As the number of master of fine arts (MFA) programs in creative writing continues to proliferate and applications grow nationwide, literary luminaries are debating whether the MFA is a must-have credential for launching a writing career. Council of Graduate Schools dean-in-residence Jeannine Blackwell points out that many prospective students value graduate education because it opens doors to career advancement and higher quality of life.

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Contacts:
Julia Kent, CGS
(202) 223-3791 / jkent@cgs.nche.edu

Washington, DC — The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has announced that Robert M. (Bob) Augustine, Dean of the Graduate School, Research and International Programs at Eastern Illinois University (EIU), has been appointed to a two-year term as the Council’s Senior Vice President. In addition to serving two terms as President of the Illinois Association of Graduate Schools, Augustine served on the CGS Board of Directors from 2011 to 2014 and held the position of Board Chair in 2013. He will join CGS on August 1, 2015.

The newly created Senior Vice President’s role will expand the services that CGS provides to master’s-focused institutions. Working with colleagues in CGS’s Best Practices division, Augustine will be responsible for developing an infrastructure for research on issues related to the master’s degree and for delivering programs relevant to the needs of master’s-focused institutions. He will also be responsible for the management and convening of the CGS Master’s Committee.

“For a number of years now, Bob Augustine has shared his deep knowledge of trends in master’s education with CGS members through board service and voluntary leadership roles in CGS meetings,” said CGS President Suzanne T. Ortega. “I am delighted that he will be extending his impact in this important area, and in graduate education more broadly, as a member of CGS’s leadership staff.”

Augustine will bring to CGS diverse experience in developing best practices for serving master’s degree students. During his tenure as graduate dean, EIU’s graduate school earned the ETS/Midwestern Association of Graduate School’s Award for Excellence in Graduate Education for the First Choice Graduate Programs Initiative. His institution was also awarded the ETS/CGS Award for Promoting Success in Graduate Education for developing the Integrative Graduate Studies Institute, as well as the CGS/TIAA-CREF Award for Enhancing Financial Literacy, which allowed EIU to launch a center devoted to Literacy in Financial Education.

Commenting on the appointment, Augustine said, “I am energized by this fantastic opportunity to contribute to the mission and values of the graduate community through the work of the Council of Graduate Schools. I look forward to advancing my new priorities as Senior Vice President.”

Augustine holds a PhD in communication sciences and disorders from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, where he earned a Department Distinguished Alumni Award. Following clinical experience in speech-language pathology, he launched an early intervention language clinic focusing on integrative language strategies at EIU. Augustine guided expansion of the program, launched the first technology-enhanced courses, and developed the program’s first international outreach efforts before becoming Dean of the EIU Graduate School in 2000.

NatureJobs blog and podcast interviews CGS's Julia Kent for details about the Understanding Career Pathways project, the challenges graduate schools face in tracking career outcomes data, and how the CGS feasibility study is building the foundations for achieving comprehensive research on the career trajectories of doctorates. (CGS portion begins at the 10:50 mark.)

The Washington Post Express provides tips helping prospective students craft a successful application from graduate admissions experts, including CGS's Julia Kent.

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Resolution Regarding Graduate Scholars, Fellows, Trainees, and Assistants

Acceptance of an offer of financial support* (such as a graduate scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, or assistantship) for the next academic year by a prospective or enrolled graduate student completes an agreement that both student and graduate school expect to honor. In that context, the conditions affecting such offers and their acceptance must be defined carefully and understood by all parties.

Students are under no obligation to respond to offers of financial support prior to April 15; earlier deadlines for acceptance of such offers violate the intent of this Resolution. In those instances in which a student accepts an offer before April 15 and subsequently desires to withdraw that acceptance, the student may submit in writing a resignation of the appointment at any time through April 15. There has been a change in our process for students who want to withdraw from an offer of acceptance of financial support, starting with Fall 2020 admissions.  In this case, the applicant must first inform the program that they are withdrawing or resigning from the offer of financial support that they previously had accepted.  Starting in Fall 2020, applicants are no longer required to obtain a formal release from the program whose offer they accepted, either before or after the April 15 deadline. Once they have informed the program that they are withdrawing their acceptance of the offer, they then can accept any other offers. It is further agreed by the institutions and organizations subscribing to the above Resolution that a copy of this Resolution or a link to the URL should accompany every scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, and assistantship offer.

CGS has prepared a shareable PDF of the Resolution, which includes a list of CGS member institutions that have expressed support for the agreement. We have also prepared a sample letter and an FAQ document you could send to your school deans, graduate program directors, and administrators.

