T.G.I.F.
2026-05-08 16:30 - 19:00, 2026-05-15 16:30 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | Big Red Barn, 135 Presidents Way, Ithaca, NY, 14853, United States
Tell Grad’s It’s Friday is a Graduate and Professional Student-focused weekly event. Graduate students, Post Docs, Faculty, Staff, and PhDs are welcome to attend with one guest each; all guests must be 23+. Undergraduate students are not allowed to attend.

Language Circle
2026-05-11 17:00 - 18:00 | Big Red Barn, 135 Presidents Way, Ithaca, NY, 14853, United States
Join us every Monday to learn a new language, brush up on an old one, or get more fluent through conversations with fellow graduate students who study these languages or are native speakers.
This spring, languages include Italian, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Mandarin, Arabic, Russian, Norwegian, and French. Facilitators will be present for all!

If you are interested in facilitating Spanish, Korean, or any other non-English language, please email bigredbarn@cornell.edu

Knitting at the Barn
2026-05-12 17:30 - 19:00 | Big Red Barn, 135 Presidents Way, Ithaca, NY, 14853, United States
Do you love fiber crafts or want to learn? Come to the Barn on Tuesday evenings from 5:30 – 7 p.m.! This event is for both those interested in learning fiber arts and those who want to make steady progress on an existing project. Materials and guidance will be provided if needed.
This event usually occurs at 1-2 tables in the main space or greenhouse area of the Barn; email brb.art.fellow@gmail.com if you would like to be added to the group chat or request accessibility accommodations.

BRB Trivia
2026-05-12 19:00 - 21:00 | Big Red Barn, 135 Presidents Way, Ithaca, NY, 14853, United States
Trivia is back weekly on Tuesdays 7 PM to 9 PM at the Big Red Barn. Come with a team or show up on your own and see our trivia host, Jacob, to be matched with an existing team. All are welcome!

2026 Graduate Excellence & Impact Awards Celebration
2026-05-13 16:00 - 18:00 | G10 Biotechnology Building, 526 Campus Road, Ithaca, NY, 14853, United States
Location: G10 Biotechnology
Register for the event here!
Join the Graduate School Office of Inclusion and Student Engagement and the OISE Student Leadership Council to celebrate graduate and professional degree student award recipients being recognized for excellence and positive impacts in their advancement of efforts around inclusion, mentorship, outreach, and student engagement.
Additionally, we will celebrate faculty, staff, and community member awardees who have made a positive impact through their demonstrated commitment to supporting the well-being, mentoring experiences, and personal and professional development of graduate and professional students who represent the diversity of the Cornell community.

Research Communication Workshop
2026-05-14 14:00 - 16:00 | 102 Mann Library, 237 Mann Drive, Ithaca, NY, 14853, United States
Join this interactive, in-person only workshop. PhD students and postdocs from all disciplines are welcome. Be prepared to discuss your own research!
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this workshop you should:

Be able to introduce yourself in an engaging and memorable way
Recognize and develop strategies to explain jargon or complex topics
Develop skills and confidence to communicate with a variety of audiences
Use different storytelling approaches to communicate your research
Identify one or more outlets to communicate your research
Develop an approach to start your talk and engage your audience immediately

REGISTER NOW
Facilitators:
Cynthia Leifer, Director, Cornell Office of Postdoctoral Affairs
Susi Varvayanis, Executive Director, Careers Beyond Academia
Date and time: May 14 from 2:00-4pm
Campus location: will be sent to registrants’ Cornell email prior to the date
Brought to you through a collaboration between the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs in the Research and Innovation Division and Careers Beyond Academia in the Office of Career and Professional Development in the Graduate School.

