Welcome to the Calendar page of the Ph.D. Students' Website. See notes below.

Announcements

HOORAY!
Lance Hayden passed his
qualifying exams on March 23.
Shake his hand when you see him.

Annual Reviews. In case you missed Dr. Harmon's message, all Ph.D. Students except candidates should schedule their annual reviews between March 2 and April 27. Specific guidance was attached to the message.

Graduate School March eNewsletter Available. The GSeN provides important dates for graduate students, information on workshops, useful links, and the latest thoughts on matters the Graduate School dean and staff considers important.

Calendar
March 25 through April 1

ADDED EVENT. Monday, March 26, Noon-1 PM, Batts 5.108, Dr. Ronald King, Narratives of American Politics. Allison King writes, "Not sure if this is anyone's thing, but my father (Ronald King, a Professor of Political Science at San Diego State University) is giving a lecture, sponsored by the Government Department. You should probably contact the Government Department if you want any
more information.

Tuesday, March 27, 4-5:30 PM, SZB 556, Ron Pollock, Information Session: Los Angeles County Library System. For more information, please contact Ron Pollock, Director of Career Services, by email or phone, 471-2623.

Tuesday, March 27, 3:30-5:00 PM, SZB to be assigned. Suresh Bhavnani,.Program to be announced. This is an iForum presentation. This research uses a combination of cognitive modeling, controlled experiments, and ethnographic methods to understand the effective and efficient use and design of complex computer systems (as e.g. CAD systems for architects). Suresh is from the University of Michigan and a potential member of our faculty. For more information, please contact Dr. Galloway.

Tuesday, March 27, 6-7 PM, Lonestar Room, Erwin Center, Dr. Stephen Weinberg, The Origin of the Universe. University of Texas Professor and Nobel Prize Winner, Dr. Steven Weinberg will discuss “The Origin of the Universe” on Tuesday, March 27, at 6:00 p.m. in the Lone Star Room Frank Erwin Center with a Reception to follow at LBJ Library & Museum. Tickets are free and can be picked up at the LBJ Library and Museum or the Texas Union Room 4.300. You must have a ticket at the time of entry, as seating is limited. From Texas Online Alumni News, The Hookup, March 2007.

Wednesday, March 28 - Sunday, April 1, Hill Country Wine and Food Fest. This year, the fest includes more than 100 restaurants, 60 wineries, and 30 events for food and wine lovers, including "Latin Sizzles" on Thursday, "From Texas Farm to Table," Reserve Wine Tasting, and the Stars Across Texas Grand Tasting. Take a look at the finale, Sunday Fair. For tickets and more information please visit the Festival Website.

Wednesday, March 28,10 AM - 3 PM, UNB 2.302, UT Nonprofit & Public Sector Career Fair. Sponsored by The University of Texas Coalition for Careers in the Nonprofit Sector and The RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service. This event is open to all students and alumni of The University of Texas at Austin and all residents of Central Texas who are interested in a career with a nonprofit or public service organization. For more information, visit the event Website or contact Ron Pollock, Director of Career Services, by email or phone, 471-2623.

ADDED EVENT. Wednesday, March 28, 4-6 PM, Student Association, Tea with the Dean. This is a great opportunity to get your voice heard. For more information, please contact Lea Susan Engle.

ADDED EVENT. Thursday, March 29, 11 AM-2 PM, West Mall, César Chávez Celebration. The Student Events Center Mexican American Culture Committee is hosting its annual César Chávez Day on at the West Mall (Rain Site: Texas Union Ballroom). César Chávez was a revolutionary leader who fought not only for farm workers, but fought for the Mexican American community. Chávez's determination and non-violent tactics brought international attention to the farm workers' cause. His legacy has led to equality and a sense of identity for all those he fought for. The celebration will commence with a commemorative march from the East Mall to the West Mall at 11 a.m. and will be immediately followed by an address on César Chávez at 11:30 a.m. The event progresses with student performed monologues at 11:45 a.m., followed by a performance by Grupo Aztlán at 12 p.m. The event will conclude with poetry performed by UT students. This event is free and open to the public. This event is sponsored by the Texas Union Student Events Center Mexican American Culture Committee. The Mexican American Culture Committee is an organization that is funded primarily by the Texas Union Fee paid by all students. For more information please visit the event Website or call the Texas Union Student Events Center, 475-6630.

