis Publishing: Who We Are, What We Do, and How We Support the Graduate Community
Angela D'Agostino & Jessica Horowitz

Concurrent Dean’s Toolboxes

Identifying and Supporting Graduate Program Directors
Julie Masterson

How To Maximize A 3MT^®
Cari Moorhead

Cultivating the Alumni Base: Friendraising to Fundraising
Laura Carlson

Using Career Pathways Data to Change Program Culture
Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko and GradLIFE Handout

Breakfast: Sponsored by ETS

Supporting the Graduate Community in Addressing Evolving Challenges

David Payne

Plenary III: Toward a Culture of Access: Lessons from the Neurodiversity Movement

Melanie Yergeau

Concurrent Hot Topic Sessions

Latinx Graduate Student Life Cycle: Promising Practices
JoAnn Canales

Assessing the Quality of Online Programs and Micro-credentials
Carol Beck and Maribeth Watwood

Concurrent Technical Workshops

Designing Programs with the End in Mind
Ranjit Koodali

How to Increase Enrollment by Better Understanding Prospective Graduate Students

Sponsored by EAB
Maribeth Watwood and Kevin Shriner

Maribeth Watwood and Kevin Shriner - Handout

Technical Workshops

Supporting the Success of Master's Students
Kent Holsinger

Living Lessons from the PHD Career Pathways Project
Robin Garrell

As a master’s student in the School of Public Health at the University at Albany, SUNY, Thoin Begum’s research has focused on environmental exposures and how they impact in vitro fertilization. Her work was recently recognized by Global Kids, a nonprofit that “develops youth leaders through dynamic global education and leadership development programs.” Named as one of Global Kids’ 30 under 30 in March 2019, Begum is a young alumnus of the program.

Beginning her sophomore year of high school, Begum became involved with Global Kids through college tours, annual functions, and scholarships. “Global Kids taught me to push boundaries and change perspectives, something that is needed in this field,” said Begum.

Begum intends to continue her graduate education and pursue a doctoral degree. “Public health and environmental health is an emerging field that has a lot of misconceptions – it isn’t just about global warming or about dealing with the amount of natural disasters we are seeing. It’s really about our everyday life.” To learn more about Thoin’s work, visit the University at Albany, SUNY website.

Visit the GradImpact Feature Gallery to learn more about the amazing, innovative research being done by graduate students and alumni across the world.

Photo Credit: University at Albany

Among groups singing the letter were the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, Association of American Universities, Council of Graduate Schools, Council of Christian Colleges and Universities and the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students.

More than 30 groups signed on to the letter, including the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, the American Council on Education, the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students, and the Council of Graduate Schools.

Monica Burney, a master’s degree alum in history at Eastern Illinois University, was recently awarded the 2019 Robert and Kathryn Augustine Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award for her work, “The Meaning of a Woman's Work: Refugees, Statelessness, Nationality, and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, 1918-1931.” Burney’s thesis examines “how the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) sought to influence how the League of Nations approached questions of nationality and statelessness between 1918 and 1931.”

First as an undergraduate and later as a graduate student at EIU, Burney participated in its Living History Program. This project was started in 1989 to underscore the contributions of women in the past and to inspire interest in women’s history by portraying women in history at local elementary schools. "Through this program children are introduced to some of the captivating women who had a hand in creating the world today,” Burney said. “This new knowledge helps to inspire children to embrace their individuality and to make a difference."

Burney was named a 2018 Hamand Scholar for her achievements in both scholarship and service that have impact on the discipline and in the community. She plans to pursue a graduate degree in library sciences and hopes to then work in an academic library. To learn more about Monica’s work, visit the Eastern Illinois University website.

Visit the GradImpact Feature Gallery to learn more about the amazing, innovative research being done by graduate students and alumni across the world.

Photo Credit: Bev Cruse/EIU

Economic and workforce-related factors are driving Indian graduate students to study in the U.S., said Hironao Okahana, associate vice president of research and policy analysis at the Council of Graduate Schools.