Recently in staffing Category

Leslie Schiff recently accepted the position as the new Associate Dean for Curriculum for the Office of Undergraduate Education (OUE). One of Associate Dean Schiff's main goals is to increase the four-year graduation rate. She will also be responsible for connecting curricular efforts and information across OUE units, across colleges, and with other campus offices that serve undergraduate students.

Additionally, a new Assessment Coordinator was hired last month. Steven J. Hawks will serve as a campus-wide resource on undergraduate assessment and will work with faculty, staff, and administrators to coordinate assessment efforts of Twin Cities undergraduate student learning. He will serve as a key member of the Undergraduate Assessment Executive Committee and the Undergraduate Assessment Steering Committee.

Both positions will report to Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education Bob McMaster.

Heather McLaughlin will be leaving her position as Business Process Analyst for the Graduate Education Transition project. Her last day in Academic Support Resources (ASR) will be Friday, November 30, after which she will transfer to a position in the Office of Information Technology (OIT) as Product Owner of Salesforce.com. Heather would like to extend thanks to everyone she has worked with on this project.

Questions and other communication regarding graduate education, including updates to College Coordinator and Plan Level Coordinator roles, can be directed to Graduate Student Services and Progress (GSSP) staff. Workflow related questions or feedback should continue to be sent to grad-wfg@umn.edu.

Update July 31: A slightly modified version of this notice will be included in the August 6 issue of the Graduate and Professional Student Update.

Beginning August 13, the Graduate Student Services and Progress (GSSP) team will offer its services as part of a new One Stop center located in 160 Williamson Hall (East Bank). The GSSP office in 316 Johnston Hall will officially close beginning August 9 and re-open in its new location on August 13. Third Party Billing currently located in B12 Fraser Hall will also move to the One Stop in Williamson and will close its Fraser location beginning August 9. Third Party Billing will re-open on August 13.

All phone and email information for GSSP and Third Party Billing will remain the same. The services found at all One Stop locations will be available at this new center; however, the One Stop in Williamson is the only location at this time where graduate and professional students can find GSSP and Third Party Billing.

Bettie Walker, a One Stop counselor in One Stop Student Services, has been named the new process supervisor for registration exceptions for graduate students. She may be reached by email or by phone at 612-626-5433.

The position was previously held by Dan Dalaney.

Three members from the Graduate Student Services and Progress (GSSP) will join Academic Support Resources (ASR) in July. The GSSP staff (Amber Cellotti, Renae Faunce, and Stacia Madsen) will be located in 160 Williamson Hall; this move will take place some time before fall 2012.

Transition of Graduate School staff and functions

Vice Provost Dean Henning Schroeder and ASR Director Sue Van Voorhis recently sent an email [PDF] to the Associate Deans of Graduate Education, Directors of Graduate Studies (DGS), SGS Assistants, and College Coordinators regarding the transition of Graduate School staff and functions to ASR.

Beginning in July 2012, certain functions handled by Graduate School Student Services and Progress (GSSP) and Graduate School Data Management (GSDM) will transition to ASR. At that time, four staff members from these offices--Amber Cellotti (Knapp), Renae Faunce, Stacia Madsen, and Genny Rosing--will formally join ASR's Office of the Registrar as a new group dedicated to supporting graduate and professional programs.

This change will continue to promote the local decision-making authority of colleges and programs while enhancing administrative processes and student services as outlined in the recommendations from the Academic Issues and Student Administrative Processes work groups.

Amber, Renae, Stacia, and Genny can still be reached through their current phone and email contacts. They are working together with ASR staff during the coming months to ensure a smooth transition of functions to ASR; specifics of this transition will be shared in future updates to the Ledger.

At the March RAC meeting, Wendy Friedmeyer and Kara Kersteter from the College of Liberal Arts presented on how they orient new directors of graduate studies on both the collegiate and departmental levels. They have provided their presentation:

Directors of Graduate Studies: Orientation