Graduate, professional student conference at WMU
March 12, 2002
KALAMAZOO -- Western Michigan University will serve as host for the 2002 regional conference of the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students, one of the nation's largest graduate student advocacy organizations.
The conference will take place Friday through Sunday, March 22 through 24, on the WMU campus and at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in downtown Kalamazoo.
Participants from NAGPS' 10-state Midwestern region will attend workshops on such topics as professional development, teaching, legislative issues, diversity and employment. They also will hear from WMU speakers who will address some of the concerns graduate and professional students have regarding their position within higher education and their future as professionals and academics.
Among those speaking will be Dr. Elson S. Floyd, WMU president, and Dr. William R. Wiener, senior associate dean of WMU's Graduate College. Floyd will speak at 9:30 a.m. March 23 at the Radisson while Wiener will speak at noon the same day on campus in the 10th-floor room of Sprau Tower. Also making a presentation at the conference will be Doris Dirks, national NAGPS president and a WMU student from Calgary, Alberta, who is pursuing a doctoral degree in medieval studies.
NAGPS, which has headquarters and staff in Washington, D.C., represents about 900,000 students at 200 universities throughout the United States. The organization promotes the interests and welfare of graduate- and professional-degree-seeking students in public and private universities and local, state and national agencies. It also acts as a clearinghouse for information on graduate and professional student groups.
For more information, contact Jessica Baby, the conference's WMU campus coordinator at (269) 226-9245 or <JessyL10@aol.com>.
Media contact: Jeanne Baron, 269 387-8400, jeanne.baron@wmich.edu