NIH Career Symposium
2026-05-18 - 2026-05-21 | Online
Join the 2026 National Institutes of Health Career Symposium! This online, multi-day event will highlight a broad range of career paths available to biomedical researchers. Panels and workshops throughout the symposium are designed to help postdocs and doctoral students in the life sciences explore new career paths, learn more about a specific career, and prepare for a successful job search. The Career Symposium will take place May 18-21, 2026. Register to attend
Event highlights

Ten panels featuring professionals in a broad range of careers, including pharmaceutical industry, academic careers, science policy, and more!
Workshops to help you:

Navigate a Changing Job Market
Develop Job Search Skills
Plan for a Career Transition

Opportunities to network with professionals and peers

For more information, visit the NIH Office of Intramural Training & Education

Beyond Supervision: Effective Mentorship in Undergraduate Research
2026-05-18 11:30 - 13:30 | 142 Upson Hall, 124 Hoy Road, Ithaca, 14853, United States
Beyond Supervision: Effective Mentorship in Undergraduate Research

Date Option 1: Friday, April 24, 2026 from 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM, by Zoom
Date Option 2: Monday, May 18, 2026 from 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM, 142 Upson Hall (includes lunch)

Presenters: Colleen McLinn, Ph.D. and Darius Melvin, M.Ed.
Join us for an interactive workshop about best practices for mentoring undergraduate researchers. You will learn evidence-based mentoring techniques and engage with tools that you can use right now to enhance your mentoring practice. This workshop is ideal for the mentors of undergraduate researchers who would like to refine their mentoring practices or who are first time mentors to undergraduate researchers. We are offering two workshop sessions that will include the same content, one on Zoom and one in person (in person includes lunch!). Registration is required and space is limited. Sign-up now!
Sponsored by the Cornell University Graduate School, College of Engineering, and the Center for Research on Programmable Plant Systems (CROPPS), in partnership with the College of Arts and Sciences and the Boyce Thompson Institute. Open to all who will soon be mentoring undergraduate scholars conducting research (in any discipline).

Ph.D. Hooding Photos Prior to Recognition Ceremony
2026-05-22 15:30 - 17:30 | Atrium, Corson-Mudd Hall, 215 Tower Road, Ithaca, NY, 14853, United States
The Graduate School invites Ph.D. graduates and their advisors to the Corson-Mudd Hall atrium for the opportunity to have a professional photographer capture posed photos acting out the ceremonial hooding prior to the formal Ph.D. Recognition ceremony on May 22, 2026. Photos will be shared with the graduates free of charge in the days following Commencement weekend.
Photographers and photo backdrops will be available between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. in the atrium of Corson-Mudd Hall, on Tower Rd. Photographers will capture posed photos of Ph.D. candidates and their advisors acting out the ceremonial hooding, in which a faculty member places the hood over the shoulders of the graduate to signify their success in completing their graduate program.
Hundreds of Ph.D. candidates will be recognized at the event, so please plan to arrive early to avoid a last-minute rush to take your photos. The photographers and backdrops will not be available following the formal Ph.D. Recognition Ceremony.
Graduates are free to invite their advisors or another committee member to perform the hooding. In addition, Dean of the Graduate School and Vice Provost for Graduate Education, Thomas A. Lewis, will be available from 4:30-5:30 p.m. to hood graduates whose advisors are unable to attend. Graduates should wear their appropriate cap, gown, and hood. Faculty members may wear their regalia, but it is not required.
Graduates and their advisors do not need to RSVP to take advantage of this opportunity. However, candidates must register to attend the ceremony in Barton Hall.
Please contact the Graduate School with any questions about this event: gradschool@cornell.edu

Getting a Faculty Position: Lessons Learned During the Academic Job Search
2026-05-28 15:00 - 16:15 | Zoom
Join us for a live online panel discussion featuring postdoctoral scholars and graduate students who were offered faculty positions this year! Bring your questions about the process and hear from the recent experiences of other Cornellians.
Meets online via Zoom. Register to attend.
Panelists to be Announced.
Sponsored by the Graduate School Office of Career and Professional Development as part of the Academic Job Search Series.
Accommodations: We strive to make our events accessible to all Cornell community members. Individuals who would like to request accessibility accommodations should contact futurefaculty@cornell.edu. We ask that requests be made at least one week in advance to help ensure they can be met.

