Graduate school of arts and sciences

New programs help first-year grad students

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences has developed new programming for students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds. The Transitions program seeks to address students’ fears and apprehensions about graduate school by providing tools and community support as they progress towards their degrees. The program aims to curate 200-plus workshops over the academic year that will benefit first-year PhD students, and offer them significant peer advising as they become familiar with their new academic environment. Beginning on their first day, Diversity Orientation Day is a one-day introduction to the graduate school open to all matriculating students and participants in the Transitions program.

Dean welcomes newest Gruber fellows

Dean Cooley welcomed 23 new Gruber Fellows at the annual fall reception for award recipients in October. Established in 2011 by the Gruber Foundation, the Gruber Science Fellowship is awarded to the most highly ranked applicants to Yale PhD programs in the life sciences and in cosmology and other fields of astrophysics. 

Wilbur Cross medalists

On October 8, at a gala dinner at the Yale Center for British Art, the Graduate School Alumni Association presented its highest award, the Wilbur Lucius Cross Medal, to four of the Graduate School’s most outstanding alumni: Elizabeth W. Easton ’89PhD (history of art), cofounder and director, Center for Curatorial Leadership; Kelsey C. Martin ’91PhD (molecular biophysics & biochemistry), ’92MD, dean, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles; Marianne Mithun ’74PhD (linguistics), professor of linguistics, University of California, Santa Barbara; and Tan Eng Chye ’89PhD (mathematics), president, National University of Singapore.

The medal recognizes distinguished achievements in scholarship, teaching, academic administration, and public service, areas in which the legendary Dean Cross excelled. The medalists spent a day in their departments giving talks and meeting with students and faculty.

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