February Community Engagement Meeting

February 18, 2026 (2:00 – 3:00 PM EST) – Envisioning to Celebrating: Conscientious Goal Setting. Led by Drs. Kristin Terrill and Ruth Lu.

Anyone interested in signing up to participate in the group should complete this form to subscribe to the mailing list.

Community Engagement Group Meeting

The USETDA Community Engagement Group was founded in 2021 to continue important conversations among members outside of the yearly conference. This group focuses on identifying opportunities for members to learn more about important topics in the ever-changing thesis landscape, promoting professional development among members, and creating a space for networking. Themes we will consider include:

  • exploring resources and tools to help us advise students and other university stakeholders;
  • building connections throughout campus to support the student experience;
  • learning tips for navigating campus policies and processes, starting conversations, and recommending changes;
  • considering the changing role of thesis reviewers in the graduate school and/or library and advocating for the professionalization of the role; and
  • creating a supportive community among ETD professionals that promotes self-advocacy and self-care.

Our bimonthly meetings may vary in format, with some being led by USETDA members and others featuring invited guests. Anyone interested in suggesting a topic or signing up to participate in the group should complete this form. If you have questions please contact us at info@usetda.org.

ETD 2025-USETDA 2025 Conference Highlights

Here are the highlights from the ETD 2025-USETDA 2025 Conference:

  • The Big Event: It was the 28th international ETD symposium (ETD 2025) and the 15th US national ETD conference (USETDA 2025), held together!
  • When & Where: This joint event was totally virtual via Zoom on September 25-26, 2025.
  • The Vibe: The theme was “Exploring Global Connections.”
  • What was included: The program packed a punch with two big panel discussions, two workshops, sixteen 50-minute deep-dive presentations (including user group meetings), and lots of chances to network.
  • Missed a session? No worries! Everything was streamed live and recorded on Zoom.
  • Thursday’s line-up: We held an intensive workshop (“ETDs for Beginners“), a panel on research ethics, and parallel sessions covering stuff like cataloging, accessibility, converting PDFs to HTML, using LLMs for library discovery, and Vireo updates. Plus, there was an opening reception and a virtual cocktail party!
  • Friday’s action: Highlights included a hands-on workshop on using AI (Elicit) for literature reviews, a panel comparing “Open Science” in India and the US, and parallel sessions on Digital Accessibility for LaTeX, dissertation structure, drafting AI-use policies, collection migration, AI copyright, ETD formatting, community talks, machine learning, national ETD repositories, and management in Canada.
  • Wrapping Up: Friday finished with a Closing session, recognizing Jannette Wright (UAEU Libraries) for the NDLTD Leadership Award, and sneak peeks at future conferences.
  • Keep the Party Going: We encouraged everyone to stick around the global ETD community, participate in group activities, and check out the NDLTD and USETDA member lists for colleagues.
  • Wanna see the videos? Videos are available to all USETDA members via login. There are free and paid membership options.
  • Heads up on videos: The 2025 conference video series will be posted on the USETDA YouTube channel in the coming months.
  • Resources for you: 
  • Conference Program (pdf)
  • Program Schedule (at-a-glance)
  • Presentations List (including abstracts)
  • Proceedings
  • Sponsors
  • Sponsor Exhibits
  • Videos
USETDA 2025 - ETD 2025 Conference Logo