The University of North Carolina student newspaper notes participation by CGS in UNC's first Graduate Education Summit. At the event, panelists discussed the need to make graduate education and research a high priority for public policymakers.

Attitudes are changing toward PhD career paths outside academe, notes CGS President Debra W. Stewart in the New York Times.

Highlights of the Professional Science Masters (PSM) Student Outcomes survey show that recent graduates from PSM programs continue to enjoy strong returns on their educational investments.

CGS President Debra W. Stewart speaks with the Chronicle of Higher Education on her 13 years at CGS, her decision to step down in 2014, and her plans for future research in graduate education.

Dear CGS Colleagues,

After more than a decade of serving CGS as your president, I plan to step down from that post on June 30, 2014. The press release announcing this decision is now available on the CGS website.  I selected June 30 both because it will allow the board an appropriate length of time to conduct a search and appoint my successor and because July 1 is an ideal time for my successor to take over as the new CGS president in the run up to the Summer Workshop.

I want you all to know that it has been a huge privilege to serve as your president. CGS is a jewel of an organization. The staff is hardworking, very smart and totally dedicated to the mission of improving and advancing graduate education. To a person, they execute their responsibilities with distinction, reflecting a “members first” philosophy that never wavers. But as the members of the Council of Graduate Schools, you are the foundation of our strength. The strength of CGS is measured by the engagement of our members. Your involvement makes the work we do here in Washington a privilege and pleasure.

As for my personal plans in July 2014, I will begin my six month sabbatical under the title of Senior Scholar at CGS during which I hope to contribute to wrapping up some long overdue writing projects. Longer term I plan to remain active in higher education work, turning my energies to the kind of serious writing about graduate education that the demands of my job as CGS president have simply precluded.

Please rest assured I will be fully committed to doing the work of CGS as energetically on June 30, 2014 as I was on July 1, 2000 when I arrived in Washington. We have a huge agenda to implement between now and June 30 and working with our team we will implement it. My successor will come into a thriving enterprise.

Very best regards,

Debra

Debra W. Stewart
President
Council of Graduate Schools
One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 230
Washington, DC 20036
Telephone: (202) 223-3791
Email: president@cgs.nche.edu
Web: www.cgsnet.org

Washington, DC — Debra W. Stewart announced today that she will step down as President of the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) effective June 30, 2014. Since July 2000, Stewart has served as president of the leading national organization in the United States dedicated to the advancement of graduate education and research.

In a message sent today to graduate education leaders of the 547 CGS member institutions, Stewart said, “It has been a great privilege to serve as your president. CGS is a strong organization and you, the CGS deans, are the foundation of that strength. Your engagement makes the work we do here in Washington a privilege and a pleasure.”

Stewart plans to remain actively engaged in graduate and higher education issues, initially turning her energies to writing and research on graduate education as a Senior Scholar at CGS.

Robert Augustine, Chair of the CGS Board of Directors and Dean of the Graduate School at Eastern Illinois University, said, “Debra Stewart has provided dynamic and visionary leadership for CGS during a period of rapid change in graduate education and research. Under her direction, the council has become a nationally and globally recognized 'think tank' on graduate education, advancing best practices that have been adopted by a remarkable number of institutions.”

During her tenure as CGS President, Dr. Stewart has led groundbreaking initiatives in the area of research, public policy, institutional benchmarking and global graduate education. In the best practice research area, the council has advanced the graduate community’s understanding of factors associated with degree completion at the master’s and doctoral level; led the development of the highly successful professional master’s degree; and, in partnership with member institutions, developed best practices for research integrity education for graduate students, among other projects. Stewart has also led the council in advancing one of the council’s key policy issues, developing the highly-skilled human talent needed for the 21st century economy and workforce, by building collaborations between graduate institutions, business leaders and policy makers.

In the international arena, Stewart has been instrumental in expanding the council’s international membership with the goal of promoting better collaboration and understanding among CGS’s North American members and graduate institutions worldwide.  To support these efforts, Stewart led the creation of the Strategic Leaders Global Summit on Graduate Education, an annual CGS event that has brought together graduate education leaders from 30 countries in its seven-year history.

A national search for Stewart’s successor will be formally announced later this month.

Young Americans continue to pursue careers in public service, although the hiring outlook for public sector employment is not as strong as other sectors. According to the 2012 CGS/GRE Graduate Enrollment and Degrees Survey, first-time graduate enrollment for “public administration and services” climbed 5 percent in 2012 and has increased 3.6 percent on average over the previous five years.

More than one-third of college students are people of color, yet nearly 80 percent of the nation’s college and university faculty members are white. An October 2013 feature story by Insight Into Diversity looks at several programs working to close the gap in higher education faculty diversity, including the CGS initiative, Preparing Future Faculty.

According to Nature magazine, graduate students face big decisions about money and can benefit from wise counsel and careful forethought, through efforts such as the CGS Best Practices program, Enhancing Student Financial Literacy.

USA Today looks at the significant differences in enrollment trends for domestic and international students, as revealed in the 2012 CGS/GRE Graduate Enrollment and Degrees survey.