PaleoSoc: Mental health in academia Webinar

Mental health in academia: a conversation on navigating mental health challenges

Thursday, October 1st at 1:00 pm EDT

Mental health issues pose a major problem in academia and have recently been on the rise. The constant pressures such as producing novel data and research publications, job insecurity, lack of funding, limited institutional mental health resources, and continued societal stigma around obtaining mental health treatment promotes a public health risk among the most talented members of our society. These issues are compounded for members from underrepresented minority, marginalized, and or at-risk groups who face steeper challenges navigating through academia. Graduate student mental health has received the most attention in academia, but these issues don’t disappear when they are hired as faculty or other academic positions. Additionally, early career academics or academics in unstable or transient positions also face mental health risks. 
 
We welcome everyone to join us as we discuss how to navigate mental health issues in academia in this Q&A webinar hosted by the Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the Paleontological Society. We will be joined by psychologist, Dr. Delishia Pittman from George Washington University and Society Representative-At-Large, Dr. Phoebe Cohen who will answer questions from our members. 

To register for the webinar please visit:  https://forms.gle/hnbPmEera9JYkoSe9

We encourage everyone to submit questions before the webinar, which can include topics ranging from mental health issues for graduate students, post-docs, and faculty, how to address student mental health as a faculty member, and approaches for established faculty to support students and junior faculty from underrepresented minority and marginalized groups. You can submit your questions at the link below until September 27th; however, we will have time to address live questions during the webinar.

Please submit questions anonymously via: https://forms.gle/tAe2xBThqmdTkimb9

If you are a current graduate student and would like to participate in the panel, please reach out to us at inclusion@paleosoc.org.

2019 AWG Winifred Goldring Award & Undergraduate Excellence in Paleontology Award

AWG Winifred Goldring Award
The Association for Women Geoscientists is pleased to announce the Winifred Goldring Award competition. The award, which consists of a $2000 cash prize and membership in the Paleontological Society and AWG for tenure of the awardee’s schooling, will be presented to an outstanding female student pursuing a career in paleontology. The award is named for Winifred Goldring, a pioneering woman paleontologist, who became State Paleontologist of New York State in 1939 and the first female president of the Paleontological Society in 1949. This award was made possible by the generous donations of David Watkins and MaryAnne Holmes. 

All application materials must be received by April 15th. The winner will be notified in May and the award will be distributed in early summer.

QUALIFICATIONS

A. Applicants must be women pursuing education as a graduate student in the paleontological – and affiliated – sciences at a degree-granting institution. 

B. Applicant must be enrolled as a student during the period of the award.

C. Proof of student status in the form of transcripts (official or unofficial) must be provided. 

D. Successful applicants will exhibit exceptional motivation, professional potential, outreach, and long-term commitment to goals. 

E. Students may receive the Winifred Goldring Award only once during the tenure of their graduate school careers. 

F. No prior AWG or PS membership is required.

G. National or international students are allowed to apply, with the exception of sanctioned countries.

For more information about application requirements, visit the AWG Awards and Scholarships web page at www.awg.org/awards and click on the AWG Winifred Goldring Award.

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Introducing the AWG Undergraduate Excellence in Paleontology Award
The Association for Women Geoscientists is pleased to announce the AWG Undergraduate Paleontology Award. The award, which consists of a $1000 cash prize and membership in the Paleontological Society and AWG for the tenure of the awardee’s schooling, will be presented to an outstanding female undergraduate student pursuing a career in paleontology. This award was made possible by the generous donations of David Watkins and Mary Anne Holmes. 

All application materials must be received by April 15. The winner will be notified in May and the award will be distributed in early summer.

QUALIFICATIONS

A. Applicants must be women pursuing education as an undergraduate student in the paleontological – and affiliated – sciences at a degree-granting institution. 

B. Applicant must be enrolled as a student during the period of the award.

C. Proof of student status in the form of transcripts (official or unofficial) must be provided. 

D. Successful applicants will exhibit exceptional motivation, professional potential, outreach, and long-term commitment to goals. 

E. Students may receive the Undergraduate Paleontology Award only once during the tenure of their undergraduate careers. 

F. No prior AWG or PS membership is required.

G. National or international students are allowed to apply, with the exception of sanctioned countries.

For more information about application requirements, visit the AWG Awards and Scholarships web page at www.awg.org/awards and click on the AWG Undergraduate Excellence in Paleontology Award.

Paleontological Society Student Representative

The Paleontological Society is soliciting nominations for a Student Representative to Council.

Eligibility: Nominations are encouraged from paleontology graduate students who are early-mid stage in their graduate programs from all backgrounds and institutions, particularly those that have historically been under-represented on the Paleontological Society Council.

The Role: Student Representatives serve as voices for student needs in the Society and play leading roles in student activities including organizing student events at the Geological Society of America Conference. Student Representatives are further encouraged to develop and lead new student initiatives. In this role, students gain knowledge of the inner-workings of an international organization and experience in professional service.

The selected Student Representative (who will start her/his role in the Fall) will join current Student Representative Bridget Kelly and serve a two-year term. Student Representatives attend two Council meetings per year (one during fall at the Geological Society of America Conference and the other during spring in Bethesda, MD).

Application: Please submit 1) a cover sheet listing your name, degree (MS, MA, PhD, etc.), expected graduation year, and email address, 2) a short letter of nomination from the student’s academic mentor or other faculty member at the student’s home institution and 3) a concise essay (of no more than 500 words) written by the student detailing interest in the role, previous experience with professional service (if any), and what the student hopes to accomplish through her/his service.

Applications should be sent by the student’s nominator as a single PDF to current Student Representative, Kristopher Kusnerik at kmkusnerik@ufl.edu with the subject line “Student Representative Nomination (insert student’s name)”. Deadline for consideration is February 18, 2019.

The Student Representative will be selected in March. Please feel free to contact Kris with any additional questions at the above email.