TGS Dean Wachtel Welcomes Students
The Dean of The Graduate School, Andrew B. Wachtel welcomes new and continuing students to what promises to be an exciting, innovative 2008-2009 academic year.  For the complete welcome, please visit our Dean's Message page. 

One Book One Northwestern Public Lectures Continue
This year's One Book One Northwestern selection is The Reluctant Mr. Darwin: An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin and the Making of His Theory of Evolution by David Quammen. One Book One Northwestern is a series of lectures presented by scholars with national and international reputations in the study of Charles Darwin, the science of evolution, and the history and philosophy of science. The goal of the lecture series is to educate the public and the university community about the science of evolution and the continued impact of Charles Darwin's research on modern society. The lectures are co-sponsored by the Office of the President and the Interdisciplinary Committee on Evolutionary Processes, and are open to the public as well as Northwestern faculty, students, and staff. Please see the One Book One Northwestern Web site for more details.

TGS Announces Four New Academic Programs
The Graduate School is proud to announce the creation of four new academic programs at TGS for the 2008-2009 academic year: a certificate Program in Language, Music and Communication; a doctoral program in Plant Biology and Conservation; a doctoral program in Screen Cultures; and a joint doctoral program in Physical Therapy & Engineering. These four programs were formally approved by the Graduate Faculty on June 13, 2008, and represent TGS' continued efforts to enhance Northwestern's reputation for innovative interdisciplinary research and creative practice. Read more about these new programs in the July issue of TGS E-News.

Department of Management and Organizations
Maxim Sytch

Maxim Sytch is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Management and Organizations at the Kellogg School of Management. His research, jointly with Professor Ranjay Gulati, explores the origins of social structure of interorganizational relationships and investigates how this social structure impacts economic exchange between firms. His current research projects focus on the evolution of complex social systems and also explore how firms navigate the social structure of both cooperative and conflictive relations. Using archival data on partnership and legal dispute networks among firms, in combination with econometric modeling, simulation, and network analytic techniques, Maxim Sytch investigates the role of network structures and firms’ positions in them on a variety of firms’ behavioral and performance outcomes.  For more information, please visit Department of Management and Organizations.