Lynn Jones Eaton Addresses Under-Represented Students at Graduate School Recruiting Event
DIIA Associate Director Lynn Jones Eaton joined a distinguished group of speakers at the first annual Come to Texas event on March 6 and 7, a campus-visitation program of the Graduate School, in partnership with the International Office, to encourage prospective graduate students from under-represented groups to choose UT Austin. Eaton described the extensive professional development opportunities provided by DIIA’s Graduate Student Instructor (GSI) Program, an initiative of the Office of the Provost and of the Office of Graduate Studies to advance the pedagogical, professional, and personal development of graduate teaching assistants and assistant instructors.
The goal of Come to Texas is to increase the diversity of UT Austin graduate students by targeting under-represented populations, including African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and females in traditionally male fields. Admitted students are invited to—at no cost—travel to Austin, lodge at a hotel or with a current graduate student, and participate in two days of activities to learn about life in Austin and at the university. Each department receives a number of guaranteed invitations, based on the typical size of its admitted fall class.
Following a greeting from President William Powers Jr., Eaton joined Graduate School Associate Dean Darlene Grant in addressing participants concerning funding and professional development opportunities at UT Austin. Eaton highlighted five integrated features of DIIA’s GSI Program: the annual Graduate Student Colloquium, on-demand individual consulting with DIIA professional staff, midterm assessment consulting, promising practices sidebars on the Web, and the interactive workshop series Advancing Students’ Professional Excellence with Certificates in Teaching Series (ASPECTS). Crediting Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies Victoria Rodriguez for her strong support for ASPECTS, Eaton reported that the series has enjoyed healthy growth in the past three years, allowing DIIA to begin the design of a longitudinal study to determine the impact of the GSI Program on the marketability of recent graduates.
In view of the popularity of Eaton’s presentation with event participants, Grant has suggested that Eaton expand it next year to incorporate a more extensive workshop on the offerings of the GSI Program. Grant, whose expertise includes recruitment and retention of graduate students, characterized DIIA’s GSI Program as “important as a selling point for attending this university.” Indeed, research suggests that, after financial considerations, principal factors in students’ decisions concerning graduate school are perceptions concerning professional opportunities and campus environment. Because such “secondary” factors are hardly secondary in the view of the Graduate School or DIIA, Come to Texas was born, and Eaton is eager to remain part of it.