Graduate Student Senate General Meeting 19-Apr-2011

Transcription

1 Minutes I.Call to Order 6:08 pm o Approval of Agenda and Minutes (~1 min) II. Introduction of Senators (~1 min) III. Report (15 min) o Dean Keller: Fellowship season has been completed with the following totals: Presidential Fellowships (129 nominations, 72 offers, 21 acceptances down from typical), Deans Fellowships (64 nominations, 40 offers, 28 acceptances), Ballard and Seashore Fellowships (48 nominations, 30 awards), Summer Fellowships (170 applications, 133 awards), Iowa Arts Fellowships (25 Awards). Dean Keller reported on his activities with the Deans Board of the Council of Graduate Schools and the Deans Group of the American Association of University Graduate Division. He was in Washington, D.C. speaking to legislators Grassley and Loebsak, and the educational staffer for Harkin. Particularly important were budgetary concerns of the trade off between Pell grants for undergraduates against the subsidizing of Stafford loans for graduate students. For fiscal year 2011 the subsidies are in place, but the strains of fiscal year 2012 will threaten them. Also in danger will be funding for NEH, NSF, and NIH which provide research monies to graduate researchers. Legislator responses to the Deans groups suggested that it is time to adjust messages for lobbying for support. Schools should focus on story of impacts on American society through graduate education. Dean Keller asked for input from the Senate about the possibility of adding a requirement to thesis and dissertation deposit that would add a specific description (such as an additional abstract) that highlighted the contribution of the project s outcome on issues of national concern. Senators seemed generally positive in their response. Suggestions included careful consideration for ways to accommodate M.F.A. creative projects, and offering explanations that clarify purpose for writers. IV. Guest Speakers o Jennifer Masada, External Relations (Director of External Relations) o John Riehl, External Relations (Associate Editor) o Peter Matthes, University Governmental Relations (Federal Relations Director) o Shawn Harmsen, Graduate Student (Journalism and Mass Communication) The speakers reported on their activities as part of the Hawkeye Caucus and offered suggestions for dealing with state legislators like those who will be visiting the forum on Thursday at Old Brick. Suggestions included fostering dialogue by avoiding accusatory composition in questions, offering positive profiles and information that will help legislators feel invested in the activities of students, listening and being patient as legislators express their ideas, practice translating ideas into digestible pieces and relatable terms, and establishing ongoing dialogue to sustain contact to demonstrate that we are not interested only in instrumental (i.e. financial) outcomes from Iowa. V. Voting Issues o Executive Committee Elections President Nominees: stef shuster. After personal statement, questions, and discussion the vote was called. The membership elected stef shuster as the President of GSS for Vice President Nominees: Ulrike Carlson. After personal statement, questions, and discussion the vote was called. The membership elected Ulrike Carlson as the Vice President of GSS for Treasurer - 1 -

2 Nominees: Andy Koons. Because of a conflict with class, nominee Koons could not be present so Senator Todd read a statement on his behalf. After discussion the vote was called. The membership elected Andy Koons as Treasurer of GSS for Membership Officer Nominees: James Skretta. After personal statement, questions, and discussion the vote was called. The membership elected James Skretta as the Membership Officer of GSS for Executive Associate Nominees: Kimberly Hoppe. Because of the duration of the meeting, Senator Hoppe had to leave prior to the election of this office. Senator Barros read a statement on her behalf. After discussion the vote was called. The membership elected Kimberly Hoppe as the Executive Associate of GSS for Parlimentarian Nominees: J Juan Carlos Herrera Mujica, Katharine Wohlman, Samantha Bouwers. After personal statements and questions, the membership engaged in discussion and the vote was called. The membership elected Samantha Bouwers as the Parliamentarian of GSS for ECGPS Delegates (2) Nominees: Brian Borchers, Kristi DiClemente, Clint Huntrods, Kelli Todd. After personal statements and questions, the membership engaged in discussion and the vote was called. The membership elected Kristi DiClemente and Kelli Todd as ECGPS Delegates for VI. Executive and Committee Activities o Review of Committee Activity and Membership o (Please review Reports that follow. * Reports included) Executive Reports A. President s Report stef shuster* B. Vice President s Report James Skretta C. Treasurer s Report Brian Borchers D. Membership Officer s Report Ulrike Carlson* E. Parlimentarian s Report Juan Carlos Herrera Mujica F. Graduate Council Report Kristi DiClemente, Kristina Rogers, Maneesh Kumar, stef shuster G. Graduate Student Organizations Meggie Aube H. ECGPS Delegate Report Senthilkumar Perumal Kuppusamy, stef shuster, Meggie Aube (alternate)* I. DGSAC Chair Report Nirmalla Barros J. Webmaster Report Maneesh Kumar Committee Representative Reports A. Academic Mentoring Committee Tracy Morgan, Meryl Irwin* B. Computer Resources Committee Brian Borchers C. Education Outreach Committee Ulrike Carlson, Donna Lancianese* D. International Student Committee Joseph Steinitz, Chris Harris, Nikhil Sikka E. Jakobsen Conference Committee Kyle Moody; stef shuster; James Skretta; Lauren Rosales F. Jakobsen Conference Review Committee Kristina Rogers G. Service Committee Kimberly Hoppe, Katie Benson H. Social Committee Mike Palermo* I. Travel Funds Committee Kristi DiClemente, Alissa Hulstrand J. GPAC Representatives Kelli Todd, Mike Palermo, Brian Borchers - 2 -

