View as Webpage Marianna Brown Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences Carnegie Mellon University December 2020

Dietrich College News

CMU's Interdisciplinary Jewel

Today, amid a pandemic, it's easy to see the value of impactful communication. David Kaufer, Mellon Distinguished Professor of English and Rhetoric and current director of the Rhetoric program at Carnegie Mellon University, oversees graduate students en route to becoming experts in language, focused on writing and the teaching of writing. Read more about the program

'Hack Your Life’ Helps Students with Health, Academics

The new Dietrich College course titled “Hack Your Life: The Science and Practices of Student Health and Well-Being” seeks to highlight the psychology behind modern students' habits, their mental health, and their academic success. The course helps students learn how to live a more fulfilling life. Read more about the course

Community App Aims to Keep CMU Students Connected at a Distance

A team of Carnegie Mellon University students has turned an idea for a class project into an app to help their peers navigate the remote university experience. Their proposal was to build The College Community App, where students could create study groups with their classmates, stay up-to-date on CMU events and find peer support and university resources. Read more about the app

Writing from Experience

Carnegie Mellon University alumnus Javier Grillo-Marxuach’s unlikely origin story involves Jedi, movie tickets and a light saber of inspiration. He embarked on a screenwriting, producing and showrunning career that now spans hundreds of television episodes, shows, movies, plays, a pair of Emmy Awards for “Lost” and “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance,” comic books, essays and a podcast. Read more about Grillo-Marxuach’s work

Dietrich College Staff Nominated for 2020 Andy Awards Congratulations to all of the Dietrich College nominees.

Upcoming Remote Alumni Events

Alumni Community. The new community can be found at community.cmu.edu. Online events. A number of online events are planned. Register here. The archive of past webinars is available at any time. Social media. Follow university channels to connect and view news. A directory of many channels can be found at community.cmu.edu/s/cmu-social. Share stories. The university wants to highlight stories of Tartans who are volunteering, working in a critical field or brightening the world during this time. Submit stories here: https://www.cmu.edu/engage/about-us/news/alumni/doing-good.html.

Dietrich College in the News New York Times Can an Algorithm Prevent Suicide? Huffington Post 7 Little Ways To Feel A Sense Of Normalcy Right Now ProPublica How Your Brain Tricks You Into Taking Risks During the Pandemic More media coverage

Class Notes Find out what's new with Dietrich College students and alumni, including Susan Adams Henderson (DC 1989), Phil Simon (DC 1994), Ryan Mitchell (DC 2020), Sam Ventura (S 2010, DC 2011, 2015), Jae Shim (2008) and PhD candidates Cassondra Eng, Robert Vargas, Yishan Wang and Richard Branscomb, in Class Notes. Have something to share? Network with other alumni in the Dietrich College Alumni LinkedIn Group.

Personal Mentions Read about news and accomplishments from the college's faculty and staff, including Kathy Newman and Adam Bjorndahl in this issue's Personal Mentions.  Share your news.

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