Dean's Note

As I look over the contents of this issue, it strikes me that all the articles share one trait. They all describe people and programs that are keenly focused on achieving the top ranks of academic enterprise. I suppose that's the primary role of this newsletter: to show how hard we're working to stand out among the best graduate programs in the country.
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OSU Day at the Capitol
OSU Day is a chance for the university community to discuss critical issues and legislation with state legislators.
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Graduate Student Conference
In this information age, professionals in every field are expected to be strong communicators. Within a discipline, this translates to inspiring teaching and far-reaching scholarly articles. But it's also important to be able to explain one's work, succinctly and attractively, to a live general audience. The Graduate Student Conference gives our students the chance to sharpen that skill.
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Commencement
At last count, 810 OSU students were planning to complete their advanced degree programs this spring. We wish them all the best as they move on toward their professions and further education.
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New Director of MCB Program
If you want to keep a high profile in the biological sciences, you have to change with the times. So says Dr. James Carrington, the new director of OSU's Molecular and Cellular Biology Graduate program. Carrington is overseeing a major upgrade of the activities and facilities available to MCB students — an upgrade that will benefit the wide cross-section of departments currently involved with the program, and draw in others from an even broader spectrum of disciplines.
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Dean Francis Elected President of WAGS
Dr. Sally K. Francis, dean of the OSU Graduate School, has been elected president of the Western Association of Graduate Schools. WAGS is the regional arm of the Council of Graduate Schools, the national association dedicated to advancing graduate education.
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Yerex Fellowship Recipient Elisabeth Chapman
One glance at Elisabeth Chapman's resume, and it's clear why she would be selected for the prestigious Yerex Graduate Fellowship. A 4.0 average in the rigorous Molecular and Cellular Biology curriculum, four publications in peer-reviewed journals, an extensive body of research —she's just the kind of outstanding science student this fund was created to reward.
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Yerex Fellowship Recipient Dylan Kesler
Dylan Kesler is committed to the Micronesian kingfisher — and not just on paper. He's been studying the bird for the last seven years, first as an OSU Fisheries and Wildlife master's student, and then as a Ph.D. candidate. As he carries out his theoretical studies, he's also working on several fronts to put his research to use, linking native conservation efforts with US breeding programs and restoration planning.
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Bayley Graduate Fellowship Recipient Mike Wetz
The implications of climate change are huge and global, but the indicators can be tiny and local. Mike Wetz is studying diatoms, or single-celled organisms, in the upwelling system off the Oregon coast. He recently received the 2005 Bayley Graduate Fellowship to continue examining the role of these microscopic algae in the coastal carbon cycle.
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