Thursday, March 29, 12:30 - 2:30 PM, SZB 468, Ron Pollock, Panel Discussion: High Tech Employers on High Tech Careers . You've asked for it - and now it is here; our first tech career panel discussion. In coordination with Dr. Randolph Bias, the Career Services Office will host a usability and Web design panel discussion with three top professionals:

• Jack Alford has been a human factors engineer at IBM for 26 years, after receiving a PhD in Human Experimental Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. Jack has worked in software development groups at several IBM development labs, with responsibility for office software, operating systems, and system management user interfaces. He is currently the UCD team leader in the User Technologies organization in the IBM Systems and Technology Group at IBM Austin, where his responsibilities include user interface design, usability testing, and product accessibility. Jack is a member of UPA, ACM SIGCHI, and ACM SIGACCESS.
• Kellie Mecham is a Sr. User Research Specialist at Expero. She is an expert with over 13 years experience in all phases of user-centered design research; usability testing, heuristic evaluation and contextual inquiry in particular. Her background includes user experience work in a diverse cross-section of companies including large ERP vendors like PeopleSoft, where she was responsible for building the original PeopleSoft Usability Labs, and consumer software companies such as Intuit. She has worked extensively in the complex data application space, as well as with web applications and Websites.
• Tanya Payne has a PhD from the University of New Mexico in Cognitive Psychology. She has worked as a consultant in large, medium and small companies through contracting firms on computer hardware, software and handheld devices. For the last 7 years she has been employed at Vignette as a User Experience Engineer working on software usability testing and design.

As a student interested in the usability and Web design fields - or just wanting to learn more about the fields, this is your opportunity to here from top professionals in the field and to ask questions about the skills needed and hiring practices of top firms. This is a don't miss opportunity for new, continuing, and graduating students in the School of Information. We will have refreshments available to go along with the great information. For more information, please contact Ron Pollock, Director of Career Services, by email or phone, 471-2623.

Thursday, March 29, 5 PM. Deadline for application to participate in the UT Graduate Research Showcase on Thursday, April 5. For more information, please see calendar item below.

Friday-Saturday , March 30-31, TCC, Second Annual Lonestar Graduate Diversity Colloquium. This Colloquium is for students who have not yet entered graduate school, but current graduate student volunteers are needed to make it successful. Also, should you have the opportunity to interact with our visitors within your department or elsewhere on campus, please welcome them and share your thoughts and insights about the value of a graduate degree from UT Austin.

The colloquium is a collective effort by all colleges and universities in Texas to expand the pool of prospective graduate students that all graduate programs can recruit from.  The primary purpose of this event is to encourage more under-represented minorities and women currently enrolled at Texas colleges and universities to stay in Texas to complete their graduate education. Our target group is sophomore and junior undergraduate students. To facilitate student exploration of graduate school options, and due to space limitations, ONLY masters and doctoral degree granting Texas institutions of higher education will be accepted to recruit at the colloquium. President William Powers and the Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School, Victoria Rodriguez, will host this year's conference at UT.

The colloquium will begin with check-in at the Thompson Conference Center at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, March 30.  The colloquium will include informational sessions on the graduate school experience, a graduate school recruitment fair, and end with a closing ceremony at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 31.   We encourage you to hold these dates open.

Breakout Session I (8:30 am to (9:15 am)
Panel A - Funding Graduate School
Panel B - Making the Most of a Recruiting Fair
Panel C - Preparing for Entrance Exams
Panel D - Recruiting Outstanding Graduate Studies (Session Intended for Recruiters, Administrators, Faculty or Staff)

Breakout Session II (9:20 am to 10:05 am)
Panel A - How to ID and Compare Graduate Schools
Panel B - Funding Graduate School
Panel C - Developing a Competitive Application
Panel D - Improving Retention of Minority Graduate Students (Session Intended for Recruiters, Administrators, Faculty or Staff)

Breakout Session III (10:20 am to 11:00 am)
Panel A - Developing a Competitive Application
Panel B - Distance Educational Options in Graduate Studies
Panel C - The Value of Undergraduate Research
Panel D - Creating a Successful Graduate Recruiting Program (Session Intended for Recruiters, Administrators, Faculty or Staff)

We are looking for volunteers for many parts of the colloquium, beginning with Friday afternoon (3:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.) but also the breakout sessions to be held on Saturday morning (8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.). We need volunteers who can help with set-up/break-down and general logistics, as well as introduce panelists and keep time during each panel, and just make sure that our guests get to the right place at the right time. Graduate coordinators, graduate students, and faculty are all invited to offer presentations that address subjects such as applying to graduate school, financial assistance, exam preparation, etc.  We also plan to offer sessions that are intended for staff, faculty, and administrators interested in graduate recruitment issues.  The titles below are subject to change; please consider them a guide as to the subjects that would best address the needs of the prospective students attending the colloquium.

 For more information or if you or your colleagues are interested in making a presentation at the Second Annual Lone Star Graduate Diversity Colloquium, or if you are interested in volunteering your time in any part of the colloquium, please visit the event Website and contact Luis Guevara, Graduate Program Coordinator, via email or phone, 475-6769.

