Congratulations to Amy Patrick (advisor: Dan Philippon) and Clancy Ratliff (advisor: Mary Schuster) who were selected as doctoral dissertation fellows for 2005-06. The fellowship includes a stipend of $17,500 and benefits.
Although I do not know how many nominations were made, there are 180 graduate programs at the University and larger programs can nominate several students. Although statistics for this year's competition are not currently available, last year 76 fellowships were awarded: 42 to students in science and engineering; 31 to students in social science and humanities; 3 to students in business. We are indeed honored to have two RSTC students selected as fellows this year.
Clancy and Amy, and advisors, Dan and Mary: you have made us proud!
]]>Other Awards
B.S. S&TC student Harold Klein was recently awarded a $1,000 scholarship from Philanthrofund on behalf of Medtronic. Philanthrofund awards scholarships for individuals who have demonstrated leadership and service in the GLBT community. The scholarship is for the 2005/2006 academic year.
Congratulations to RSTC doctoral candidate Jennifer Novak, who was recently selected as one of the Society for Technical Communication's (STC) Graduate Student Scholarship recipients. This is quite an honor for Jennifer and for the department. (For more information on the STC's scholarship program, visit
www.stc.org/scholarshipInfo.asp The program is open to BS, MS, MA, and PhD students.)
Greg Schneider is this year's winner of the Graduate Student Teaching Excellence Award. Congratulations to Greg!
]]>Read the article: Download file
]]>Courtney Dickinson
Michele Dobson
Nicholas Kraemer
Carol Ann Lindholm
Luca Rescigno
Kari Seppanen
Michelle Walter
Amy Wegner
Tina Wittmer
Congratulations!
Through exemplary research-based teaching, the department seeks to share its knowledge with a diverse community of learners. Our B.S. and M.S. programs educate scientific and technical communication professionals for careers in business, industry,and government, while our M.A. and Ph.D. programs prepare future faculty for research and teaching in the fields of technical communication, composition, rhetoric,and English. In addition, faculty in the department teach general education courses to students within the college and throughout the university in written, oral, and visual communication and the humanities. In all our educational programs, we strive to foster our students' critical-thinking skills as well as their sense of personal, professional, and civic responsibility.
As a department, we value a multidisciplinary approach to research, teaching, and service; we uphold the principles of academic freedom and integrity; we respect and foster diversity in all its forms; and we strive to provide a collegial and supportive environment for our faculty, students, and staff. Our principal goal is to remain one of the leading programs in rhetoric and scientific and technical communication in the nation.
]]>http://www.coafes.umn.edu/StrategicPositioning.html
Thanks to everyone in the Department who contributes to our research,
teaching, and service in this area.
Laura Gurak
]]>[Colleagues: please consider attending. Laura Gurak and John Logie will
be facilitating two of the afternoon sessions.]
"Publication, the Public University, and the Public Interest"
Scholarship means little without publication. But the definitions of
"publication" are undergoing major changes. The digital age has brought
unprecedented opportunities to share research discoveries with a global
audience, prompting a revolution some have compared to post-Gutenberg
times. Yet as the Internet and World Wide Web have unleashed new
resources and capabilities, they have also challenged the conventions of
how research is published and shared. Traditional modes of
publishing--print journals and books--have served scholars for decades.
Today, though, scholars in some disciplines advocate making research
results available through free electronic archives, and some are even
suggesting that universities and funding agencies require "open access"
publishing. Other new publishing genres like blogs have also been
embraced by scholars.
The event is free and open to faculty, staff, and students, but you
must register online at the conference website.
This conference is part of the President's 21st Century
Interdisciplinary Conference Series.
http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/programs/midmorning/listings/mm20050404.shtml
]]>New Communication Political blogs received a lot of attention last fall, but blogs exist on all kinds of subjects. Clancy Ratliff, a Rhetoric Ph.D candidate, is currently writing a thesis about gender, punditry and weblogs. Her research has made her a valuable source for those interested in this new form of communication. The Philadelphia Inquirer recently quoted her thoughts on baby blogs, but she says blogs have a wide impact on communication. Ratliff says, "Blogs are exposing and changing existing assumptions of what political discourse is and which issues are political."
Thursday, February 10, 2005
2:00 p.m.
Rhetoric lunchroom
Beverages and dessert will be served.
Representatives from the other members of our Industrial Affiliates Program, Medtronic, Unisys, and VERITAS Software, will also be on hand to talk about career trends, job and internship opportunities.
At 3:00 p.m. Rhetoric graduate students are encouraged to attend an information session in 137 COB. As you may know, fellowships in the amount of $2,000 are awarded each year by our Affiliates. Winners of the fellowships conduct collaborative research with the awarding company during the academic year and present their findings at a Spring Colloquium in May. The 2005-06 Call for Applications will be distributed. This is your chance to talk with the IAP representatives and hear from previous fellowship winners.
Please join us!
Applicants must be full-time graduate students for the 2005-06 academic year in good standing OR candidates accepted into one of the three degree programs: The M.S. in Scientific and Technical Communication, or the M.A. or Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Scientific and Technical Communication.
The issue has sparked quite a debate over what is grammatically correct, and what fits best with the University's current style:
UM Style Manual, page 45
"University of Minnesota Rule"
The Office of the Board of Regents has adopted a style without the
apostrophe. A similar style may be used for other instances in which
the
unit name serves an attributive rather than a possessive function.
* regents meeting
* College of Liberal Arts faculty
* Regents Professor of History
* history faculty
What do you think?
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Abstract:
This presentation will discuss the topic of usability and why and how it should be measured, will introduce and discuss the technique of contextual inquiry, and will describe a specific contextual inquiry conducted over a two-week period that measured and evaluated the usability of a web-based, enterprise-level cargo application. Discussion of the specific evaluation will include test design,
participants, findings, and a critique of the project and its results.
We'll be rescheduling some of the regular monthly meetings (DGS committee, Undergrad committee) up to Room 137. Also, all future graduate presentations will be scheduled either in a classroom or in Room 137. Please check the 137 calendar for availability and contact a staff person to make your reservation.
Our old conferece room, Classroom Office 55, has also undergone a face lift. A new table and chairs have been ordered and we think you will find it much more comfortable. This room is suitable for meetings of 6-8 people. Larger meetings must now be held in room 137. To reserve room 55, please see the calendar for availabilty and contact a staff member.