CSE graduate students celebrated at recognition reception

Graduate students, faculty, and staff gathered at Rackham Assembly Hall on the evening of April 24 to celebrate the contributions that graduate students have made to CSE over the past year. The first-ever CSE Graduate Student Recognition Reception, organized by the CSE Graduate Programs Office, included dinner and a program which included presentation of this year’s CSE DEI Service Awards and the inaugural CSE HACKS Spirit Award.

Prof. Emily Mower Provost, CSE Associate Chair for Graduate Affairs, welcomed attendees to the event and recognized the positive contributions that so many graduate students have made to the culture at CSE. 

Michael Wellman, the Richard H. Orenstein Division Chair of Computer Science and Engineering, spoke about CSE’s establishment of its HACKS values and how those are intended to help establish a curious, honest, transparent, and more inclusive culture. He encouraged the students to embrace these values as they act to achieve the type of community we all want to be a part of.

Wellman concluded his initial remarks by recognizing one instance of the impact of CSE’s graduate community, on faculty hiring, by saying, “One faculty recruit who visited many top schools told me that his meeting with Michigan grad students really stood out. Not just in your technical sharpness and energy, but also for pressing pointed questions about mentoring and advising. I was proud to hear that, and thank you.”

Jasmin Stubblefield, CSE Graduate Programs Office Manager, highlighted many of the accomplishments that  graduate students have made in CSE over the past year, and specifically recognized the officers of the CSE Graduate Student Organization (CSEG), and ECSEL+, a student group in the Division that supports graduate women and gender minorities in CSE.

Prof. Westley Weimer, CSE Outreach and DEI Coordinator Sarah Snay, and CSE DEI Project Manager Taj Williams presented the annual CSE DEI Service Awards, which recognize graduate students for their significant contributions to the community and for their actions in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion at CSE, to PhD students Santiago Castro, Jaylin Herskovitz, Andrew Lee, Snehal Prabhudesai, and Preeti Ramaraj.

Prof. Wellman presented the CSE HACKS Service Award to PhD candidate Sarah Jabbour. The award honors a CSE Graduate Student who embodies the spirit of CSE’s HACKS values.