2026 Ivy+ Three Minute Thesis Competition
2026-06-10 15:00 - 17:00 | Zoom
The 2026 Ivy+ Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition is an inter-institutional showcase hosted by Princeton University featuring winners from Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Princeton, Stanford, University of California Berkeley, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale.
Cheer on Cornell’s 2026 3MT winner, Ellen van Wijngaarden, as she competes for the Ivy+ title! Audience members will vote to select the winner of People’s Choice Award.
View the Ivy+ 3MT website for more details, and to register.

Summer TGIF
2026-06-12 16:30 - 19:00, 2026-06-26 16:30 - 19:00, 2026-07-10 16:30 - 19:00, 2026-07-17 16:30 - 19:00 | Big Red Barn, 135 Presidents Way, Ithaca, NY, 14853, United States
TGIF is back for the summer!
Join your fellow graduate students for weekly summer TGIF! Run by students and for students, come relax and enjoy snacks and drinks on Fridays from 4:30 to 7 p.m.
Please note: TGIF will not be held on Friday, June 19 or Friday, July 3 when the university is closed for holidays.

Summer Trivia
2026-06-16 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-06-23 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-07-07 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-07-14 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-07-21 18:30 - 20:30 | Big Red Barn, 135 Presidents Way, Ithaca, NY, 14853, United States
Test your knowledge with summer trivia on Tuesdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Big Red Barn! No team? No worries! We will match you with an existing team or form a new one. Snacks and drinks will be available.
Please note: There will be no summer trivia on June 30.

2026 Summer Ice Cream Social
2026-06-22 16:30 - 18:00 | 148 Stocking Hall, 411 Tower Rd, Ithaca, NY, 14853
OISE 2026 Summer Ice Cream Social
Come celebrate the summer in community with your fellow graduate students, postdocs, lecturers, researchers, faculty, and staff with a cup of Cornell Dairy ice cream or sorbet!
Register here!
Date: Monday, June 22, 2026
Time: 4:30 – 6:00 pm ET
Location: Stocking Hall 148
Please email grad_assoc_dean@cornell.edu if you have any questions.

Unlock the Power of AI in Your Job Search
2026-06-23 12:00 - 13:15
Do you want a competitive edge on the job market?
In this Zoom workshop, learn how you can use AI to:
-Craft a standout resume and cover letter
-Improve your interview skills
-Refine your networking elevator pitch
-Set informed, achievable career goals
Facilitator: Francesca Fanelli, Senior Associate Director of Graduate Career Development, Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Register to attend.
This program is part of the Ivy+ Graduate Student Professional Development Series, created and cross-promoted by deans and directors at Berkeley, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, MIT, Penn, Princeton, Stanford, UChicago, and Yale to help meet the professional development needs of all Ph.D. and master’s students.

The Application Process for an Academic Job
2026-06-23 13:00 - 14:15 | Zoom
To kick off the 2026-2027 Academic Job Search Series for Cornell graduate students and postdocs, come learn about the process of searching for a U.S. faculty job from start to finish: when to apply for faculty and other academic positions, what documents are required (CV, cover letter, etc.), and how long the process takes. Bring your questions for an interactive online discussion.
Presented by Colleen McLinn, Associate Dean for Professional Development.
Register to attend and you will receive the Zoom meeting link via email.
Sponsored by the Graduate School’s Office of Career and Professional Development as part of the Academic Job Search Series. We encourage you to learn more about the support resources available to you for preparing faculty application materials through the Future Faculty and Academic Careers program, and through the Teaching Portfolio Program at the Center for Teaching Innovation.
Accommodations: We strive to make our events accessible to all Cornell community members. Individuals who have accessibility accommodations to request should contact futurefaculty@cornell.edu. We ask that requests be made at least one week in advance to help ensure they can be met.

