About
Welcome!
My name is Dr. Laura Carlson, and I serve as dean of the Graduate School, as well as vice president and associate provost, and professor of psychology.
At the Notre Dame Graduate School, we are the home of academic excellence driven by the conviction that your research matters.
We are here because of the discoveries you will make. We are here because of the innovations you will create. We are here because you will illuminate truth and beauty. We are here because you will advance human understanding in service of the common good.
We are here because of you.
We are deeply invested in your success. We know that our voice is best heard through the impact your research will have. To that end we work in concert with world-class faculty across a variety of disciplines to develop your expertise. We offer individualized attention in nurturing departments, all within the context of a broad, robustly-resourced research university. We are renowned worldwide for our academic excellence and we welcome you to the conversations taking place in our vibrant intellectual community.
At the heart of our conviction that your research matters is our belief that providing you with a nourishing environment will best enable your scholastic contributions to shine. Thus our holistic approach to Graduate Training emphasizes professional development and well-being, understanding that students who have had these needs met have greater likelihood of academic impact.
Through our outstanding Graduate Training model, we empower you to follow in the university’s Catholic mission to extend learning towards universal enrichment, furnishing you with resources and guidance as you hone your plan for contributing in the public sphere beyond Notre Dame. At the same time, we understand that your life experience is not purely intellectual and occupational, put physical, emotional, spiritual, and social. We dedicate ourselves to fostering you in each of these areas.
We recognize that you are a student of your discipline today, but a steward of the discipline tomorrow. We are honored to prepare you as a future academic or professional leader to enter the arena of public discourse on pressing contemporary issues, to contribute to a life-affirming understanding of our world, and to embody the call of our founder Father Sorin to be a force for good.
Dean Carlson's Letters to the Graduate Student and Postdoc Community:
Spring 2021:
Winter Session:
Fall 2020:
110 Bond Hall
Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA
Fax: (574) 631-4183
Graduate Admissions
Phone: (574) 631-7706
Email: GradApp@nd.edu
Graduate Enrollment and Training
Phone: (574) 631-7544
Email: GradSch@nd.edu
Graduate Communications & Web Team
Submit a request
Grad School Organizational Chart (updates in progress)
Bond Hall Emergency Action Plan (PDF; last update: September 2020)
Dean's Office
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Laura Carlson, Ph.D.
Vice President and Associate Provost, Dean of the Graduate School, Professor of Psychology
Laura Carlson, Ph.D.
Vice President and Associate Provost, Dean of the Graduate School, Professor of Psychology
(574) 631-8052
lcarlson@nd.edu- Voice of the Graduate School
- Innovation in Graduate Training
- Strategic Planning and Development
- Graduate Program Assessment
- Policy and Program Design
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Christal Colbert
Officer Assistant
- Officer Assistant to the Dean
- Calendaring Advisory Council (Fall and Spring Meetings)
- Coordinate Provost Committee Meetings (Academic Council, ND Lead, PAC, UCWFS)
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Samantha Lee, Ph.D.
Program Director, Office of Grants and Fellowships
Samantha Lee, Ph.D.
Program Director, Office of Grants and Fellowships
(574) 631-2443
Samantha.Lee@nd.edu- Representative for Nationally Competitive Grant and Fellowship Programs
- Manage External Grant and Fellowship Selection Processes
- Provide Strategic Leadership in Grantsmanship
- Guide Students in Identifying and Obtaining Successful Extramural Funding
Samantha Lee, Ph.D. is the Program Director of the Graduate School’s Office of Grants and Fellowships at the University of Notre Dame. As the Program Director responsible for the overall management of the office, Samantha provides leadership and expertise in grantsmanship, manages several prestigious fellowship competitions, and ensures that services provided by the office reflect the priorities of Notre Dame graduate students. Samantha has over ten years of experience in grant writing, advising students across disciplines, and designing in-person and online grant writing and training curricula. In addition to serving as a grant reviewer for federal agencies and foundations, she has helped numerous undergraduate and graduate students generate successful merit-based grant and fellowship applications.
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Mandy Madden Miller
Program Director, Professional Development
- Cultivate and lead the Professional Development Network
- Initiate and implement programming that develop students’ professional skills while supporting their well-being
- Collect data related to professional development initiatives
Academic Affairs for Graduate Students and Postdocs; Ethics & Leadership Training
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John Lubker, Ed.D.
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
- Graduate School Ombudsperson
- Administration of Graduate School Policies, Procedures, and Appeals
- Oversight of Graduate Student Progress
- Graduate Student Leadership Development and Training
- Office of Postdoctoral Affairs
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Diana Dickson
Program Coordinator, Office for Postdoctoral Affairs
- Postdoctoral Scholars
- Research Associates
- Visiting Scholars
- Research Visitors
- Senior Research Associates
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Allan Loup, J.D.
Assistant Program Director, Ethics
- Ethics Program
- Responsible Conduct of Research
- Professional Development
Finance & Operations
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Matthew Anderson
Program Director, Strategic Initiatives
- Strategic Planning and Projects
- Student Funding Administration
- External Fellowship Administration
- Fellowship Stewardship
- Professional Development
- Recruiting Funds to Programs
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Aaron Bell
Graphic Designer, Communications Specialist
- Social Media
- Graphic Design
- Premium Content Development
- Design Work for Graduate Programs
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Kelly Donndelinger
Financial Analyst
- Steward financial awards: health insurance subsidies, tuition scholarships, NSF GRFPs
- Review/approve graduate stipends and hourly jobs; student employment policy compliance
- Monitor graduate program stipend budgets; provide ad hoc reporting
- Administer Graduate School professional development awards cycle and budget
- Administer tenure and tenure-track reappointment and promotion cycle (Provost Office)
Graduate Enrollment Management
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Nyrée McDonald, Ph.D.