3 VII. Announcements o May 4 th is the service appreciation dinner in the IMU South Room. Invitations were send on Monday, April 18. o Earth Day Tree Planting (4/22/2011) want to get involved, go to o Next meeting is May 2. There will be constitutional amendments and a resolution up for vote so attendance is important. There are additional leadership opportunities available. There will be committee chair positions coming open for the coming year in GSS. Interested persons should e- mail President shuster (stef-shuster@uiowa.edu). ECGPS has additional elected positions that will also be available. Questions about these positions should be directed to Donna Lancianese (donna-lancianese@uiowa.edu). VIII. Open Discussion o Opened by chair - Closed by motion with second and approval by senate IX. Adjournment (~1 min) - 3 -

4 Agenda and Reports I.Call to Order 6:00 pm o Approval of Agenda and Minutes (~1 min) II. Introduction of Senators (~1 min) III. Report (15 min) o Dean Keller o Dean Berkowitz IV. Voting Issues o Executive Committee Elections President The President of the GSS is the chief executive officer of the GSS, and the primary advocate on behalf of graduate students both to the and the University community at large. While specific duties of the President will vary from year to year, the President shapes the overall agenda and direction of the GSS. Vice President The Vice President of the GSS assists the President in carrying out the functions of the Graduate Student Senate and shall assume the duties of the President when the President is absent. Treasurer The Treasurer of the GSS is responsible for the administration of all GSS funds and business affairs. Membership Officer The Membership Officer of the GSS is responsible for keeping track of the membership of the GSS and attendance at meetings of the GSS. Executive Associate The Executive Associate assists the President in assuring the smooth running of the GSS. The Executive Associate is responsible for keeping the minutes of meetings of the GSS, and for distributing those minutes as appropriate. Parlimentarian The Parliamentarian ensures that meetings are conducted in an orderly fashion. The Parliamentarian is the authority on constitutional issues, as well as the traditions of the GSS and Robert s Rules of Order. ECGPS Delegates (2) During our meeting, we will nominate two people to serve as delegates to ECGPS. We pass the names on to ECGPS and they will vote on who will become the next ECGPS President. The other nominee will become a delegate to ECGPS. Every other year, the President of the Executive Council of Graduate & Professional Students must be a student from within the. Please contact Lyndsay Harshman (lyndsayharshman@uiowa.edu) for more information about this position. The ECGPS President should have some knowledge of the ECGPS Member government system, the ability to meet and negotiate with higher administrators, and advocate on behalf of all graduate and professional students. V. Executive and Committee Activities o Review of Committee Activity and Membership Executive Reports A. President s Report stef shuster After this meeting, GSS will have one more general meeting scheduled on Monday May 2 nd at 6pm in the IMU Illinois Room. This is a great meeting to reflect on the past year and plan for the future. Please make sure to send a full senator or alternate. If you already know who the full senators are for your department next year consider asking them to attend as well. If you have been involved in a committee and want to step up in your leadership, please contact the out-going chairs before May 2 nd and let them know you are interested! Finally, if you are leaving the - 4 -