Writing a Research Statement for a Primarily Undergraduate Institution
2026-06-30 13:00 - 14:15 | Zoom
Through an interactive online discussion, guest presenter Dr. Jeffrey Werner (Professor of Chemistry at SUNY Cortland) will help job-seekers interested in faculty positions at four-year colleges and universities (e.g., primarily undergraduate institutions, or PUIs) outline a research statement that highlights plans to mentor undergraduate students in research.
Register to attend.
Sponsored by the Graduate School’s Office of Career and Professional Development as part of the Academic Job Search Series. We encourage you to learn more about the other support resources available to you through the Future Faculty and Academic Careers program.
Accommodations: We strive to make our events accessible to all Cornell community members. Individuals who have accessibility accommodations to request should contact careerandprofdev@cornell.edu. We ask that requests be made at least one week in advance to help ensure they can be met.

CIRTL Network: Critical AI Literacy for Teachers and Students - Prompting, Evaluating, and Ethically Using Generative AI
2026-07-13 13:00 - 14:30 | Zoom
Surprised by how fast AI is developing, yet still cautious about trusting it? Already using AI but wondering how to encourage students to remain critical of its outputs? As generative AI reshapes the educational landscape, developing critical AI literacy becomes essential for responsible AI use and critical evaluation. This workshop series hosted by the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL Network) explores critical AI literacy across various disciplines, with particular focus on AI prompt literacy, critical evaluation of AI outputs, and ethical disclosure practices. Instead of seeing generative AI as a dominant tool, the workshop encourages participants to see themselves as active and independent decision makers in human-AI collaboration. In session 1, participants will engage in hands-on activities to iteratively refine prompts that align with their writing purposes and goals, critically evaluate AI-generated outputs, and draft counter-text to articulate the reasons for accepting, modifying, and rejecting AI outputs. In addition, participants will draft an AI use disclosure statement to maintain academic and professional integrity and transparency. In session 2, participants will reflect on and extend these strategies by adapting the workshop activities to their own teaching, research, or professional contexts. Through collaborative sharing and discussion, participants will explore how critical AI literacy practices can be applied in different disciplines and settings. By the end of this workshop, participants will be prepared to:

Develop AI prompts with clear attention to purpose, audience, genre, and ethical boundaries
Critically evaluate AI outputs for accuracy, bias, assumptions, and alignment with disciplinary values
Decide when to accept, revise, or reject AI outputs and explain their reasoning through counter-text to maintain human agency.
Apply critical AI literacy strategies by adapting workshop activities, prompts, or evaluation approaches to their own contexts

Instructors
Ruonan Yang, The Ohio State University
Erin Mercurio, The Ohio State University
Workshop Schedule
This two-part online workshop meets in Zoom on Monday, July 13 and July 20 at 1-2:30pm Eastern
Audience
Anyone with an interest in critical AI literacy is welcome to participate. Participants who have experience teaching as independent instructors may find it especially helpful, as it may be easier to adapt the workshop activities to their own teaching contexts.
Registration and Enrollment
Interested in attending? Fill out this short form to get a reminder when registration opens.
Registration opens on Monday, June 29th at 11am ET. Cap: 60. Registration will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Registrants from CIRTL member institutions or alumni of CIRTL member institutions will receive priority. (Cornell is a CIRTL member institution). Once registration closes, all registrants will be notified of their enrollment status.
Accessibility
If you have access needs, please let us know what they are. Contact Zoe Zuleger (zmzuleger@wisc.edu) who is supporting this workshop, to let us know how we can help you have a successful experience. In addition to meeting individualized needs, we will also take measures throughout the workshop to support accessibility for all our students:

Sending pre-session reminders with upcoming assignments to all students
Sharing materials for synchronous sessions with students (slides, activity instructions, etc.)
Enabling live captioning in synchronous sessions
Incorporating multiple modes of interaction into synchronous sessions

