Graduate Student News
Olga Radovic, a graduate student, performing with the UConn Symphony Orchestra at von der Mehden Recital Hall
Call for Nominations – Marth Mentorship Award
The AAUP UConn Chapter established the Edward C. Marth Mentorship Award to recognize the leadership and dedication of Edward Marth, former Executive Director of the AAUP UConn Chapter, to both encourage and reward outstanding mentoring of graduate students by UConn Graduate Faculty members. The $4000 award includes an invitation to speak at the Doctoral Commencement Ceremony on Monday, May 11th, 2026 at 6:00pm. Recipients of the award have had direct and significant impact and involvement with graduate students, outstanding commitment and effectiveness as a mentor of graduate students at UConn, and have demonstrated unusual effort to provide consistent mentoring of graduate students during the course of their careers. Recipients will be Graduate Faculty members who have extraordinary records of excellence and effectiveness in activities such as facilitating smooth transitions for both entering and exiting graduate students; showing sensitivity to students’ academic, personal, and professional goals and needs; being accessible to students; playing an active role in coaching graduate students through the graduate school experience and connecting them to appropriate intellectual and professional networks; and, guiding graduate students toward intellectual and professional independence.
Faculty at any University of Connecticut campus may be nominated for the Edward C. Marth Mentorship Award. To be eligible for the award nominees must: (a) be current members of the Graduate Faculty of the University of Connecticut, (b) have served as a member of the Graduate Faculty for at least 10 years, and (c) be current members of the AAUP UConn Chapter. Prior recipients of the award are not eligible.
Nominations should be submitted electronically by 17 November 2025 to Martha Marroni (martha.marroni@uconn.edu) with the subject line “Nomination for Marth Award.” Nominations should be submitted as a single PDF document and contain the following elements:
1. A nominating letter that is no longer than three typed pages. This may be from a director of graduate studies, Department Head, College/School Dean, administrator, or former graduate student.
2. A minimum of two (and a maximum of four) letters of support written by former and/or current graduate advisees.
3. No more than three letters from other UConn Graduate Faculty colleagues. If the Department Head is not a signatory on the nominating letter, then one of these letters should be from the current (or recent) Department Head.
4. A 1–2 page statement from the nominee on his/her philosophy of working with and mentoring graduate students.
5. A list of supervised theses and dissertations.
6. The nominee’s CV
Awardees will be selected by a committee composed of graduate faculty (appointed by the Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of The Graduate School) and at least one graduate student (appointed by the Graduate Student Senate). The award is accompanied by a monetary prize and an invitation to speak at the doctoral Commencement ceremony.
Postdoc Research Day
The University of Connecticut’s Postdoc Working Group, in partnership with The Graduate School, invites you to Postdoc Research Day. This one-day research event will be held in the Heritage Room, 2nd Floor, Homer Babbidge Library, Storrs Campus on Thursday, December 4th, 2025, from 1:00 PM to 5: 00 PM.
Goals
- Provide an opportunity for postdocs to present their research to a general audience.
- Offer professional development training to prepare postdocs for the next steps in their careers.
The day will include:
- Welcome address
- Keynote speaker (TBD)
- Research presentations
- Poster sessions
- Panel discussion on careers for postdocs (TBD)
- Awards for best presentations
- Closing reception
Registration
If you would like to join us for this event, please register using this survey form. Registration is free.
Postdocs interested in presenting must register no later than Friday, October 17, 2025. During registration, presenters will be asked to choose between:
- A short 3-minute talk (which includes a poster session), or
- A poster presentation only
Presenters will also be asked to provide a title and abstract for consideration.
Postdocs are encouraged to register and present; however, participation as a presenter is not required to attend. We also encourage staff, graduate students, and faculty to attend in support of their postdocs. More information on attendee registration is coming soon!
Additional details and a finalized schedule will be shared with registrants. For questions about Postdoc Research Day, please contact:
- Melanie Sinche, Director of Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Success, at Melanie.sinche@uconn.edu
- Michael Inkoom Nyarko, Graduate Assistant, at rdu25001work@uconn.edu
Fall 2025: Last day of work for Graduating GAs holding F-1 and J-1 visas
Dear International Huskies,
Federal government regulations allow graduate students on F-1 and J-1 visas to hold on-campus employment while they are pursuing their degree. If you will be a Fall 2025 graduate, you will no longer be pursuing your degree after December 14, 2025 and can no longer work on campus beyond that date.
If you hold a Fall 2025 GA appointment at Storrs or a regional campus (excepting UConn Health), the final date of your appointment is January 7, 2026. If your degree is conferred in December and you hold an F-1 or J-1 visa and your assistantship appointment is covered by a collective bargaining agreement with the Graduate Employee Union (GEU), the time between the degree conferral date and the appointment end date should be treated as time off. Please work with your supervisor to ensure that you finish the duties associated with your assistantship before your degree conferral date. You will still receive your full fall GA stipend.
In addition, ISSS will be updating your I-20 or DS-2019 program end date to December 14, 2025 if you are graduating in December and hold a GAship this term. This means your grace period to depart the U.S., or your first eligible date to begin post-completion practical training will begin December 15, 2025. Please plan for this accordingly. ISSS will adjust your I-20 or DS-2019 end date automatically based on notification that you have applied for graduation, or at the time you apply for post-completion OPT (F-1 students) or Academic Training (J-1 students), whichever comes first. ISSS will notify you when your adjusted I-20 or DS-2019 is ready to download from your ISSS portal account.
Please reach out to ISSS at international@uconn.edu if you have any questions about this guidance as it relates to your visa status, I-20, grace period, or practical training timeline.
Leslie M. Shor
Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of The Graduate School
Arthur Galinat
Director, International Student and Scholar Services
Graduate School News from UConn Today
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Community, Collaboration, and Preparation
The Graduate School is dedicated to the welfare and progress of its students. We strive to strengthen this through a commitment to the ideas of creating community, promoting collaboration, and addressing your academic, professional, and career preparation. UConn is committed to fostering a diverse and dynamic culture that prepares you to meet the challenges of a changing global society.
The Graduate School leads and coordinates a variety of activities and resources to navigate your pathway through graduate school and to enrich the overall personal and professional experience of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. Our vision for training of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars rests on three pillars as outlined in our academic plan.
Community: The Graduate School will enhance the quality of life for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars by nurturing an engaged community of scholars that includes all disciplines and all campuses.
Collaboration: The Graduate School will foster the development of inter-, cross-, multi-, and trans- disciplinary research and teaching programs by removing barriers to cross-departmental, cross-program, and cross-campus graduate and postdoctoral education.
Preparation: The Graduate School will enhance career and professional development of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars through programs designed to enhance discipline-independent, transferable skills. We utilize a framework of three categories to help students and scholars prioritize their activity: Professional Engagement, Career Development, Personal Growth.