If your institution is not currently a signatory of the April 15 Resolution and is interested in being added, please contact Katherine Hazelrigg. Many institutions have worked with their graduate councils to garner broad institutional support for the resolution.

This Resolution was renewed October 2019.

*Please Note: This Resolution applies to offers of financial support only, not offers of admission.

Contact

Katherine Hazelrigg

CGS invites organizations, corporations, foundations and other associations that have interest in promoting graduate education to apply for membership in the CGS Sustaining Membership Network.

The Sustaining Membership Network connects CGS member universities with industry and non-profit leaders to advance graduate education through meaningful partnerships. Membership in the Sustaining Membership Network gives companies and organizations:

• Exclusive opportunities for visibility among CGS graduate deans, major decision-makers on campus;
• Complimentary and timely access to insider knowledge about the concerns and advances in graduate education;
• Discounts on CGS meetings registration, exhibitor fees, workshops, print publications, and consulting; and more.

All CGS Sustaining Members receive our Premium Benefits, with additional benefits accruing with increased levels of investment.

Premium Benefits of the Sustaining Membership Network

CGS Annual Meeting

• Reduced rates on sponsorships
• Reduced rates on exhibitor registration
• Option to add one complimentary exhibit-hall only registration pass to your CGS Annual Meeting exhibitor registration, in addition to the two full registrations that are included with exhibiting (available only to sustaining members)
• Option for members to select exhibit table location (exhibitor registration required)
• Pre-registration list of Annual Meeting attedees in Excel format (exhibitor registration required)
• Reduced rates on individual meeting registrations
• Priority consideration for all Annual Meeting opportunities
• Opportunities to propose “in-conjunction-with” events at the CGS Annual Meeting
• Recognition in the meeting mobile app
• Opportunity to sponsor awards

CGS Summer Workshop & New Deans Institute

• Opportunity to attend the CGS Summer Workshop and New Deans Institute - corporate attendance is limited to members of the CGS Sustaining Membership Network and invited speakers and sponsors (registration required)

CGS Webinars

• Reduced rates on sponsored CGS webinars
• Priority scheduling consideration
• Detailed attendee report 

Access to graduate deans

• Opportunity to provide CGS-approved sponsored content for News Network, CGS's bi-weekly e-newsletter (once per calendar year)
• Invitations to CGS research forums and other select events
• Reduced rates for job listings on the CGS Career Portal
• Ability to request to view the CGS Dean’s Discussion List

Publications and information on the latest news, trends and best practices in graduate education

• Access to current and past issues of GradEdge, the only national newsletter dedicated to graduate education
• Full complimentary access to publications in the CGS Online Member Library, including the online membership directory
• Reduced rates for hard copies of CGS publications
• Automatic subscription to biweekly CGS News Network newsletters
   

Access to CGS staff expertise

• Opportunities to collaborate on research and best practice projects
• Tailored membership opportunities based on individual organizations’ needs

Levels of Investment (Annual)

Small Business Partners - $1,000 - $4,000 (tiered, depending on employee count)
Allies - $6,000
Collaborators - $25,000
Visionaries - $75,000 ($25,000 of which is a dues payment)

Corresponding Affiliates - $4,000 [qualifying educational nonprofit organizations (501c3, 501c4 or 501c6) or qualifying governmental organizations may join CGS as Corresponding Affiliates] 

For information about benefits and privileges of joining CGS, contact Adrienne Vincent. 

Nominations for the 2022 award should be submitted by April 29th.

Named in honor of the first president of the Council of Graduate Schools and first presented in 1972, this award is made annually to a scholar-teacher in the humanities.

The recipient must be teaching at a U.S. or Canadian university, have earned a doctorate within 7 years of the award date, and have written a book of scholarly importance in that same timeframe. Subjects fields are selected annually. Awards have been made in literature, history, linguistics, foreign languages, philosophy, archaeology, and musicology.

Important Guidance on Field Eligibility:

Your university is welcome to submit a nomination that is interdisciplinary, so long as the book draws heavily from the methods and scholarship of the current year's field of competition Religious Studies. Since CGS is not in a position to advise you on the eligibility of particular works of scholarship, it is up to your institution to determine whether the book sufficiently meets this criterion, and with the understanding that your nomination will be evaluated alongside other books in the field of competition.

Current Year Award Description

Fields of competition

Past Award Winners

Contact

Anna M. Naranjo