Friday, March 30, 7-9 PM, HRC, Protho Theatre, Jamie Kamph. In this Mim Watson, Book Arts Lecture, Jamie Kamph, distinguished book artist and book conservator in private practice in New Jersey, will speak on the development of her work, and intersections between art and conservation in her career. Jamie is a AIC Professional Associate in private practice as a book conservator, and also an exhibiting book artist. Jamie Kamph came to bookbinding from a career as an editor/publisher in 1971 when she met and began studying with Hope G. Weil. Since 1973 she has worked as a designer bookbinder and book conservator at Stonehouse Bindery in Lambertville, NJ. She has lectured and taught at Mount Holyoke College, Princeton University, the New York Public Library, Anderson Ranch, the Princeton Public Library, and in the Princeton and Pennington, NJ school districts. Her design bindings are held in private and public collections including the New York Public Library, the Pierpont Morgan Library, Princeton University Graphic Arts Department, the University of Texas, and Southern Methodist University's Bridwell Library. She has exhibited her work widely with the Guild and at Yale University Library, the Aspen Art Institute, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Grolier. In 2003, she was awarded the Helen Ward DeGolyer Award for American Bookbinding, sponsored by Bridwell Library. Her writings on bookbinding have been published in magazines and she is the author of A Collectors Guide to Bookbinding. She has work in the recent Guild of Bookworkers 100 the Anniversary Exhibition: (for the whole exhibition) (for a photo of her work in the retrospective portion of the exhibition) (images of her work at the Bridwell library in Dallas). A reception in the foyer of the Ransom Center will follow Ms. Kamph's talk. The HRC is located on the NE corner of Guadalupe and 3 Rd. Street. The Protho Theatre is to the right as you enter the center. For more information, please contact Chela Metzger or Ellen Cunningham-Kruppa, Director, The Kilgarlin Center for Preservation of the Cultural Record, via email or phone, 471-8287.

Friday-Saturday , March 30, 3-4:30 PM, Lobby LBJ Library, Tour. We will be hosting our first tour this semester at the Lyndon B. Johnson Library and Museum. Some topics that will be covered include the declassification process, the oral history program, and an overview of the duties and responsibilities of archives staff. The LBJ Museum & Archives is located at 2313 Red River St. (the eastern boundary of campus at the intersection of Red River and Dean Keeton right before I-35) To learn more about the LBJ, visit their website For more information please contact Monica Haddad UT-SAA Events Chair.

This is followed by:

Friday-Saturday , March 30, 4:30 - 6:30 PM, Crown and Anchor, SAA Happy Hour. We will also be having our first happy hour after the tour at Crown & Anchor at 5pm. Don't miss this great opportunity to learn about a government archive and mingle with friends!!! Everyone is welcome to attend.Come directly from the tour or come to the happy hour even if you can't make it to the tour! Hope to see you there. The Crown & Anchor is located at 29th and San Jacinto (within walking distance of campus!) For more information please contact Monica Haddad UT-SAA Events Chair.

Saturday, March 31, 8:30 AM - 2:45 PM, STS Civic Forum, Surveillance and You. The STS "Surveillance and You" Civic Forum is an opportunity for you to learn about and discuss the topic of society and surveillance. The Civic Forum will feature an interactive panel of experts to explore the ethical, cultural, technological, security, and business aspects of surveillance, and audience participants will include people from the general public, the private sector, academia, and government. In addition to the expert panel, the Civic Forum will include smaller discussion sessions on various issues surrounding the topic of surveillance, fun engagement activities, and the short documentary film, “Surveillance and You.” Our own Lance Hayden will be a panel moderator, and Dr. Phillip Doty will be a panel member. Lastly, an optional workshop on computer security will follow the Civic Forum. A box lunch will be provided. There is no cost to attend the STS Civic Forum, but online registration before the event is required. Space is limited. For registration and more information go to the event Website.

Saturday, March 31, 9 AM - Noon. Waller Creek Cleanup. Last November, 180 volunteers helped us to rid the creek of 140 bags of garbage, 28 bags of recyclables, and 200 pounds of large items! Please join us again melding your energy with ours in restoring the creek to its true natural state of beauty. Continental breakfast provided. To sign up and for more information, please visit the event Website.

Saturday, March 31, 2-4 PM, CDL, iSchool / Kilgarlin Center Edible Book Festival. Join the fun--and the puns--at the 2007 Austin Edible Book Festival, the 5th annual event in Austin! It will take place at the Collections Deposit Library (CDL) on the southwest corner of MLK Blvd and Red River St. Prizes will be awarded to winning entries and guests earn a bite of a book or two. The event will be organized by students from the University of Texas iSchool and the Kilgarlin Center for Preservation of the Cultural Record. Paid parking is available in the UT parking garage (TRG) at MLK Blvd and Trinity St. The 4 Montopolis / 18 Martin Luther King AND 15 Red River/16 S. 5th St-Westgate have bus stops right at the corner of MLK and Red River. Additional bus routes and information on prizes will be added to the soon-to-be-updated Kilgarlin Program Edible Book Festival Website. Photos of amazing and amusing entries (and potential inspiration) from years past are already displayed on the web site. Austin sources for hard to find edible materials include - All in One bake Shop for potato starch paper, Michael's craft stores for edible ink pens, and Whole Foods Market for pre-made crepes. Visitors and participants can vote for their favorite books in four categories: Best in Show, Wittiest, Tastiest, and Least Appetizing. Winners will receive prizes from local sponsors including Waterloo, 12th Street Books and Cipollina's.For more information folks can contact the organizing committee by email - or Ellen Cunningham-Kruppa via email or phone, 471-8287.