5 senate please make sure to find a replacement for your department and forward their name on to Ulrike Carlson (Ulrike-carlson@uiowa.edu). One event of interest that I want to make a pitch for (in addition to SPRING FLING scheduled for May 6 th ) is an upcoming Legislative Forum on April 21 st from 7-9pm in Old Brick. We have talked a lot this year about becoming more involved in the legislative process through writing letters and lobbying. On April 21 st, we (ECGPS & GSS) are bringing the politicians to Iowa City for a townhall meeting to ask questions about post-secondary education, appropriations, and other issues you are concerned about. Please share this event and the details with your department s graduate students and faculty. B. Vice President s Report James Skretta C. Treasurer s Report Brian Borchers D. Membership Officer s Report Ulrike Carlson As we are coming close to the end of the year I would like to say thank you to all the senators who have volunteered their time and effort this year to GSS - thank you for your great work. For the next year I hope we can get even more graduate students interested and involved in GSS. I enjoyed serving as Membership Officer and hope to see you all again next year. If you are not returning to GSS next year, please remember to support GSS membership in your department by actively looking for someone to become senator in your stead. Have a great summer! E. Parlimentarian s Report Juan Carlos Herrera Mujica F. Graduate Council Report Kristi DiClemente, Kristina Rogers, Maneesh Kumar, stef shuster G. Graduate Student Organizations Meggie Aube H. ECGPS Delegate Report Senthilkumar Perumal Kuppusamy, stef shuster, Meggie Aube (alternate) At the last ECGPS meeting, we had a lengthy discussion about the ECGPS travel funds. The issue of collaborative research was thoroughly examined and there are a few issues that the delegates wanted to bring to your attention. If you engage in collaborative efforts with other graduate students (for music, art, research, etc) the applications you submit to travel must be different than your collaborators. In other words, do not submit the same exact application. This is considered plagiarism. Also we have heard that students in the physical sciences & humanities are not explaining their work in a way understandable to a lay audience. If your research is theory dense you need to unpack it. And if you are researching about chemical properties or complex physics, please take a step back and imagine that you do not have specialized training, and then write up your application. I. Dean s Graduate Student Advisory Council Chair Report Nirmalla Barros J. Webmaster Report Maneesh Kumar Committee Representative Reports A. Academic Mentoring Committee Tracy Morgan, Meryl Irwin* The application forms for the campus-wide Academic Mentoring Program were announced to graduate and undergraduate students through the SURF and Jakobsen Conferences. We have received our first online mentee application! Please share information with your department members about the program. Our committee is always happy to take new members. If you are interested in joining please the chair (theresamorgan@uiowa.edu)

6 B. Computer Resources Committee Brian Borchers C. Education Outreach Committee Ulrike Carlson, Donna Lancianese Despite our hard work, the turnout at our Jakobsen Conference Event was less than satisfactory. However, we this year managed to get our website up and running and distributed promotional material for our Community Outreach Program to several local high schools. Hopefully next year we can build on these efforts and can encourage high schools to actually make use of the resources we offer. For that we always need senators to become involved in our committee and take over a leadership position. D. International Student Committee Joseph Steinitz, Chris Harris, Nikhil Sikka E. Jakobsen Conference Committee Kyle Moody; stef shuster; James Skretta; Lauren Rosales F. Jakobsen Conference Review Committee Kristina Rogers G. Service Committee Kimberly Hoppe, Katie Benson H. Social Committee Mike Palermo Well the end of spring semester is approaching quickly which can mean only one thing...spring Bash! We will be having our annual semi-formal event this year at Hotel Vetro (201 S. Linn st. on the pedestrian mall). It will take place May 6th from 7pm-11pm. It is open to all graduate and professional students. Heavy appetizers will be provided, a cash bar, and a DJ. So come out, bring a friend, and help us celebrate the weather and the end of another academic year. I. Travel Funds Committee Kristi DiClemente, Alissa Hulstrand* J. GPAC Representatives Kelli Todd, Mike Palermo, Brian Borchers VI. Announcements o May 4 th is the service appreciation dinner in the IMU South Room. Invitations were send on Monday, April 18. o Earth Day Tree Planting (4/22/2011) want to get involved, go to VII. Open Discussion o Opened by chair - Closed by motion with second and approval by senate VIII. Adjournment (~1 min) - 6 -

7 Graduate Student Senate Roster of Elected Positions Executive Officers: President stef shuster Vice President James Skretta Parliamentarian Juan Carlos Herrera Mujica Treasurer Brian Borchers Executive Associate Meryl Irwin Membership Officer Ulrike Carlson ECGPS Delegates Senthilkumar PK stef shuster Meggie Aube (alt) Graduate Council Kristi DiClemente Kristina Rogers Maneesh Kumar stef shuster Webmaster Maneesh Kumar Roster of Appointed Positions Committee Chairs: Academic Mentoring Committee Tracy Morgan Meryl Irwin Computer Resources Committee Brian Borchers Education Outreach Committee Ulrike Carlson Donna Lancianese International Student Committee Joseph Steinitz Chris Harris Nikhil Sikka Jakobsen Conference Planning Kyle Moody Laura Rosales stef shuster James Skretta Jakobsen Conference Review Kristina Rogers Service Committee Kimberly Hoppe Katie Benson Social Committee Mike Palermo Travel Funds Committee Kristi DiClemente Alissa Hulstrand Additional GSS Representatives: Dean s Graduate Student Advisory Nirmalla Barros nirmalla-barros@uiowa.edu Committee (DGSAC) Graduate Student Organizations Liaison Meggie Aube meghan-aube@uiowa.edu GPAC Brian Borchers brian-borchers@uiowa.edu Kelli Todd kelli-todd@uiowa.edu Mike Palermo michael-palermo@uiowa.edu Alexandra Nica (alt.) alexandra-nica@uiowa.edu Tim Paschkewitz (alt.) timothy-paschkewitz@uiowa.edu - 7 -