Archived Meeting Minutes
Minutes from year 2006 - 2007
Minutes for 2009 - 2010
Graduate and Professional Student Government Association
264 Student Union
Phone # 405-744-3419
http://gpsga.okstate.edu
Email: gpsga@okstate.edu
General Assembly Meeting Agenda
Thursday September 17, 2009 5:00 PM
Location: Life Science West 103
1. Call to order by President Aravind Seshadri @ 5:04pm
Aravind also introduced GPSGA advisors Dr. Smolen and Dr. Payton
2. Approval of meeting minutes – September 03, 2009 Motion by Joseph Simpson (Sociology) and second by Josh Harr (History)- All approved, no abstentions or disapproved (Minutes Approved)
3. Old Business-Recommendation to appropriate more AFAP Funds- Representatives suggested to list what activities the increased money would fund; It was clarified that this bill to appropriate more funds would be voted on by a committee without prior discussion with GPSGA; Representatives suggested to mention that roll-over money from GPSGA decreases each year and the percentage of travel grants that are not met each year; Representatives suggested perhaps using a sliding scale option to change the relative percentages of fudns allocated to undergraduats versus graduate students each year; There was a motion to approve this bill by Joseph Simpson (Sociology) and this was seconded by Ketevan Danelia (HDFS); Approved=56, Opposed = 0, Abstained = 2 (Bill Passed)
4. Guest Speaker: Dr. Lee Bird (Vice President for Student Affairs) discussed the Behavioral Consultation Team hotline for reporting individuals that pose a threat to safety and welfare of campus (Not for a fire, gun, or natural disaster-call police). Cards were distributed to representatives with contact informaiotn in case of such instances and Dr. Bird noted that her office was in 201 Whitehurst. She also discussed United Way and defined the organizaiotn as an umbrella agency that funds 24 different agencies addressing various services and popualtoins including, but not limited to: meal assistance, child assistance, the indigent popualtoin, and the elderly population. OSU needs to raise $180,000 to help United Way reach their goal this year (1 in 3 people in Stillwater use at least one of the services from United Way). She stated as a goal for students to try and collect $1 per student to raise $20,000 from the student body at OSU. She also noted that she would eb interested in collaborating with student organizations to help achieve these goals.
5. New Business-Co-Sponsorship bill for Diwali Night: No representative from the Indian Student Association was present at the meeting, so this bill was not discussed or voted on.
6. Officers and committee reports-
a. Divya noted that the finance committee gave out funds for last quarter (75% of eligible amount for non-foreign and 65% for foreign students)
b. Aravind announced that there is now an option for domestic students reimbursement of travel such that they may opt. for their travel expenses to paid for Bursar or check sothat this funding does not affect domestic students’ financial aid
c. Erinn read the Constitutions and Bylaws Committees Report from their last meeting on 9/8/09 (see on GPSGA website). Their next meeting is scheduled for 9/22/09 @ 11am in 264 SU
d. Aravind noted open positions for University-wide committees including the University Technology Fee Committee (Mark Legg from HRAD and Darshon Anderson from Psychology volunteered to be representatives on this committee) and the University Assessment Council (Representatives noted that they would brign this informaoitn back to their respective departments, but no one volunteered to be ont eh council)
e. Aravind also discussed the first Professional Development Seminar on teaching and noted tha the link to the speaker’s presentaotin was on the GPSGA website
f. Stephanie talked about the Faculty Council Committee for Campus Safety and solicited ideas or thoughts about improving safety at the cross walk on Hall of Fame Rd. adjacent to the Colvin center. Representatives made several suggestions including: making an over-ramp, the need for an over-ramp on the side of the football stadium by the Wrestling Hall of Fame, more police coverage to deter speeders around the Colvin center, and building speed bumps instead of an over-ramp because of the greater cost associated with the latter
g. Lisa talked about the GPSGA newsletter and solicited upcoming events from departments in the newsletter
h. Aravind noted the link for the annual graduate student Research Showcase on the GPSGA website and the deadline of October 18, 2009. He also ntoed that this recognition would be placed on full page in the O’Colley
i. Aravind also solicited help for completion of an OSU Graduate Student Survival Guide and Joseph Simpson from Sociology notesd that he would forward a copy of his department’s guide. Other suggestions included obtaining resources from the family resource center and including the resource 2-1-1.