Future Events
Mark Your Calendar

GPSW. Monday - Friday, April 2-6, Graduate and Professional Student Week. Join us in celebrating National Graduate and Professional Student Appreciation Week (April 2-6)! Events are sponsored by the Graduate Student Assembly with special thanks to The University Coop, Texas Parents Association, Geico Insurance, Senate of College Councils, and the Graduate School. Events are listed below, identified with GPSW, and available on the GSA Website. For more information please contact Moira Priven , GSA Programs Director, or Clare Riviello, GSA Communications Director.

GPSW. Monday, April 2, 11-1 PM, Austin's Pizza, Graduate Student Pizza Party. FREE Pizza with Student ID. Austin's Pizza is located at 2324 Guadalupe (on the drag). For more information please contact Moira Priven , GSA Programs Director, or Clare Riviello, GSA Communications Director.

Monday, April 2, 4-6 PM, Convio, Inc., UTASIST Tour. UTASIST is excited to announce an informational visit and tour of Convio. Convio manages nonprofit organizations' online presence, you can learn more about them on their web site. They have recently been named in Inc. Magazine's "500 List" and Deloitte Technology's "Texas Technology Fast 50" as one of the fastest growing privately held companies. If you're interested in information architecture and user experience design, or in getting a job helping nonprofits, you won't want to miss this tour. Convio is located at 11921 N. Mopac. Convio has asked us to limit attendance to 10, so slots are limited for this event. If you're interested in attending, please RSVP as soon as possible to UTASIST to ensure your place. For more information please contact Dimitri Lundquist, UTASIST Co-Director.

Monday, April 2, 4-6 PM, SZB 556, Andy Switzky, Alumni Speaker. Our last Alumni Speaker Program presenter of the year will be Andy Switzky. Andy worked for SBC as a Web design contractor and is now with Austin Energy in the same capacity. Andy will talk about his transition from student to SBC contractor to Austin Energy. Additionally Andy will talk about employment opportunities that students my have with Austin Energy. Make certain you sit in on Andy's presentation.For more information, please contact Ron Pollock, Director of Career Services, by email or phone, 471-2623.

GPSW. Tuesday, April 3, Noon-1:30 PM, UNB 3.304 (Quadrangle), Dr. Tommy Darwin, Professional Development Workshop and Brown Bag Lunch. Dr. Darwin is the Graduate School, Director of Professional Development & Community Engagement Program. Cookies will be provided. For more information please contact Moira Priven , GSA Programs Director, or Clare Riviello, GSA Communications Director.

Tuesday, April 3, 4-5:30 PM, SZB 464, UT SAA meeting This is just to let you know that the next meeting of the UT Chapter of the Society of American Archivists will meet. Like last time, we'll have snack and drinks, and we'll leave some time for mingling. We'll continue our planning for Archives Week, tours, etc., but there will also be an opportunity to raise other topics. Remember, everyone is welcome. You don't have to be a member. For more information please contact Adam Knowles, SAA UT President.

Tuesday, April 3, 7-9 PM, Brentwood Tavern, Transparent Mike Night: An Evening of Seriously Strange Sounds. They're not talking specifically about Audio Preservation, but I suspect this might be something interesting. This event will be an open mike format showcasing various local inventors who have created instruments, recording devices, mixing tools and other audio devices (anything to do with sound that hasn't ever been done quite that way before). Anyone interested in performing can email us to to be part of the scheduled format, or just bring their device and share it at  the end of the evening. The DIYists are David Nunez and Maida Barbour, two of the same people who throw Austin dorkbot (please visit dorkbotaustin.com), and we're branching out into other areas of invention and innovation,  showcasing a variety of projects with the same philosophy of  transparent process and technology that is the heart and soul of  dorkbot. For more information, please contact Dr. Turnbull.

Tuesday, April 3, 6-7 PM, Dog and Duck, iSchool Art and Architecture Student Group meeting. Intrigued? Interested? Looking for more culture in your life? Come out to the second meeting of the as of yet unnamed Art and Architecture Student Group of the School of Information. The first was such a success, we decided to have another one!
We will be finalizing our mission statement and name, discussing upcoming events, and rounding up attendees for the B scene at the Blanton the following Friday (April 6)! For more information please contact Katie Pierce.

GPSW. Tuesday, April 3, 8-10 PM, Spiderhouse, Graduate Student Film Showcase. Come out and enjoy short films created by your fellow graduate students here at UT! Refreshments are provided. For more information please contact Moira Priven , GSA Programs Director, or Clare Riviello, GSA Communications Director.

GPSW. Wednesday, April 4, 9-11 AM, MAI 101 (Graduate School Student Lounge), Graduate School Open House and Coffee Hour. Stop by to meet with OGS administrators and staff members, who will drop by as their schedules allow. Breakfast tacos, juice, & coffee will be provided. For more information please contact Moira Priven , GSA Programs Director, or Clare Riviello, GSA Communications Director.

