Grad Slam 2019

Strategic Pillar Three: Leadership and Partnership

Goal 3-A

Create opportunities for graduate students, postdocs, faculty and staff to engage in active dialogue and shared advocacy.

Potential Activities, Projects and Initiatives 
  • Host regular town hall and open houses for students, postdocs, faculty and staff.
  • Collaborate with the Graduate Student Association, Postdoctoral Scholar Association, the Chancellor's Graduate and Professional Student Advisory Committee, and other student and postdoc organizations.
  • Create mechanisms for our community to provide feedback and request support.

Goal 3-B

Publicly advocate for the needs of graduate students and postdocs, particularly with the challenges related to housing, food security, mental health, disability accommodation, racial inequity, case management and funding. Operationalize and strengthen partnerships that address the needs of our most vulnerable populations.

Potential Activities, Projects and Initiatives 
  • Partner with alumni to expand opportunities for graduate students to work alongside legislators and other community leaders.
  • Partner with Strategic Communications, Government and Community Relations, and Public Scholarship and Engagement to participate in community-university partnerships, and statewide, regional, and global multi-sector consortiums. 
  • Revive or recreate Graduate Research Advocacy Day.
  • Address the challenges associated with the existing fellowship and academic employment payment schedules.

Goal 3-C

Position UC Davis Graduate Studies as a national leader in the areas of graduate student professional development, faculty-student mentoring, holistic review, and community building.

Potential Activities, Projects and Initiatives 
  • Write and publish in journals and higher education publications. 
  • Present innovations at regional and national higher education conferences.
  • Partner with Strategic Communications to identify ways to better promote our strengths and differentiators on campus and to the general public. Increase the circulation and saturation of stories in campus, regional, national, and international media
  • Maximize the effectiveness of our internal and external communications in order to advance the Graduate Studies brand and deepen understanding of the division and graduate education.
  • Promote Grad Slam.

Goal 3-D

Raise philanthropic funding to support the goal of offering competitive, five years of funding for all doctoral students.

Potential Activities, Projects and Initiatives 
  • Develop a comprehensive fundraising strategy anchored to student support
  • Share more stories about the recipients and impact of philanthropic fellowships.
  • Create and implement stewardship plans for individual and corporate donors

Goal 3-E

Identify and pursue additional sources of revenue that will enable the expansion of professional development, mentoring, diversity, and graduate preparatory programs and resources.

Potential Activities, Projects and Initiatives 
  • Identify and pursue grants to support the expansion of programs.
  • Expand our donor pipeline.
  • Ensure that key members of the Graduate Studies team are trained on development and fundraising best practices. 
  • Educate staff and faculty and engage them in creating a culture of philanthropy.
  • Improve donor retention through focused donor relations and stewardship strategies

Goal 3-F

Partner with campus leadership, graduate group chairs, graduate group coordinators, and faculty to address funding and resource allocation challenges for graduate groups

Potential Activities, Projects and Initiatives 
  • Continue developing partnerships with college deans, BIA, and others to improve understanding about resources for graduate groups and needs for success. 
  •  Facilitate and lead discussions to evaluate the teaching and operational needs of graduate groups. 
  • Collaborate with BIA, the Office of Research and other campus leaders to address and improve graduate group funding models.