About CIRTL Programming
CIRTL Network programming is designed to develop future faculty committed to implementing and advancing evidence-based teaching practices to create undergraduate educational experiences that are accessible to all learners. Participants can explore our programming in any order, and to whatever extent supports your own teaching development needs and interests. To help participants understand what they can expect across all our programming, all CIRTL programming aligns with four broad learning goals; within those goals, programming might provide participants with an introductory, intermediate, or advanced learning experience.
This institute supports the following CIRTL learning goals at an introductory/intermediate level:

Goal 1: Develop evidence-based teaching knowledge.
Goal 2: Connect with community to enhance teaching.
Goal 3: Cultivate teaching skills through reflective improvement.
Goal 4: Prepare for an impactful career.

Developing a Narrative For Your Teaching Statement
2026-07-14 13:00 - 14:15 | Zoom
Explore essential elements of a teaching statement for an academic job application. Come prepared to brainstorm key ideas of your statement. Leave with peer feedback on a first draft of your teaching statement, or ideas on how you might revise an existing draft to ensure it accurately reflects your approach to creating inclusive classrooms.
Presenters: Derina Samuel, Associate Director for Graduate Student Development, Center for Teaching Innovation; and Colleen McLinn, Associate Dean for Professional Development, Cornell Graduate School
Register to attend.
Co-sponsored by the Graduate School Office of Career and Professional Development and the Center for Teaching Innovation as part of the Graduate School’s Academic Job Search Series.

CIRTL Network: Handling Difficult Dialogues In the Classroom
2026-07-15 11:00 - 12:30 | Zoom
Join a discussion hosted by the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL Network) about planning complex dialogues and handling difficult moments in the classroom, drawing from scholarly frameworks such as Transparency in Learning and Teaching (TILT) and reflective teaching. By the end of this workshop, participants will be prepared to:

Consider common dynamics that arise when teaching sensitive topics
Integrate transparency, course guidelines, and other strategies into course context to help students engage with sensitive topics
Identify teaching tools to address difficult moments or unexpected student reactions during sensitive discussions.

Instructors
Katherine Beydler, University of Iowa
Darren Hoffman, University of Iowa
Allie Brandriet, University of Iowa
Workshop Schedule
This one-part online workshop meets in Zoom on Wednesday, July 15th at 11am-12:15pm Eastern.
Audience
This workshop is open to anyone interested in handling difficult dialogues in the classroom and particularly relevant to graduate students and postdocs.
Registration and Enrollment
Register for CIRTL Difficult Dialogues workshop
Registration opens on Monday, June 22nd at 11am ET and closes on the first day of the workshop. No registration cap.
Accessibility
If you have access needs, please let us know what they are. Contact Zoe Zuleger (zmzuleger@wisc.edu) who is supporting this workshop, to let us know how we can help you have a successful experience. In addition to meeting individualized needs, we will also take measures throughout the workshop to support accessibility for all our students:

Sending pre-session reminders with upcoming assignments to all students
Sharing materials for synchronous sessions with students (slides, activity instructions, etc.)
Enabling live captioning in synchronous sessions
Incorporating multiple modes of interaction into synchronous sessions

About CIRTL Programming
CIRTL Network programming is designed to develop future faculty committed to implementing and advancing evidence-based teaching practices to create undergraduate educational experiences that are accessible to all learners. Participants can explore our programming in any order, and to whatever extent supports your own teaching development needs and interests. To help participants understand what they can expect across all our programming, all CIRTL programming aligns with four broad learning goals; within those goals, programming might provide participants with an introductory, intermediate, or advanced learning experience.
This institute supports the following CIRTL learning goals at an introductory/intermediate level:

Goal 1: Develop evidence-based teaching knowledge.
Goal 2: Connect with community to enhance teaching.
Goal 3: Cultivate teaching skills through reflective improvement.
Goal 4: Prepare for an impactful career.