Associate Dean, Graduate Enrollment Management
Nyrée McDonald, Ph.D.
Associate Dean, Graduate Enrollment Management
(574)-631-8421
Nyree.V.McDonald.67@nd.edu- Support Programs with Individual Recruitment Efforts and Admissions
- Manage Online Application and Recruitment System
- Dual Degree and Exchange Programs
- Oversee Student Progress from Matriculation to Graduation
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John Lowery, Ph.D.
Recruitment Strategies Program Director
- Recruiting for Arts & Letters, Engineering, Science, and Keough School programs (Ph.D. & Master's), and Professional Master's programs
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Julaine Zenk, Ph.D.
Recruitment Strategies Program Director
Julaine Zenk completed her postdoc appointment in the Graduate Student Life office through the 5+1 program. She defended her dissertation in Cognitive Psychology in 2020, which focused on moral decision-making in remote warfare. During her time at Notre Dame as a graduate student, she worked with the office of Grad Life for four years on Graduate Orientation and was an active member of AWIS as the Psychology representative. She also was a fellow of the EL-STEM, now LASER, program which focuses on ethical leadership in academia.
Julaine is from the Michiana area after spending most of her life as an Air Force brat which brought her to multiple European countries as well as various states in the US. She is a proud band nerd and is in her seventh year participating in the Notre Dame marching band where she plays the piccolo and even had a stint as an Irish Guard last fall. She is excited to be spending her postdoc year in the office of Grad Life and looks forward to working with students to make their time as grad students fulfilling.
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Mellisa Crisan
Admissions Coordinator
- A-L: Application Processing and Admission Decisions
- A-L: Immigration Documentation
- A-L: Creation of Live Student Records
- Verification of All Applicant Data
- Application System Updates
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Shalon McClatchey
Admissions Coordinator
- M-Z: Application Processing and Admission Decisions
- M-Z: Immigration Documentation
- M-Z: Creation of Live Student Records
- Verification of All Applicant Data
- Slate Specialist
- Slate: Manage User Accounts
- Slate: One-on-One Training for Program Assistants/Coordinators
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Maureen Collins
Program Director, Academic Services
- Add/Drops, Course Audits, and Grade Changes
- Application to Degree Candidacy
- E-forms
- Graduation and Degree Audits
- Leave of Absence
- Reports (Graduate School)
- Transfer of Credits
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Shari Hill Sweet
Editor, Webmaster and Publications Manager
- Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses
- Editor, Annual Policy Updates
- ProQuest/UMI Liaison
- Access to OnBase, SharePoint, Slate (back-up)
- Graduate School Email Groups
- Website Maintenance
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Laura Patzschke
Administrative and Dissertation Support Assistant
- Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses Format Reviews
- Dissertation and Thesis Access Requests
- Dissertation and Thesis Submission Materials Processing
- CurateND Metadata Maintenance
- Front Desk Receptionist for the Graduate School
Graduate Career Services
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Dawn Rizek
Associate Director of Grad Career Services
- Graduate Career Services Strategic Leadership
- Campus Stakeholder Interface
- Career and Professional Development
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Elizabeth Agadi, Ph.D.
Graduate Career Consultant, College of Science
Elizabeth Agadi, Ph.D.
Graduate Career Consultant, College of Science
(574) 631-2080
loughran.11@nd.edu- Career Exploration and Planning
- Developing Career Skills and Capabilities
- Career Programming and Professional Development
- Networking with Alumni and Employers
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Erik Oswald
Graduate Career Consultant, Professional Master's Programs
- Career Exploration and Planning
- Developing Career Skills and Capabilities
- Career Programming and Professional Development
- Networking with Alumni and Employers
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Kathryn Sawyer Vidrine, Ph.D.
Graduate Career Consultant, College of Arts and Letters (Humanities, Social Sciences, and Arts)
Kathryn Sawyer Vidrine, Ph.D.
Graduate Career Consultant, College of Arts and Letters (Humanities, Social Sciences, and Arts)
(574) 631-1892
ksawyer2@nd.edu- Career Exploration and Planning
- Developing Career Skills and Capabilities
- Career Programming and Professional Development
- Networking with Alumni and Employers
Kathryn Sawyer Vidrine joins Graduate Career Services from The Graduate School, where she served as Assistant Program Director and Fulbright Program Advisor for the Office of Grants and Fellowships for the last three years. In that position she honed her skills in departmental outreach, one-on-one consultations with graduate students and postdocs in all disciplines, and targeted workshops and presentations about the value of competitive awards. She is excited to expand on these skills as she turns her focus to the College of Arts and Letters, from which she received her PhD in History in 2018. Both faculty and graduate students are encouraged to contact her at ksawyer2@nd.edu as she transitions to her new role.
Graduate Student Life
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Mimi Beck
Program Director, Graduate Student Life
- Liaison Between Student Affairs and the Graduate School
- Quality of Life Programming and Advocacy
- Resource and Service Referrals
- Assessment and Strategic Planning for Graduate Student Life
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Laurie Hesch
Administrative Assistant, Graduate Student Government
- Graduate Student Government (GSG) Point of Contact: gsu@nd.edu
- Coordinates GSG Communications and Finances
- Provides Bookkeeping Advice and Assistance to all Recognized Graduate Student Clubs
