LSU Graduate School

This past Wednesday, Dean Bargu Ates sat down with a few LSU postdoctoral researchers for a conversation, connection, and some sweet treats! ✨

The discussion explored the often-misunderstood role of postdoctoral fellows, how postdoctoral experiences connect to graduate education, and the transition from Ph.D. candidate to postdoctoral researcher—and eventually, what comes next after that.

Most importantly, the conversation centered on the researchers themselves: their experiences, questions, and how they define the postdoctoral journey in their own words.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the conversation, and of course, the donuts! 🍩

In honor of National Online Learning Day, we’re proud to spotlight Ambrosia Grant, an LSU Online master’s student studying Library and Information Science and pursuing an Archival Studies Certificate.

Ambrosia has been selected as a 2026–27 National Book Foundation Teacher Fellow. She is one of just eight educators nationwide selected for this year's fellowship, out of more than 250 applicants representing 48 states, Washington, D.C., Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

As part of the fellowship, Ambrosia will develop “Many Stories, Many Futures,” a yearlong book-and-literacy initiative serving 10th–12th grade students at East Jefferson High School in Metairie, Louisiana. The project focuses on helping students, particularly Black, Hispanic, and Deaf/Hard of Hearing students, see their experiences and possible futures reflected in the literature available to them.

Through culturally responsive and accessible books, student-driven reading, discussion, and activities connecting reading with college and career readiness, Ambrosia hopes to help students build stronger reading identities and discover that reading can be much more than a classroom assignment.

Through her MLIS and Archival Studies coursework, she continues to explore access to information, inclusive collections, literacy, archives, and how libraries and educators can create spaces where diverse communities are represented and preserved.

We're proud to spotlight Ambrosia and the meaningful work she's doing in Louisiana classrooms and beyond.

Keep up the amazing and impactful work, Ambrosia! 🤩🎉

Big congrats to Grace Mahfouz, a doctoral student in our School of Leadership & Human Resource Development! 🎉

Grace just received a $2,000 research grant from the Louisiana Nature & Health Alliance (LSU Chapter) to support her dissertation, which explores how leadership can inspire employees to think creatively about sustainability in the workplace.

The funding will help Grace compensate study participants — meaning a bigger sample, stronger data, and research that goes further. We can't wait to see where this leads!

Starting September 16, LSU Libraries subject librarians will be bringing their expertise directly to the Pinkie Gordon Lane Graduate School through Rotating Subject Librarian Office Hours in Hatcher Hall, Room 132. 🎉

Drop-in Hours are on Wednesdays from 12-2 p.m., and Thursdays from 2-4 p.m.

Whether you’re starting a research project, deep in your dissertation, or just trying to find that one article you’ve been searching for, our LSU Libraries partners are here to help. Each week, librarians from different subject areas will be available to help with your graduate-level research needs — no appointment required!

We encourage you to stop by, meet our LSU Libraries partners, and take advantage of this unique resource. We hope to see you soon in Hatcher Hall! ☺️

A month later and we are still celebrating our Summer 2026 graduates! 🎓🎉

We’re proud to share that there were 988 graduate students who earned their degrees and certificates during summer commencement — with 753 master’s degrees, 114 doctoral degrees, and 121 graduate certificates awarded through the LSU Pinkie Gordon Lane Graduate School. 🤩

Congratulations again to every graduate who reached this milestone! Your hard work, dedication, and perseverance brought you across the finish line, and we’re excited to celebrate all that you’ve accomplished.

Geaux Grad Tigers!!! 💜✨

Fall semester is now in full swing, so we want to make sure that our graduate students stay up to date with what’s happening in September! 💛

Make sure to save this post and keep these important dates and deadlines on your radar throughout this month 🗓️

Wondering about joining a graduate student cohort? Our students would recommend applying for the Graduate Student Leadership Initiative!

The Pinkie Gordon Lane Graduate School offers the Graduate Student Leadership Initiative (GSLI), which is a program to help graduate students build confidence, strengthen their leadership skills and grow both professionally and academically. 🎓📚

Swipe to read our student testimonials about how GSLI positively affected their graduate experience and how the program helped them become better students, stronger leaders and more confident people. 🙌

Interested in joining the next cohort? Use the link in our bio to apply. But don’t wait because the deadline is Sept. 6! ⏰

Tengwen Fan and her PhD Advisors, Eileen Haebig and Julie Schneider, celebrate Tengwen’s completion of her PhD studies. Congratulations Dr. Fan!

Looking for ways to make the most of your graduate school experience? Check out these upcoming events designed to support your writing, research, leadership, and career development 📚

⭐️Starting on on Aug. 31, The Write On! Cohort will begin. This is a 12-week commitment for graduate students to come together to stay accountable and make consistent progress on this semester’s writing assignment. In-person meetings will be held in Hatcher Hall 226.

⭐️ On Sept. 1 & 3, come out and learn how to develop strong research and personal statements for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program. Both workshops will be held in the ECE Dalton J. Woods Auditorium.

⭐️ On Sept. 8, join us in the Oliver Career Center Classroom to learn practical skills to help you navigate your job search and prepare for your next career opportunity.

⭐️ Apply to be a part of the GSLI Fall 2026 Cohort! This is an opportunity for you to build your leadership skills, better understand your strengths, and develop tools you can use in academic & professional settings. The deadline to apply is Sept. 6.

You can find all the links in our bio to register & apply. No matter what you’re looking for, there’s something for everyone so don’t miss out! 😉

Meet Naresh Suwal, a summer 2026 graduate who received his PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering and had a part of his PhD dissertation published in the International Journal of Environmental Health Research.

Naresh’s article, “Modeling and forecasting oyster norovirus outbreaks of long-range dependence on antecedent marine environmental conditions,” explored new ways to forecast oyster-associated norovirus outbreaks and examines how marine environmental data and machine learning can help improve early warning and forecasting of waterborne disease risks.

His research has potential applications in public health and coastal water-resource management, demonstrating how graduate research can help address complex environmental challenge

Congratulations, Naresh, on this exciting publication and your graduation! 🎓🎉

LSU College of Engineering