7. Open discussion-Victor noted that the Library Writing Center Workshops would be open on Tuesday from noon to 1pm. He also menoitend that students need to sign-up for the events, that the sign-up would be posted next week, and space for these events was limited to 20 graduate students.
8. Adjournment-Motion by Joseph Simpson (Sociology) and second by Meredith Slish (Psychology) All were in favor and the meeting was adjourned.
Next Meeting: October 01, 2009 in LSW 103 at 5:00 PM
Graduate and Professional Student Government Association
264 Student Union http://gpsga.okstate.edu
Phone # 405-744-3419 Email: gpsga@okstate.edu
General Assembly Meeting Agenda
Thursday August 27, 2009 5:00 PM
Location: Life Science West 103
1. Call to order: Aravind Seshadri-President
2. Dr. Emslie's welcome: Dean of the Graduate College and co-advisor of GPSGA-Talked about the role of the graduate college for GPSGA-Noted graduate college enrollment increase-Talked about graduate college website resources and required RCR training for graduate students in the first semester of enrollment-If supported by a grant or taking thesis or dissertations hours, this must be completed in 2 months-E-mail will be sent to students, graduate coordinators, dept. heads, etc. to inform of new policy-This is in addition to IRB training-Online modules per department are listed on the graduate college website-Failure to comply with this mandatory training will have an enrollment hold on their account, which will not be relieved until a copy of the completion report is in their department file-Can be completed with others (doesn’t have to be individual)-Talked about the change in incomplete grades (i.e. one-year limit to change the grade or accept the I-grade assigned instead of permanent I)-Plan to complete POS automated online-Did a demonstration of the RCR training-talked about issue of travel awards as awards for financial aid that count against financial aid package (Dr. Emslie will look into a solution for this)
3. Officers and advisors introduction: Aravind asked for active participation and feedback to improve GPSGA; all representatives introduced; announced Dr. Smolen as advisor and Dr. Payton as co-advisor; introduced website and reps’ office hours
4. New Business
A. Representative orientation-Nicki discussed membership requirements and benefits in addition to record-keeping; Erinn discussed the bill process, the constitution and bylaws committee, and parliamentary procedure. She also discussed Robert’s rules of order and noted that we would be voting on this later in the meeting; Divya discussed her role as treasurer and office hours-she also talked about travel grant guidelines and reimbursement procedure and mentioned the finance committee-Dr. Emslie discussed the differential reimbursement for foreign and domestic students related to travel grants (i.e., checks versus Bursar, respectively)-Aravind explained the procedure in greater detail-Dr. Emslie discussed amending the travel reimbursement procedure-Divya elaborated upon co-sponsorship and group funds; Lisa discussed the communications committee and her role-she discussed the listserv, newsletter, flyer postings, facebook group; Aravind announced meeting durations of approximately one hour in the future
B. Order of the general assembly-motion to pass Robert’s rules of order for meetings from Aaron Franzen (Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering), second from Josh Haar (History); Vote resulted in 1 abstention, (majority in favor, some opposed); Robert’s rules of order will be practiced during the GPSGA general assembly meetings
C. GPSGA budget 2009 – 2010-Divya discussed the annual budget and noted the posting of the budget on the GPSGA website; motion to approve budget by Sheyenne Krysher (Agricultural Education, Communications and Leadership); second from Joseph Simpson (Sociology) voted to pass = 53, voted against = 0, abstained = 0; 2009-2010 GPSGA budget was passed
D. Bill to recognize Black Graduate Student Association; Andrea Moore represented the organization and stated their purpose; This bill will be posted on the GPSGA website and the general assembly will vote on it next week
E. GPSGA Committee formation-Stephanie discussed the Phoenix Award Committee and Policy and Procedures Committee; Erinn discussed the Constitution and Bylaws Committee; Divya discussed the Finance Committee; Lisa discussed the Communications Committee; Nicki discussed the Membership Committee; Muthanna discussed the Intergovernmental Liaison Committee; Aravind noted that sign-up sheets for the committees will be present in the next meeting; Sheyenne Krysher spoke about the OSU Research Symposium Committee; Aravind and Nicki elaborated upon this event and committee
5. Officers report and announcements: Divya announced the next deadline, for travel grants (9/1/09)
6. Open discussion: None.
7. Adjournment: Motion by Robert Schukei (Computer Sciences), second by Joseph Simpson (Sociology), overwhelming approval to adjourn meeting.
