Work Life Grants:
Financial Assistance for Expectant Graduate Assistants

The Graduate School, in collaboration with the College Deans and the Provost, has established a Work-Life Grant Program to provide temporary financial assistance to departments to enable them to continue support for female graduate students during pregnancy and childbirth. This grant program is a result of conversations with concerned graduate students and recommendations from the Advance Pipeline Element working group chaired by Nancy Love (CEE).

Purpose
During their time in graduate school, students routinely face issues of balance among the demands of work (GA, GTA, GRA), graduate study and personal life. Potentially, one of the most important life issues faced by female graduate students is pregnancy. In demonstrating its commitment to be work-life friendly, Virginia Tech aims to provide a supportive environment for female graduate students (and partners) in their choice to give birth while simultaneously acknowledging the department's need for continuation of the work being provided by the graduate student as a GTA, GRA, or GA. The Work-Life Grants program provides the means through which departments can request temporary financial assistance.

Procedures
Departments can request financial assistance equivalent to a graduate assistantship stipend for 6 weeks. The Graduate School will provide one half of the 6-week stipend and the College Dean will provide the other half of the 6-week stipend. These funds may be used in a variety of ways to ensure that the research/teaching effort is not adversely impacted and the graduate student continues to be supported while she is on leave.

Departments should submit requests for work-life grants in writing to the Dean of the Graduate School with a copy to the College Dean. Requests are acted upon immediately.

Theresa is a Ph.D. candidate in Chemical Engineering. When asked about this program she said "It was really cool". As Theresa told her friends about it, they were all surprised - they never heard of a Graduate School doing this. "This is a great idea and a good program. Graduate students never really fully stop working, but in the first few weeks after Abby's birth it was difficult to find time and energy to sit down and check email and worry about work. It was nice to be able to stay at home."

We wish Theresa our best in her new role as a mother, and continued success in her academic endeavors.