NE North Dakota News

Leaders from the University of North Dakota (UND) School of Graduate Studies gathered on September 16 for the kickoff of the Graduate Leaders Institute, an initiative aimed at fostering connections and dialogue among graduate program directors and faculty. The monthly sessions will provide a platform for participants to share ideas and discuss important topics in graduate education.

The concept for the Graduate Leaders Institute originated during “listening tour” conversations between Soojung Kim, interim dean of the School of Graduate Studies, and various program directors. Kim credited Ashley Bayne, assistant director of the Graduate Studies in Public Health program, with helping to develop the idea.

“The Institute’s space is for you,” Kim told attendees. “To share stories like these, to ask questions, to learn from each other and most importantly, to remind ourselves why this work matters.”

UND Provost Eric Link outlined three main priorities for graduate program directors: student experience, dynamics, and quality. He emphasized UND’s leading role in graduating master’s- and doctoral-degree students in North Dakota and highlighted the importance of providing positive experiences for students.

“I’m really excited to see what we can do together in partnership and with Kim’s leadership,” Link said.

“Any work that we do here, at any level, undergraduate or graduate, it has to be focused on student experience and the opportunities we provide students to achieve their goals,” Link continued. “If we’re student focused, I think we’ll be able to help them get the most out of their experience, and we’ll be able to draw the most out of them.”

He also encouraged colleagues to consider how they could create effective programs and support services that would benefit both students and the state as a whole. “I would encourage all of us in the room to continue to think about how we can create programs, curricula and support services,” Link said. “To think about the impact we’re going to have on our state & beyond.”

Kim shared an example from her own experience involving a doctoral student who was deployed overseas while pursuing his degree. She intervened when he struggled academically due to his deployment obligations; he is now expected to defend his dissertation in December.

“For him, it’s not just a doctoral degree,” Kim said. “It represents a new opportunity to pursue an academic career after faithfully serving our country.”

She added that such stories highlight how dedicated leadership within graduate studies can influence students’ lives: “it shows how the commitment of graduate directors and advisors can change the trajectory of a student’s life.”

The Graduate Leaders Institute will feature several speakers throughout its run. Sessions are scheduled for the first Monday of each month at UND’s Gershman Graduate Center as well as online via Zoom.