Campus & Community

Founders Day: Leslie Rossman receives inaugural Outstanding Graduate Student Award

Leslie Rossman’s involvement in DU’s graduate community — notably as president of the Graduate Student Government — has helped break down silos between the University’s undergraduate and graduate communities. It also has earned her the inaugural Outstanding Graduate Student Award.

Leslie Rossman’s involvement in DU’s graduate community — notably as president of the Graduate Student Government — has helped break down silos between the University’s undergraduate and graduate communities. It also has earned her the inaugural Outstanding Graduate Student Award.

With two degrees, a host of activities and some corporate experience under her belt, Leslie Rossman (’15) had decided she was going to focus solely on her studies when she enrolled at the University of Denver.

“I was very, very hesitant, when I came to DU, to get involved,” says the doctoral candidate in rhetoric and communication ethics. “In my previous universities I was extremely involved on campus. I came here a bit older and said, ‘I’m here for school and school only.’ That lasted a couple of weeks.”

And it’s a good thing, too. Rossman’s involvement in DU’s graduate community — notably as president of the Graduate Student Government (GSG) — has helped break down silos between the University’s undergraduate and graduate communities. It also has earned her the inaugural Outstanding Graduate Student Award.

Already in her tenure as GSG president, Rossman has implemented a campuswide inclusive excellence mission; advocated for constructing an inclusive space within student organizations and the campus community; and helped create the Graduate Research and Performance Summit, an annual event that spotlights research by graduate students. She also has worked hard to ensure that graduate students feel like part of the campus community, building a team of student leaders who create programs for other graduate students to come together at social gatherings and sporting events.

The positive reaction and willingness of graduate students to get involved “shows that grad students very much want to be a part of this campus,” Rossman says.

Rossman also is focusing on what she originally came to DU to do — her research interests include rhetorical mediations of labor and globalization, rhetoric and political economy, and the effects of neoliberalism in the workplace. “I’m absolutely indebted to the faculty in the communications studies department for really cultivating this mentorship with me, to have my research be more successful than I ever imagined,” she says.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*