Next Meeting: September 3, 2009 in LSW 103 at 5:00 PM
General Assembly Meeting Agenda
Thursday September 03, 2009 5:00 PM
Location: Life Science West 103
1. Call to order: Aravind Seshadri (5:02pm)
2. Guest Speaker Monty Stallings (OSU Career Services): Talked about services offered (resume development/training courses, salary negotiations, networking); gave out cards and e-mail, talked about the possibility of workshops and working individually with students; talked about free and discounted merchandise in office (resume paper free 10 sheets/day, free thank you cards, 250 business cards for $5); clarified that appointments are better than walk-ins for career planning for graduate students; takes approximately 7-10 days to make business cards; OSU-Tulsa also has a Career Services Center (Patty); Aravind announces workshop in November about searching and navigating a job in academia with online registration
3. Approval of meeting minutes – August 27, 2009: Motion by Joseph Simpson (Sociology), Second by Sheyenne Krysher (Agricultural Education, Communications and Leadership), all approved, no opposed, no abstentions, Meeting minutes approved
4. Old Business:
a. Bill to recognize Black Graduate Student Association: Motion by Joseph Simpson (Sociology); Second by Jeff Whisenhunt (Agricultural Education, Communications and Leadership); Andrea Garmyn (Animal Science) raised concern about dual representation of black graduate students and individual departments; Casey McMurphy (Animal Science) clarified multiple group representation; Joseph Simpson (Sociology) noted that funds are split among all groups; Aaron Franzen (Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering) talked about the practical aspects of having many groups in GPSGA; Joseph Simpson (Sociology) talked about the value of particular groups; Justin Yancey (MBA) asked for a clarification of African descent; Joseph Simpson (Sociology) noted Discrimination laws related to group membership; Vote for approval of bill resulted in 46 approved, 8 opposed, and 0 abstained; Bill passed
b. GPSGA committee formation: Stephanie talked about policies and procedure committee; Divya discussed finance committee (next meeting from 3-5pm in 264 SU); Erinn Tucker talked about constitution and bylaws committee (meeting Tuesday 9/8 at 11am in 264 SU); Mekall Costner (MS Accounting) asked a question to clarify the role of the finance committee; Lisa Overall talked about the communications committee; Muthanna talked about the Committee of Intergovernmental Liaison; Nicki talked about the Communications Committee; Stephanie discussed the Phoenix Award Committee; Sheyenne Krysher discussed the Research Symposium Committee (GPSGA, Grad. College, and VP of Research sponsor the event); Aravind wrote down names of individual members interested; He also discussed university-wide committees and took names for those interested (grade appeals board, library advisory committee); Joseph Simpson (Sociology) asked about journal decisions on the latter committee; Aravind and Victor Baeza clarified the role of this committee.
