This June marks the end of my third year at DGS, and thus the end of my first term, and I therefore want to begin by thanking all graduate students, past and present, who have made this a wonderful experience, so wonderful, in fact, that I am planning to return to the job after my leave, during which time things will be left in the immensely capable hands of Daniel Donoghue. To Dan therefore goes my second round of thanks for taking over the reins. 2012-2013 was busy as usual, perhaps even more so. Things started on a good foot with the great success of the G-2 class on their Generals, the first class to use the revised list. Marjorie Garber, with the help of Matthew Sussman, this year's departmental teaching fellow, guided the G-3s through their first teaching experience and introduced them to other aspects of the profession with her usual professionalism. The job market preparations were in the hands of James Simpson and Leah Whittington, who shepherded many students through that difficult process. Things were made easier, however, by the fact that the MLA was meeting in Boston, and not only for those on the market. The Graduate Advisory Committee organized an MLA party, which allowed job seekers a welcome occasion to relax in the company of their fellow students and professors, but it also was a good way to introduce younger G-years to the mysteries of the profession. Perhaps we can try to do something similar in future years: there's nothing like a party to take the edge of the hectic atmosphere of the MLA. Graduate selection and recruitment was next on the agenda, and I want to thank everyone who helped organize the visits of prospective students, which led to a wonderful class of incoming G-1s. Finally, both Seth Rosenbaum and Sara Gorman opted for the dissertation defense (needless to say, both performed excellently), and several more are scheduled for the fall. Everyone involved has found these defenses a meaningful and stimulating capstone experience and we are all looking forward to a time, not too far in the future, when they will become a regular feature of the graduate program.
The spring also saw the arrival—and departure—of the Visiting Committee, which had very good things to say about the graduate program, so I want to thank everyone involved in that process as well. Graduate education is changing in the face of new technologies. More students have been developing their personal websites, and several of our students participated in Harvard Horizons, an initiative that encourages graduate students to present their research to a non-specialist audience, and which culminated in a symposium during which the winners presented their work in the form of five-minute TED talks. Our own Liz Maynes-Aminzade was among the eight winners. I hope our graduate program will continue to be represented in this initiative, so please participate in the future! Finally, let me remind everyone that November 2012 marked Gwen Urdang-Brown's 25th anniversary at Harvard (and 23rd anniversary in the grad program) and that Shayna Cummings received the Dean's Distinction Award this March. With Gwen and Shayna, the grad program simply couldn't be in better hands.
Martin Puchner