Recruitment Committee

Roles and Responsibilities

Roles
  • Recruitment Committee Chair
  • Graduate Coordinator
  • Graduate Students (5-6)
Responsibilities of All Committee Members
  • Provide input into, plan, and execute recruitment activities and events
  • Actively participate in all admissions meetings
  • Prepare materials, schedules, surveys, presentations, etc. needed for and in preparation of recruitment online event and campus visit. 
Additional Responsibilities of the Admissions Chair
  • Coordinate and facilitate all meetings of the Recruitment Committee.
    • 1 meetings in early October; 1-2 meetings after admissions meeting; 2-3 meetings in January.
  • Oversee the planning and preparation of recruitment activities.
  • Coordinate with the Department Chair on recruitment related issues
    • Select and announce date for recruitment event (late summer/early September)
    • Available budget for recruitment activities (e.g., flight reimbursements, meals, hotel, etc.)
    • Pizza (or other food) lunch for recruitment committee
    • Other issues as they arise
  • Coordinate with the Graduate Coordinator on the planning and execution of recruitment activities and events

The Graduate Coordinator will

      • Make hotel reservations as soon as we have approval from department chair regarding budget.
        • Will cancel any hotel rooms that are not needed.
      • Reserve rooms needed in HDFS during recruitment weekend (e.g., conference rooms, seminar room, etc.
      • Provide recruitment committee chair and department chair with a copy of the budget from a previous year
      • Coordinate with admissions chair to obtain list of prospective students and send out invitations to prospective students.
        • Will require for graduate coordinator to edit the prospective student survey and seek feedback from recruitment chair.
        • Will require for graduate coordinator to edit the invitation letter as needed (after discussing with recruitment committee on needed edits). Seek feedback on letter from recruitment chair.
      • Match prospective students with a graduate student mentor.
      • Make reservations for restaurants (Thursday dinners and Saturday brunch)
      • Request parking passes for student volunteers who drive prospective students around OR plan using ride share companies.
      • Order breakfast for Friday morning.
      • Procures thank you cards for volunteers and helps distribute them.
      • Email faculty about times to meet with students during recruitment weekend and develop faculty-prospective students meeting schedule. Seek feedback from recruitment chair.
      • Edit feedback survey for faculty and students and send out survey to students and faculty Friday night or first thing Saturday morning.
      • Organizes faculty and student feedback into spreadsheet used for the admissions meeting. Reach out to admissions chair for a copy from previous years. This needs to be done by Monday following the recruitment event.
      • Coordinate with graduate students to accomplish tasks and activities needed for a successful recruitment event (e.g., welcome bags, send out volunteer surveys, send out potluck sign up, matching volunteers, etc.).
      • Coordinate with accounting office to pay for all recruitment related expenses.
      • Serve as point of contact for prospective students.
      • Address other issues as they arise.
      • Coordinate with Graduate Students on the planning and execution of recruitment activities and events

Graduate Students will

      • Prepare welcome bags & cards.
      • Edit and send out the volunteer survey by mid-December.
      • Send out a potluck sign up two weeks before the recruitment event.
      • Match volunteers to prospective students (this is the most time consuming task and it helps to have 2 students work together).
      • Develop prospective student page with headshots.
      • Develop itineraries for each prospective student.
      • Assist graduate coordinator with developing the faculty-prospective student meeting schedule.
      • Organize an international student orientation, including the development of any materials.
      • Participate in all recruitment activities.
      • Match prospective students with mentors and lead communication with graduate students.
      • Edit surveys or other materials.
      • Assist with any recruitment related issues that might arise.


  • Share all necessary information from the Recruitment Committee with the larger HDFS faculty throughout the planning process.
  • Coordinate and facilitate seminar the week before recruitment weekend to give faculty an overview of planned activities and share weekend schedules.
  • Seek input from all faculty regarding recruitment activities and events
  • Coordinate with the admissions committee regarding faculty and student evaluations of prospective students.
  • Coordinate and participate in all recruitment events (e.g., student orientation, breakfast, seminar, etc.)
  • Coordinate with graduate advisor and director of the lab school about orientations and lab school tours during recruitment weekend.
  • Write up the general recruitment schedule and share with faculty.
  • Participate in admissions meeting, taking notes to help with identifying prospective students and sending out invitations.
  • Ask faculty to identify mentors for prospective students and share with graduate coordinator.
  • Request donations from department chair and/or faculty for Alamo gift cards.
  • Organizes a small pizza party for recruitment committee.
  • Seeks feedback from faculty regarding the faculty-prospective student interview schedule.

2023-2024 Recruitment Committee

Graduate Chair

Elma Lorenzo-Blanco

Graduate Coordinator

Abby Black

Graduate Students