Meeting Minutes- 04 March 2013

Welcome-Ilon

Committee Updates:

  • Initiatives- Amy and Grace:
    • Winner Dinner- raising awareness about GSAS and extra-curricular awards, preparing survey to distribute to reps to find out what awards are available→ Reps, be aware that this email will come soon
    • Trying to identify which departments are providing awards that might recognize grad students, and helping identify gaps that need to be filled
    • Trish: should look to local vendors for contributions to non-monetary awards
  • Professional Development-Madison:
    • GradDays starting 3/26 with keynote from Pres. Sullivan at 7 PM in the special collections building, would like all GSASC members to attend (bring friends), we want a packed house! This is the most important event for GSASC members to attend in all of GradDays!
    • Ilon: Grad council has really revolutionized GradDays, this is only the 3rd year it has been held, and the fact that Pres. Sullivan is speaking is a really big deal
    • Kate: GradDays communications will be distributed to reps soon, but in addition to forwarding to your whole department, try to send targeted emails specifically to students who might find certain programming relevant (e.g. if a group of students in your department have been looking for resources for fellowships, send them an email specifically about that panel). Receiving a personal message from you will likely carry more weight (and actually get them to read the email) than one mass email to the department
    • Amy: Resource Fair (and Wine & Cheese) on 3/29 in the Newcomb Gallery. This is the second most important event for GSASC members to attend in all of GradDays! This event will bring a diverse variety of resources, so it should have mass appeal. If there are specific resources you value, let Amy know and she will try to get them to attend
  • Research (Statement Read by Ilon, all members in separate mtg):
    • Ilon: Huskey is 3/27 in Newcomb, see the website for more info
    • Research committee will need help from GSASC members with setup/breakdown on the day of the event, lunch will be provided, contact Evan (eej2m) or Kaycie (kk5dm) to volunteer or for more info.
  • Social- Mike LaForest and Trish:
    • St. Patrick’s day happy hour (Sunday after spring break)
    • GradDays events: 3/28 happy hour, Biltmore happy hour after the BBQ
    • Grad Prom is proceeding, getting in contact with other schools

Tuition Update- Mike Schreck:

  • Before Dean Zelikow’s meeting with the provost, we stressed the need to keep tuition rates the same for graduate students
  • After meeting→ provost has signed off on tuition changes, which GSASC committee felt was necessary given new funding model
  • DGS’s have been given all the resources they need to keep all the grad students in their departments as well off as they were before
  • Trish: Someone has requested (via facebook) posting a statement about what is going on
    • Mike: many people on the committee have had to leave, need more people involved to generate formal report, get in touch with Mike Schreck to get involved
    • Kate: One of the aspects of the strategic planning memo was to establish a survey of best practices with regard to DGS conduct (among other things), and this might fall under that. We might not have the resources to do this this year, but it should be a high priority for the next year
  • Mike: there have been steps taken by the Dean to address our concerns- first, student instructors will now have tuition waived during the semesters they teach (still not 100% solidified). Also, there will be an emergency fund for departments to apply for in special cases. Overall: need to incorporate some oversight on the departmental level to ensure funds are being spent in ways that support grad students.

Budget-Mike Schreck:

  • English Poetry Reading
    • Request: $250, no recommendation from committee (didn’t know we would have facilities to fund, but now suggest funding)
    • Funded at $250
  • English Graduate Conference
    • Request to fund at $550, recommend $500
    • Kate: Is the poetry reading part of this?
      • Danielle: No, completely separate
    • Funded at $500
  • St. Patrick’s day Happy Hour
    • Request $400, Recommend $400
    • Funded at $400
  • GradDays
    • Request $3000, Recommend $3000
    • Funded at $3000
  • GradDays Happy hour on 3/28
    • Request $400, Recommend $400
    • Funded at $400
  • GradDays Happy Hour 4/6
    • Request $400, Recommend not to fund (after BBQ)
    • Voted to follow recommendation and not fund

Comments/Concerns:

  • Trish: wants us to have more of a presence on facebook, individual committees should post to the page
  • Jon: Should add a signature to gsasc emails about liking us on facebook
    • Ben will add this ASAP
  • Mike Schreck: Now is an ideal time to step into a role of shaping university policy, it would be bad to let this opportunity slip away, we need to consider volunteering to help with tuition changes, since many of the senior people on this issue are leaving
  • Ilon: We have gotten to a very involved place with the administration, we need to keep this up

Next meeting 4/1: Elections, keep an eye out for more info.

Job descriptions and vacant positions will be handed out before then