CIRTL Network: Classroom Ethics in Higher Education - Navigating Dilemmas with Intention
2026-07-15 11:00 - 12:30 | Zoom
Educators at all levels and across content areas navigate daily challenges that emerge from the fraught context of classroom teaching. Apart from the obvious emotional, intellectual, and logistical challenges of providing quality instruction, instructors must also confront intractable dilemmas that pit their own values against the policies and practices of their academic unit or institution at large. This is particularly troubling for graduate and early career instructors who must navigate these spaces without the assurance of institutional protection. In this two-part workshop, hosted by the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL Network), instructors and future instructors in higher education are invited to participate in a classroom ethics “bootcamp” that will prepare them for exploring the inherent tensions that arise in the classroom, from issues of fair student assessment to facing controversial topics in discussion. Most instructors teach how they were taught – this workshop will take the first steps in breaking the pattern of status-quo instruction, preparing instructors to practice critical reflection and ethical deliberation. Participants should come prepared to discuss topics like end of semester grade rounding, student emotional disturbance, class attendance, and navigating controversial topics. By the end of this workshop, participants will be prepared to:

Apply ethical theories to resolve abstract dilemmas
Identify and prioritize at-stake values in various ethical case-studies in the context of teaching in the college or university setting
Articulate a reasoned defense of their decisions in resolving an ethical dilemma in the context of teaching in the college or university setting.

Instructors
Walker Ballard, The Ohio State University
Erin Mercurio, The Ohio State University
Workshop Schedule
This two-part online workshop meets in Zoom on Wednesday, July 15 and July 29 at 11am-12:15pm Eastern.
Audience
This session is for anyone interested in classroom ethics in higher education, though some experience in higher education classrooms as instructor of record might make the session more meaningful.
Registration and Enrollment
Interested in attending? Fill out this short form to get a reminder when registration opens.
Registration opens on Monday, June 29th at 11am ET. Cap: 30. Registration will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Registrants from CIRTL member institutions or alumni of CIRTL member institutions will receive priority. (Cornell is a CIRTL member institution). Once registration closes, all registrants will be notified of their enrollment status.
Accessibility
If you have access needs, please let us know what they are. Contact Zoe Zuleger (zmzuleger@wisc.edu) who is supporting this workshop, to let us know how we can help you have a successful experience. In addition to meeting individualized needs, we will also take measures throughout the workshop to support accessibility for all our students:

Sending pre-session reminders with upcoming assignments to all students
Sharing materials for synchronous sessions with students (slides, activity instructions, etc.)
Enabling live captioning in synchronous sessions
Incorporating multiple modes of interaction into synchronous sessions

About CIRTL Programming
CIRTL Network programming is designed to develop future faculty committed to implementing and advancing evidence-based teaching practices to create undergraduate educational experiences that are accessible to all learners. Participants can explore our programming in any order, and to whatever extent supports your own teaching development needs and interests. To help participants understand what they can expect across all our programming, all CIRTL programming aligns with four broad learning goals; within those goals, programming might provide participants with an introductory, intermediate, or advanced learning experience.
This series supports the following CIRTL learning goals at an introductory/intermediate level:

Goal 1: Develop evidence-based teaching knowledge.
Goal 2: Connect with community to enhance teaching.
Goal 3: Cultivate teaching skills through reflective improvement.
Goal 4: Prepare for an impactful career.

Thesis/Dissertation Overview and ProQuest Submission Review
2026-07-16 15:00 - 16:00 | Zoom
Attend a thesis and dissertation overview via Zoom in advance of the August 1 summer conferral deadline. This session will cover topics such as common formatting and submission errors, how to submit to ProQuest, and copyright options available for selection when submitting the thesis or dissertation. Bring your questions!
For additional thesis- and dissertation-related instructions, templates, timelines, and a prerecorded video overview similar to this session, see the Thesis and Dissertation webpage.
