Amy McCandless, Ph.D., keynote speaker at the 2017 NAGPS Conference being held at UAB April 7-9.Graduate and professional students from across the Southeast will gather at UAB April 7-9 for the 2017 Southeast Regional Conference of the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students (NAGPS). The theme for the 2017 conference, hosted by the UAB Graduate Student Government (GSG), is “Modernizing Graduate Education.” Graduate and professional trainees will have the opportunity to meet and network with fellow student leaders from across the Southeast region, including Alabama, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, U.S. Virgin Islands and Virginia. Featured speakers will be comprised of NAGPS national and regional board executives, UAB GSG officers, and leaders representing the UAB Graduate School, Student Affairs, and Research Administration.
The keynote speaker is Amy McCandless, Ph.D., 2016-2017 president of the Conference of Southern Graduate Schools. McCandless received her A.B. from Sweet Briar College in Virginia, her MBA from the University of South Carolina, and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. She began working at the College of Charleston as one of the editors of South Atlantic Urban Studies in 1976 and joined the History Department in 1981. She continued her career at the College of Charleston, serving as associate provost (2001-2006), as well as interim graduate school dean and associate provost for research. She was appointed dean of the graduate school in March 2008, a role she fulfilled until her retirement in July 2016.
During her tenure as dean, McCandless worked to increase funding for assistantships and research, helped establish the Graduate Student Association and the Graduate School Advisory Board, implemented responsible research training conduct protocols, introduced an annual graduate student poster session, and initiated the 3MT® Competition (three-minute thesis).
Registration for the conference is now open and available online. Register before Friday, March 17 for the $25 early-bird discount. After March 17, the registration fee increases to $35. Membership in NAGPS is not required to attend. UAB graduate and professional students may contact gsg@uab.edu from their UAB email account to receive a special promo code.
Abstracts are also being accepted through March 17. Please submit your entry through the NAGPS website. Topics of particular interest include access/affordability of graduate education, graduate school funding, effective and visionary leadership training, employment concerns, social justice advocacy, national and international student needs, work-life-balance, and the importance of collaborative capital activism, volunteerism, and service.
For more information, visit the NAGPS website or contact the Southeast regional chair Dwayne Johnson (serc@nagps.org) or the conference director Kathryn Oliver (seconference@nagps.org).