GPSW. Wednesday, April 4, 5-7 PM, UNB Underground, Interdisciplinary Bowling Challenge. The astronomers won the bowling smackdown in the fall, but the question now is: which combination of departments will walk away winners from the spring challenge? Form a team (of 4-6 people) with students from different departments (no more than two people from the same department per team), sign up, show up, and find out. Sign your team up by emailing Moira Priven , GSA Programs Director, no later than Thursday, March 29th with the names and departments of everyone on your team. If you would like to participate but do not have a complete team, just email Moira with your name and department before Thursday, March 29th. Bowling and shoes are free for all who sign up by the deadline! (FREE) pizza will be served! For more information, please contact Moira or Clare Riviello, GSA Communications Director.

Thursday, April 5, 9 - 4:30 PM, Erwin Center, Education Job Fair. School librarians would be particularly interested in this one. The morning session, 9:00 - 11:30 AM, provides browsing and talking with recruiters. The afternoon session, 12:30 - 4:30, provides time for interviews scheduled during the in morning session. For more information, please contact Ron Pollock, Director of Career Services, by email or phone, 471-2623.

Thursday-Friday, April 5-6, TCC (Thompson Conference Center), Barbara Jordan National Forum on Public Policy, The Path to Social Change: Activating your Community. The 11th Annual Barbara Jordan National Forum on Public Policy will be held April 5th and 6th at the Thompson Conference Center on the campus of the University of Texas.  Each year the University garners national attention for the quality of speakers and panelists that gather at the LBJ School of Public Affairs for this event, and this year will be no different. This year's forum will honor the life and legacy of this former Congresswoman and beloved UT professor Barbara Jordan, and her commitment to public service. In addition to learning about Jordan's political and academic contributions, participants will learn about the importance of public service and community engagement. The two days will involve discussions and hands-on workshops on pressing national and international policy issues in terms of community organization and activism.  At the end of this Forum, participants will be able to use the knowledge they have learned about topics such as immigration, morality politics, building a successful collaboration, mobilizing the vote, grant writing, and working with the mainstream media to go back to their own communities and use these tools for positive social change. The event is free and open to the public.  For more information on speakers, schedules, and registration please visit the event Website

GPSW. Thursday, April 5, 10 AM - 2 PM, Texas Union, GSA, Graduate Research Showcase. This is a Graduate and Professional Student Appreciation Week event hosted by the Graduate Student Assembly. Students can present a poster on their research, participate in a panel discussion, or distribute department research magazines and/or journals. You may participate with a poster, journal article, panel, presentation, or volunteer. The application to participate in the research showcase is attached and is due no later than Thursday, March 29, 2007 by 5pm. For more information please contact Moira Priven , GSA Programs Director, or Clare Riviello, GSA Communications Director. 

Friday, April 6, time to be decided, Blanton, iSchool Art and Architecture Student Group Tour. Join us for the B scene at Blanton. For more information please contact Katie Pierce.

Tuesday, April 10, 3:30 - 5:00 PM, SZB 468, Irina Shklovski, Program to be announced. This is an iForum presentation. Irina is from Carngie-Mellen University and a potential member of our faculty. For more information, please contact Dr. Galloway.

Wednesday - Friday, April 11-14, San Antonio, Convention Center, Strong Libraries, Strong Communities. TLA Annual Conference. Hundreds of programs, speakers and exhibits by vendors, meet prospective employers, find a job, and have a great San Antonio experience. Placement Service for May/August/December 2007 graduates. (Ron Pollock of Career Services is giving a workshop on March 21(see above) to prepare you for this Placement experience.) Special rate for IS student members. Dr. Immroth reminds us, "Includes the famous I School Reception on Thursday evening at Rosario's (remember we're the party school of UT, America's #1 party school) Don't miss this one!!!" For more information, about the conference, please visit the event Webpages or contact Angelica Delgado, UT ALA/TLA Coordinator. You may also volunteer to man the iSchool booth, April 12: 10:15 AM. - 5:00 PM, April 13: 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM, April 14: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM. To volunteer, or more information about the eworkshop or booth, please contact Ron Pollock, Director of Career Services, by email or phone, 471-2623.

Wednesday, April 11, 7-9 PM, Hogg Auditorium, James Carville and Mary Matalin, All's Fair; Love, War, and Politics. Both speakers are prominent political consultants and renowned for extraordinary intelligence and uncanny political commentary, as you may recall from their involvement in the CNN talk show, Crossfire.  James Carville served as Chief strategist for the 1992 Clinton Presidential campaign, while Mary Matalin served as director of Former President George Bush's 1992 re-election campaign.  They were married in 1993. Today, Carville and Matalin are not only a champion of their party's conviction but a leading voice in creating and advocating strategies and tactics.  It's rare for the unlikely couple to appear together for a lecture, and the SECL is proud to bring this dynamic duo to the University of Texas. You may pick up a free ticket from the Student Events Center office, UNB 4.300, on the 4th floor of the Union, beginning April 2nd at 9am. In order to insure a seat you must have your ticket.  Seating is limited, and will be given based on first arrival.  Its recommended attendees arrive half an hour in advance of the lecture. Tickets do not guarantee a seat. Parking is available at the San Antonio Parking Garage. Please join us. For more information, please

Friday, April 13, Abstract submissions due for the Texas Conference on Digital Libraries (TCDL), May 30 - June 1, at UT. Abstracts are of no more than 500 words. The contributions must be written in English and should be double spaced. The Program Committee will select relevant submissions. Selected speakers will receive an email by April 27 with guidelines for their presentation. Presentations will be limited to 20 minutes, plus 10 minutes for questions. extended abstract submissions will be accepted through a web- based form . See notes below on conference.

