2018 Speakers & Engagement Sessions
Keynote Speaker: Yolanda Flores Niemann, Ph.D.
See her biosketch below.
First Engagement. The Research Apprenticeship of the Graduate Student. Part 1. Panel discussion. Friday, 2/23, 9:00-10:15am. Student Union 314 AB.
A panel of UNT researchers discuss their expectations of new graduate students as research assistants. They identify some of the challenges new graduate students face and strategies for success during the research apprenticeship.
First Engagement. The Research Apprenticeship of the Graduate Student. Part 2. Roundtable discussion. Friday, 2/23, 10:30-11:30am. Student Union 314 AB.
This is a follow-up to Part 1. Join one of the roundtables facilitated by one or more UNT researcher to get your questions answered about the graduate student research apprenticeship. This will be particularly useful for seniors who will be graduate students in fall 2018.
Second Engagement. Graduate Recruiters Panel. Friday, 2/23, 3:30-5:00pm. Student Union 333.
An interactive session with a panel of graduate recruiters who will discuss all things related to graduate school applications, admissions, processes, and procedures.
Workshop: Upping Your Presentation Game. Friday, 2/23, 3:30-5:00pm. TBA.
This is an opportunity to learn tactics and techniques to improve your oral research presentations. Four UNT senior graduate students will do research presentations and evaluators will identify strengths of those presentations. Interact with the presenters and evaluators to learn the do’s of effective presentations.
Third Engagement. McNair Alumni & Their Paths to the Ph.D. and Beyond. Panel. Friday, 2/23, 7:00-8:00pm.
This panel of McNair alumni will discuss the role of their McNair experience on their personal paths through graduate school, the attainment of their doctorate degree, and their subsequent careers.
Fourth Engagement. Keynote Presentation: Dr. Yolanda Flores Niemann. Saturday, 2/24, 7:00-8:00pm.
Dr. Yolanda Flores Niemann is Professor of Psychology at the University of North Texas (UNT). Previously, she served as Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at UNT, Vice Provost and Dean of the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at Utah State University, and held numerous administrative and faculty positions at Washington State University. She was also an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow at Penn State. Most recently, Dr. Flores Niemann was an invited panelist at the White House for the Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics --Fulfilling America’s Future: Latinas in the U.S. She has been Principal Investigator of over 42 million dollars in federal outreach grants to prepare low socioeconomic status students for entry into and success in higher education. Her research interests include the psychological effects and social ecological contexts of tokenism – to the individual faculty member and to the tokenizing institution. She has recently developed a faculty training video to help prevent faculty to student microaggressions, Current research includes examination of stereotypes in superhero portrayals, and effective mentoring across demographic groups. Her most recent books are Surviving and Thriving in Academia: A Guide for Members of Marginalized Groups, Third Edition (2017, coedited), and is one of the editors of Presumed Incompetent: The Intersections of Race and Class for Women in Academia. Dr. Flores Niemann is author of seven books, the film, (https://youtu.be/ZahtlxW2CIQ), and ~ 40 published journal articles, including in Peace Review, Journal of Applied Psychology; Journal of Applied Social Psychology; Sociological Perspectives; Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin; The Journal for the Theory of Social Behavior; Frontiers: A Journal of Women’s Studies, and Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, The Journal of Social Issues, and The Counseling Psychologist.
Conference Sessions
First Engagement. The Research Apprenticeship of the Graduate Student. Part 1. Panel discussion. Friday, 2/23, 9:00-10:15am. Student Union 314 AB.
A panel of UNT researchers discuss their expectations of new graduate students as research assistants. They identify some of the challenges new graduate students face and strategies for success during the research apprenticeship.
First Engagement. The Research Apprenticeship of the Graduate Student. Part 2. Roundtable discussion. Friday, 2/23, 10:30-11:30am. Student Union 314 AB.
This is a follow-up to Part 1. Join one of the roundtables facilitated by one or more UNT researcher to get your questions answered about the graduate student research apprenticeship. This will be particularly useful for seniors who will be graduate students in fall 2018.
Second Engagement. Graduate Recruiters Panel. Friday, 2/23, 3:30-5:00pm. Student Union 333.
An interactive session with a panel of graduate recruiters who will discuss all things related to graduate school applications, admissions, processes, and procedures.
