GSA Newsletter: April 28, 2019

Research Day Graduate Student Winners
The UNC Graduate Student Association congratulates the following graduate students for winning their categories at UNC’s 2019 Research Day.

Humanities and Arts (oral presentation):
Melonie Bryant, "A Sip of “Lemonade”: A Critical Analysis of Beyoncé’s Lemonade Album Through the Lens of BlackLivesMatter"

Natural and Health Sciences (oral presentation):
Anna Freundlich, "Impacts of Spruce Beetle Disturbance on Macrolichen Communities in Northwestern Colorado"

Natural and Health Sciences (poster presentation):
Luke Krynski, "Cancer Survivor Muscular Strength Comparison to Apparently Healthy Population Normative Data"

Social Science, Education and Business (oral presentation):
Brian Fowler, "Wage dispersion and team performance: An investigation of the National Basketball Association"

Social Science, Education and Business (poster presentation):
Kady Barthelemy, Melissa Moore and Kofi Wagya, "Adverse Childhood Experiences and Outcomes on Adult Physical and Mental Health"

See the complete list of finalists here

UNC Strategic Enrollment & Student Success Plan
Over the course of 14 weeks Huron partnered with the Strategic Enrollment and Student Success (SESS) Steering Committee members to complete the SESS Plan for UNC. Huron gathered insights from over 70 UNC faculty, staff, and administrative leaders, as well as 20 students and 51 stakeholders. The Enrollment and Student Success Vision summarizes the vision that UNC collectively aspires to live out:

UNC leverages its teacher/scholar model and integrated network of coaching and support resources to attract and Enrollment and Student Success Vision: provide students with the education, experiences and opportunities they need to succeed and achieve their desired outcomes.

See the entire Strategic Enrollment and Student Success presentation here: 

GSA Door Prize Winners
Congratulations to the following student who attended events during Graduate Student Appreciation Week! If you attended an event during GSAW, keep checking the GSA newsletter and GSA Facebook page to see if you’re a winner!

This week’s winner:
Emily Fiola

Please come to the GSA office in the Graduate School (Carter Hall, room 2007) before 5 p.m. on May 8, 2019, to pick up your prize!

Grad Student vs. Faculty Basketball Game Results
Big thanks to Bryson Kelly (SES: Social Psychology of Sport, M.S.) for helping to organize this inaugural basketball game. The graduate student team was victorious over the no-show faculty team this year! Grad students ended up playing a game against each other and competing in a free throw contest for a Bluetooth stereo system!

Graduate Team Athletes: Brynn Cox, Bryson Kelly, Fisayo Awolaja, Kendrick Johnson, Kennidi Cobbley, Kevin Imhoff, Lucas Wilber, Rico Montoya and Seth Baskett.

Thanks to Sophia for keeping score and to Brynn Cox for arranging the court reservation! See you for the next Graduate Student vs. Faculty game in Fall 2019.

UNC Graduate Student Named Scholar Athlete of the Year
By Matthew Kushar, UNCBears.com
IRVING, Texas - Rico Montoya may have wrestled his last collegiate match, but he still is making history for Northern Colorado. Montoya was named the 2019 Big 12 Wrestling Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the first award winner in program history.

"First and foremost, I'm really proud of [Rico]. He has been the ideal student-athlete," head coach Troy Nickerson said. "He's really helped take this program to the next level in a lot of different ways. The most important way is through his academics. Rico graduated with his undergrad [degree] in three years and he has one more semester after his eligibility to finish up his masters program and go away with a 4.0 in grad school. He is setting himself up for a real nice future." 

In his senior season, Montoya earned a 4.00 GPA while working towards his master's degree in Sport Administration. Montoya will graduate with his master's next month and has already earned a bachelor's degree in Human Services.

Earlier this year, Montoya was named to the All-Big 12 first team and was one of four wrestlers to earn a 4.0 in the conference. Along with the conference academic awards, Montoya is a two-time NWCA All-Academic Team honoree.

Montoya qualified for the NCAA Championship's for the third-consecutive season after dropping down a weight class to 125 lb. He also placed sixth at the Big 12 Championships for the third consecutive year as well.

During his final year at UNC, Montoya became the first Southern Scuffle finalist in program history and had a 16-11 overall record in the 2018-19 season. Montoya finished his career with 78 wins.

"I think our entire team has bought into the student-athlete experience," Nickerson added. "We really sell [academics] a lot in the recruiting process and the kids coming in are all about it. You see that with our team GPA and the type of kids coming to this program. They live the right lifestyle and do the right things. I think when you're doing the right things outside of the wrestling room; it makes it easier to do the right things in the wrestling room. We continue to evolve and it's exciting to see."

Along with wrestling, the Big 12 handed out scholar athlete of the year awards to men's and women's basketball, equestrian and gymnastics, along with men's and women's swimming and diving.

The Big 12 Conference established its Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award in 2012-13. A recipient is named in each conference-sponsored sport. Every Big 12 institution nominates one individual per sport with the winners selected by a vote of the league head coaches for that sport, who are not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes. Scholar-Athlete of the Year nominees must be a junior or senior (athletic and academic standing), have a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or higher, participate in at least 20 percent of the team's scheduled contests and have a minimum of one year in residence at the institution.

To stay up to date with Northern Colorado wrestling visit UNCBears.com and follow the team on Twitter with @UNCBearsWrestle. 

Board of Trustees Meeting
Friday, June 14
8:30 a.m.
University Center Panorama Room
Join Anthony Azari and Elizabeth Shmikler at the next regularly scheduled Board of Trustees meeting.

Faculty Research & Publications Board GSA Report
FRPB Website
FRPB Meeting Report by GSA FRPB Rep, Michelle Morgan (Math Education, Ph.D):

On April 8, the Faculty Research and Publication Board met to review and make funding decisions regarding the UNCO Research, Dissemination and Faculty Development Program. This program provides monetary support for faculty for scholarship and professional activities related to developing as teachers, researchers, scholars and artists. Faculty must submit a detailed proposal which outlines the significance of their project to the field and the university as well as their proposed budget and timeline. As a participant at the meeting, it was refreshing to see how the faculty are held to the same standard of rigor that we, as graduate students, are held to when it comes to requesting GSA grant funding. At this meeting, the board voted to fund approximately 15 faculty research and scholarly projects with a total monetary grant of approximately $80,000 which included projects in the Arts, Humanities, and Sciences. Many of these projects included partial funding for undergraduate and graduate mentorship.

If you have any questions or would like additional information about the Faculty Research & Publications Board, please email Michelle.Morgan@unco.edu 

Job Announcement: FSI Summer Research Mentors
Stipend: $500 per mentee student (typically $1,000 for the summer)
Dates: June 17–July 22
UNC Greeley Campus

UNCO’s Frontiers of Science Institute (FSI) is a privately funded, six-week, summer residential program designed to enhance STEM aspiration and achievement levels of Colorado’s high-achieving high school juniors and seniors. By immersing selected student scholars in a learning-for-the-thrill-of-learning, hands-on STEM experience, FSI helps students identify and explore their interests so they can define and begin to realize their personal, educational and professional goals. To apply, send an email to lori.ball@unco.edu with your mentoring interest, paragraph description of your research and resume. You can also stop by Ross Hall, room 1210, or call (970) 351-2976 for more information.

Submit your news to the GSA Newsletter! Email GSA Director David.Shimokawa@unco.edu