Friday, April 13, 7-9 PM, UNB 3.202 (Ballroom), Seth MacFarlane. Seth MacFarlane, the creator of television's hit Emmy Award-winning series' "Family Guy" and "American Dad," has earned a reputation for sparing little in his pursuit of no-holds-barred humor. "Family Guy" chronicles the antics of the dysfunctional Griffin family, the smartest of which is a talking dog. An anchor of FOX's Sunday night lineup, the show took an unprecedented road to success. MacFarlane also produces "American Dad" for FOX, based on another off-kilter family led by a CIA-agent father on perennial alert for terrorist activity. In addition to his role as creator and executive producer, MacFarlane is the voice of many of his animated characters. At the podium, he takes audiences inside some of the most innovative television programming for a behind-the-scenes peek at everything from the writers' many neuroses to the one "Family Guy" episode that FOX refused to air. Admission to the MacFarlane lecture is free. A pass is required for admission but does not guarantee admission to the event. UT students, faculty and staff may obtain passes from the Texas Union Student Events Center Ticket Office (Room 4.300) by presenting a UT ID. Pass distribution will begin on Tuesday morning, April 3rd, at 8:00 AM (pass distribution: weekdays 8AM-5PM). This event is not open to the general public. Co-sponsors of this event are The Texas Union Student Events Center's Distinguished Speakers and Music & Entertainment Committees. The Student Events Center is an organization that is funded primarily by the Texas Union Fee paid by all students. For more information please visit the Student Programs Website or call 475-6630.

Saturday, April 14, 10 AM - Noon, Clean, Green, Campus--Beauriful U Day plus Longhorn ReLeaf. Do you want to help make our campus a prettier place? Do you have two hours to spare? Sign up to volunteer on Saturday, April 14th, from 10AM - Noon. Volunteers can choose a litter cleanup project or a tree planting project. This kind of teamwork helps us keep our campus looking great. Continental breakfast provided. To sign up and for more information please visit the event Website or contact the Campus Environmental Center.

Saturday, April 14, Noon-9 PM, Zilker Park Hillside Theater, Texas Bengali Cultural Alliance, Bengali and South Asian New Year Festival. This year's celebration brings you traditional open air cultural program and band show, authentic traditional Bengali and South Asian Cuisine, ethnic dresses, jewelry, henna, free kids games, free sarees raffle drawing every hour, and much more. For more information please see the flyer, visit the TBCA Website, or contact TBCA via email or phone 412-9193.

Sunday-Saturday, April 15-21, National Library Week. Take a librarian to lunch.

Monday, April 16, Summer and Fall registration begins. See UT course schedule time details for summer, fall, when they are posted.)

Monday, April 16, SZB 564, 5 PM, Deadline for applications for Summer and Fall teaching assistantships. Please visit the TA scholarship Website for more information on the process and application forms or contact Carla Criner via email or phone, 471-5654.

Friday, April 20, Time to be Announced, iSchool Student Association, The Amazing Race - iSchool Edition. Hey iSchoolers! Want to show your knowledge of UT, Austin and all things library? Want to compete for fabulous prizes? Want to ease some semester stress in a fun-filled and hilarious way? Join us for The Amazing Race - iSchool Edition brought to you by the Student Association. This year, iSchool week is ending with a bang. Teams of 2-4 people will race around campus competing in both mental and physical tasks to see who has what it takes to win the iSchool Amazing Race! Mark your calendars NOW - more details to follow. Questions? Want to register as a team or an individual? Want to volunteer to staff the event? Please contact Lea Susan Engle, SASI Co-Director

Saturday, April 21, 8 AM - 2 PM, Austin High Parking Lot, ARMA, Shred Day. With the increased awareness of identity theft, many people know they need to dispose of personal records in a way to insure that others can't find and misuse the information. ARMA and the City's Solid Waste Services Department are providing an opportunity to families and individuals to bring up to five file boxes of paper for FREE on-the-spot confidential shredding. Mobile shredding trucks will be provided by Austin Shred, Centex Shred, and Iron Mountain. The objective is to help with home records management, identity theft protection while publicizing the value of Records Management and Recycling. Sponsored by Association of Records Managers and Administrators (ARMA) and the City of Austin Solid Waste Services Department. Austin High is located at 1715 W. Cesar Chavez (old First Street). In lieu of a fee for the service, donations will be accepted for the Capital Area Food Bank. Volunteers are needed. To volunteer or for more information, please contact Jannette Goodall via phone, 974-9045.

Saturday, April 21, Hogg, Okkervil River, special strings and horns show. Okkervil River is one of Austin's leading bands. The event is also an MEC production and tickets will be at an absurdly low $10. Tickets are on sale now and are available at
the PAC box offices located at Hogg Auditorium, Bass Concert Hall, and online.