Workshop: Upping Your Presentation Game. Friday, 2/23, 3:30-5:00pm. TBA.
This is an opportunity to learn tactics and techniques to improve your oral research presentations. Four UNT senior graduate students will do research presentations and evaluators will identify strengths of those presentations. Interact with the presenters and evaluators to learn the do’s of effective presentations.
Third Engagement. McNair Alumni & Their Paths to the Ph.D. and Beyond. Panel. Friday, 2/23, 7:00-8:00pm.
This panel of McNair alumni will discuss the role of their McNair experience on their personal paths through graduate school, the attainment of their doctorate degree, and their subsequent careers.
Fourth Engagement. Keynote Presentation: Dr. Yolanda Flores Niemann. Saturday, 2/24, 7:00-8:00pm.
First Engagement: The Research Apprenticeship of the Graduate Student
McNair Scholars Programs do their best to prepare our undergraduates for the rigors of graduate school, especially the research component of their graduate experience. This panel features leading researchers from UNT who will describe and discuss their expectations of and experiences with new graduate students. They will help our scholars develop a realistic understanding of expectations faculty researchers have of their graduate research assistants. Discussions will include strategies that successful graduate student researchers have to better manage and balance coursework, research, lab time, and the other normal responsibilities of graduate students.
For example, panelists will discuss questions such as:
- What are a few really important things you would like your new graduate students to be prepared for when the start working with you?
- What are some of the unrealistic expectations new graduate students have as then enter this level of research (i.e., in graduate school)?
Dr. Victor Prybutok, Vice Provost, the Toulouse Graduate School, will serve as moderator.
Representatives of the following centers and institutes will comprise the panel:
- Dr. Sam Atkinson from the Advanced Environmental Research Institute
- Dr. Rajiv Mishra from the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Processes Institute
- Dr. Richard A. Dixon from the BioDiscovery Institute
- Dr. T. David Mason from the Castleberry Peace Institutes
- Dr. Mark Vosvick from the Center for Psychosocial Health Research
- Dr. Brian Sauser from the Jim McNatt Institute for Logistics Research
We will reserve time for questions from the audience.
Second Engagement: Graduate Recruiters Panel
A panel of graduate recruiters from the Graduate Recruitment Fair will discuss important steps in the preparation for applying to graduate school. They will discuss the application process and the timeline for preparing and submitting the application. Panelist will give insight to what selection committees look for in the application and personal statements.
Panelists members include:
- Matt Nolan, Senior Associate Dean of Administration & Student Services, Assistant Professor, Health Behavior and Health Systems, University of North Texas, Health Science Center
- Derek Maness, Director of Outreach and Recruitment, University of Minnesota
- Dana Mordecai, Assistant Director of Communications, Marketing, & Recruitment, University of North Texas
- Nyree McDonald, Associate Dean of the Graduate School, Notre Dame
- Ana Brown Program Coordinator, Graduate Student Recruitment & Diversity Initiatives, Ohio State University
Audience members will be encouraged to ask questions throughout the 90 minute session.
Dr. Joseph Oppong, Associate Dean, Toulouse Graduate School, will moderate the session.
Third Engagement: McNair Alumni & Their Stories -- To the Ph.D. & Beyond
Who better to help McNair Scholars understand the multiple pathways and life experiences on the road to the Ph.D. and beyond than those who were Scholars themselves. A panel of McNair alumni who have earned their Ph.D. and are now in careers in academia will discuss the challenges and opportunities they encountered and their strategies to succeed. Their time in a McNair program is the common experience they share, and a common point of departure to their post-baccalaureate lives.
Panelists members include:
- Dr. Jamie Baxter-Slye, Environmental Science Laboratory Supervisor and Adjunct Lecturer, Advanced Environmental Research Institute, UNT, Denton, TX
- Dr. Constance Lacy, Dean, School of and Human Services, UNT Dallas, Dallas, TX
- Dr. Tyson Lewis, Associate Professor & Art Education Program Coordinator/Visual Art Studies, CVAD, UNT, Denton, TX
- Dr. Angela Mitchell, Co-Owner of, and a Licensed Psychologist at, The Center for Psychological Services, Arlington, TX
- Dr. Priscilla Ybarra: Associate Professor, Department of English, CAS, UNT, Denton, TX
Audience members will be encouraged to ask questions at the end of 60-minute session.