In This Story
This October, members of George Mason’s Graduate Education team - Graduate Student Life and Graduate Division - attended the biannual Virgina Council of Graduate Schools (VCGS) meeting. Hosted at the University of Virginia this semester, leadership from graduate education offices from universities across the state came together to discuss updates from their campuses, plans to host the 2027 Conference of Southern Graduate Schools in Northern Virginia, mentor/mentee expectations, services and supports for post-doctoral fellows, graduate assistant stipends, enrollment trends, and graduate student professional development.
While discussing graduate needs and experience, George Mason’s Dr. Laurence Bray, Senior Associate Provost of Graduate Education, and Dr. Julie Choe Kim, Director of Graduate Student Life, discussed the George Mason Graduate Student Experience Survey held in Spring 2024. They were able to offer insights into the successes and challenges related to the administration of the survey, student participation, and the analysis and dissemination of findings. The Graduate Division team also shared George Mason’s partnership with Hanover Research on Graduate Assistant funding support and the work of the Future of Graduate Educationand Postdoctoral Affairs working group at George Mason.
At the end of this academic year, Dr. Bray will conclude her term as president of VCGS, with Dr. Aimee Surprenant, Dean of the Graduate School at Virginia Tech, taking on the presidency, while Dr. Bray will become past president.