Monday, April 23, final submission due for Drexel, Connections 2007, May 18-20. See details below.

Tuesday, April 24, 3:30 - 5:00 PM, SZB to be announced, Nathan Freier, Program to be announced. This is an iForum presentation. Nathan is from University of Washington and a potential member of our faculty. For more information, please contact Dr. Galloway.

Friday, May 4, last day of spring classes.

Friday, May 4, 2-4 PM, SZB 1 (Al Kiva Auditorium), Capstone Poster Session. The poster session will begin with "Minute Madness" during which each student will have 90 seconds to condense his or her project and present it as a pitch to the audience. Following Minute Madness, students will take their places beside their posters as attendees circulate to view the posters. Students will answer questions about their posters/projects and provide explanations to attendees who stop to view their posters. The Dean's Award for Capstone Excellence will be accorded to the most outstanding project/poster. For more information please visit the Capstone Poster Website or contact Carla Criner via email or phone, 471-5654.

Friday, May 4, 2-4 PM, Tower Garden, UT Remembers. At the university's annual "UT Remembers" memorial program, students,
faculty and staff who died in the past year are remembered. Family and friends are invited to the public ceremony where Tower bells toll as each person's name is read. We ask your help in reviewing the list of students and current and retired faculty and staff who died in the last 12 months. The list on the link below can be sorted by name, classification or department. If you are aware of an omission, please contact LaToya Hill for students, Dorothy Harris for current or retired faculty members, or Robin Jarman for current or retired staff ,embers. Your prompt response will help us make sure each family receives an invitation to UT For more information, please contact Susan Clagett, Office of Relationship Management and University Events, via email or phone 471-7753.

Saturday - Tuesday, May 5-22, UT's Annual Trash to Treasure. Volunteer with Trash to Treasure and help reduce waste during move out! Trash to Treasure's goal is to reduce waste during move out by recycling students' unwanted stuff in a campus-wide garage sale. More than 150 volunteers will be needed from May 5-22 to collect and sort donations. Shifts are 9AM-Noon, Noon-3PM, and 3PM-6PM. All volunteers get a free Early Bird Pass to the Trash to Treasure Garage Sale on August 26th, so you can get the best deals. You also get access to a volunteer-only secret preview on August 25th, where you'll get to scope out the stuff before anyone else. This is a campus-wide recycling effort, and we need your help! To volunteer. To volunteer and for more information, please visit the event Website or contact Will Beard at williamhenrybeard@gmail.com via email or phone 260-5592.

Wednesday - Tuesday, May 9-15, exams.

Tuesday, May 15, ALA Annual Conference Advance registration deadline. For more information, please contact Angelica Delgado, UT ALA/TLA Coordinator.

Friday, May 18, deadline for $100 advance student member registration for the ALA Annual Conference, in Washington, D.C., June 21-27. See dates below for conference details and links. For more information, please contact Angelica Delgado, UT ALA/TLA Coordinator.

Friday-Sunday, May 18-20, Drexel iSchool, Philadelphia, Connections 2007. For over a decade the Connections conference has given doctoral students in information studies the opportunity to network, share ideas, present research, and receive feedback from an audience of fellow students. Doctoral students working in all areas of information studies are invited to submit proposals. In an effort to provide all doctoral students with an opportunity to present their work we encourage students to submit proposals to present research at various stages of completion. Important dates: Submission Deadline February 26th, 2007; Acceptance Notification March 19th, 2007; Final Submission Deadline April 23rd, 2007Proposals should outline research in the fields of:
• Library Science
• Information Science
• Information Systems
• Management Information Systems

Proposals should include a brief summary of the research, a title author’s name(s), contact information, and affiliation. See http://connections2007.ischool.drexel.edu for more detailed information. For more information please visit the event Website, or contact Christine Wania or George Abraham Conference Chairs.

Saturday, May 19, 9-10 AM, Bass Concert Hall, Graduate School Convocation. For more information please contact Andrea St. Lawrence, via email or phone, 232-3618.

Saturday, May 19, 2-3 PM, Jessen Auditorium in Homer Rainey Hall, iSchool Convocation. For more information, please contact Carla Criner, via email or phone 471-3821.

Saturday, May 19, 3-4 PM, UNB 3.128 (Sinclair Suite), iSchool Reception. For more information, please contact Carla Criner, via email or phone 471-3821.

Saturday, May 19, 7-10 PM, South Mall, UT Commencement.

Monday-Saturday, May 20-25, College Station, Texas A&M Book History Workshop. Taking place in the Cushing Memorial Library and Archives at Texas A&M University, this five-day workshop provides an intensive, hands-on introduction to the history of books and printing with an emphasis on hand press era printing and its allied technologies--typecasting, papermaking, bookbinding, illustration, and ink-making. The combination of labs with seminars will provide students with practical experience as well as a broad historical survey of the field. Students will have the opportunity to cast type in a hand mould, set lines of type, impose formes, make paper, produce relief and intaglio illustrations and print on a replica common press. The workshop is intended for librarians, archivists, students, teachers, book collectors and private individuals who work in areas related to or who have an interest in book history. Past workshops have also included a series of evening lectures by scholars active in the field of book history. If you are interested in taking the workshop, please register soon as the workshop is filling up very quickly. To register, or see photographs from previous workshops, please visit the event Website. For more information, please visit the event Website or contact Christopher L. Morrow, Ph.D., Curator for Outreach,Cushing Memorial Library and Archives Texas A&M University, via email or phone, 979-845-1951.

Wednesday- Friday, May 30 - June 1, ACE 2.302 (AVAYA Auditorium), Texas Conference on Digital Libraries. The first Texas Conference on Digital Libraries will be held at the University of Texas at Austin. Registration is forthcoming. There will be no registration fee for TCDL; however, space is limited, so please register as soon as it is available in order to ensure your participation. Important Dates:

• March 15, Abstracts may be submitted
• April 13, Abstracts due
• April 27, Notification of acceptance
• May 18, 2007, Final presentation due
• May 30 - June 1, 2007, Texas Conference on Digital Libraries

Registration will be available March 1st. There is no registration fee for TCDL. However, space is limited, so please register as soon as possible in order to ensure your participation. Please visit the event Website for registration and the latest conference information.  If you have any questions, please contact Hillary Spiller, Administrative Associate for the Texas Digital Library at 512- 495- 4129.

Saturday- Wednesday, June 3-6, Denver, SLA Conference.

Thursday-Wednesday, June 21-27, ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. The ALA Annual Conference is a great place to advance your career and connect with a wide variety of new colleagues from around the world. ALA is focused on making your conference experience rewarding. In addition to the hundreds of programs and networking opportunities at Annual, special events and programs for first-time conference attendees have been set up to help you 'do' conference right. First time attendees will be matched up with an ALA Ambassador to help you personally make connections to programs, people and places before conference. Get expert advice on programs to attend, exhibitors to visit, parties to frequent, and ways to get the most out of conference. ALA Divisions and Round Tables will be sponsoring 101 programs throughout the conference to help you navigate programs, meetings and exhibits based on the kind of work you want do, or the type of library where you plan to work. First-time attendees will also receive special invitations to receptions sponsored by exhibitors and library vendors .Special events this year include the World Premier of "The Hollywood Librarian: Librarians in Cinema and Society". Get involved in "The Insider's Guide to Capitol Hill", "Library Day on the Hill", and volunteer projects as part of "Librarians Build Communities". Hundreds of programs on nearly every topic in library services are offered.

Student members of ALA receive significantly discounted rates for the conference. ALA Student Members can register before March 2nd, 2007 for only $85.00! If you are not currently a member of ALA, Student Membership only costs $28.00 per year. Save nearly $100.00 by joining. Registration rates: Early Bird (until 3/2/07): $85; Advance (until 5/18): $110; Onsite: $120. Dorm housing will be available in D.C. Hostels and other less expensive housing options are available as well. Please visit these two sites for more information or to register: Conference website (membership and registration, hotel maps, travel info, etc.); Annual Conference Wiki (info from local people and long timers). For job seekers, the New Members Round Table (NMRT) offers free resume review services at the Placement Center. Pre-register for the Placement Center to review the list of libraries that are hiring, and come prepared to meet prospective employers. Connect with your future career today at ALA Annual Conference. Note that the Honor Dance for Dr. Roy at the National Museum of the American Indian is scheduled for 3:30-5:30 PM on Friday June 22 and Dr. Roy's inaugural banquet at the Grand Hyatt, DC, is scheduled for 7-10 PM on Thursday, June 26. For more information, please contact Angelica Delgado, UT ALA/TLA Coordinator.

Wednesday, August 29 - Sunday, September 2, Chicago, SAA Conference. For more information, please contact Dr. Gracy.

Notes

This Website was created by senior Ph.D. students for all Ph.D. students (and anyone else interested) by providing informal information to fill the gap between official information and word of mouth interchanges. It provided the informal information desired by many Ph.D. students when it was created. This Homepage provides announcements (if any) and summaries of current and future activities that might specifically be of interest to Ph.D. students in the iSchool. The links on the left sidebar provide access to other information that Ph.D. might find interesting and useful.

If you are a new Ph.D. student, we suggest you read the orientation page (link on the left sidebar) for things you need or might like to know. More senior Ph.D. students might also want to review this page occasionally to see how things have changed.

Items on this Webpage are normally updated weekly during the long semesters and monthly during the summer semester. Additions and changes to the current week or month as well as special announcements are noted in red (or other appropriate color) . Significant future calendar events are posted as they are received and time permits. Suggested additions, calendar entries, corrections, and other comments to any of the Webpages on this Website are always appreciated. Email me or grab me in the hall.

This Website is a work-in-progress, you may expect to see some omissions and items to be provided; however, all links should work. We would appreciate an email with any suggestions, comments, or corrections relating to content and any links that do not work as you might expect them to.

Content Manager: Don Drumtra . Updated, 2007 March 31