5. New Business
a. Resolution to appropriate more AFAP money to GPSGA: Aravind discussed the resolution and showed where it was located on the GPSGA website; If passed, it will be sent to Dr. Lee Bird and Kent Sampson to decide how to appropriate these funds; Representative (Counseling) asked about process of allocating funds and how this decision was made in previous years; Aravind discussed how this 5% is fixed, that benefits such as health insurance and gap fee waivers are not related to student fee fund allocation, and clarified the steps in requesting these increased funds; Aravind clarified that SGA decides on the budget and that there are currently no graduate student SGA members, although this position is available; He also noted that GPSGA must write a bill to include graduate students in SGA; A motion to table the bill until the next meeting was placed by Aaron Franzen (Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering), Second by Justin Prince (History), Vote on a motion to table bill with 36 approved, 4 opposed, and 3 abstained; Aravind asked for those interested in reviewing/revising this bill to send him an e-mail with recommendation
b. GPSGA fund raising campaign: Camron Shekarforoosh (HDFS) discussed his previous fundraising efforts and how that may apply to new fundraising efforts for GPSGA, which can be allocated by its representatives; Aravind solicited e-mails to help with this effort, Joseph Simpson (Sociology) asked about funds available for fundraising; there was a motion to make fundraising an ad hoc committee by Victor Shaw (Nutritional Sciences) and this was seconded by Joseph Simpson (Sociology), Vote resulted in unanimous approval with no opposition or abstention, Passed new fundraising committee
c. GPSGA educational campaign about graduate students: Aravind talked about our collaboration with OU and our agenda for hosting legislators to improve graduate funding; He discussed our efforts in educating the legislators and asked for ideas about statistics to include in the document; He solicited e-mails to Stephanie for this
d. Graduate students research showcase: Last year there were 5 graduate students were featured in the O'Colley to showcase their research; He noted that we were accepting nominations from different colleges and that these nominations must include what the graduate students do and why it is important; There will be a link on the webpage after next week to complete a nomination form; The deadline will be in October; The showcase will be sponsored by VP for the Office for Research and Technology
e. Discussion on scheduling general assembly meetings: Aravind addressed issues of attendance for graduate students and asked for feedback for a discussion; A representative (History) asked to move the meetings back to Wednesdays, Joseph Simpson (Sociology) addressed issues relevant to his department; A representative (History) talked about how this is difficult for ALL departments, Joseph Simpson (Sociology) discussed representation and how attendance impacts funding; Joseph (Accounting) suggested that GPSGA could perhaps create an exemption for students that have classes at scheduled meeting times and organize with the Bursar and then they can participate via e-mail; Nikkie Dunnigan (Master’s Counseling) discussed issues about scheduling related to mandatory internships in her department, Reps (Sociology and History) also expressed that they believe representatives should not be punished for non-attendance because they help fund the organization
6. Officer’s report and announcements: No Officer Reports.
a. Professional development seminar series: Aravind discussed certificate for completion of 4 of the 6 seminars in a semester form Dr. Emslie; First one from Jeffrey Anderson about teaching, October 7, 8:30-10:30 in 413 SU is workshop for grant-writing; November workshop from Monty Stalling; limited registration for events
b. Writing workshops: Victor Baeza from Library and Student Services discussed EndNote, Talked about Library Webpage and collaboration with Writing Center to do Writing Workshop in Library, which is a lunchtime workshop in library computer lab over 4 weeks on Tuesday during October; An e-mail will be sent to all reps and only approximately 18 people will be allowed to enroll, 9/9/ 5-6:30pm for EndNote workshop; the library is willing to host personalized trainings for departments (at least 3 people)
c. Workshops on NSF graduate fellowship and other fellowships: Aravind mentioned to look on website for specific dates, times, and locations of these events
d. Other graduate college workshops: These are related to matriculation and graduation and are listed on the GPSGA website
7. Open discussion: Justin Prince (History)-Asked about the progress of changing travel award reimbursement so as to not impact financial aid and Aravind noted that the progress on the issue will be provided in the next general assembly meeting; Lisa announced to see her prior to leaving the meeting to get the representative card stamped.
8. Adjournment: Sheyenne Krysher motioned and Robert Schukei seconded; All in favor to adjourn. Meeting adjourned.
Next Meeting: September 17, 2009 in LSW 103 at 5:00 PM
General Assembly Meeting
Thursday October 01, 2009 5:00 PM
Location: Life Science West 103
1. Call to order: Aravind Seshadri at 5:00pm
2. Guest Speaker Nathan Bates (Mayor, City of Stillwater) and City manager (Dan Galloway):
a) Mr. Galloway discussed graduate students as part of the community and how graduate students have been involved in recommendations for traffic issues, etc. in the past. He also noted University Ave. construction took longer than planned because of difficulties with planning, coordinating with university events, and because of political issues. He announced that stress construction will be done before homecoming, as planned. He also noted that the city will continue to work with the university on projects (new business district in downtown Stillwater to bring in new businesses has financial incentives; water projects to ensure a back-up for the city and university; want to redevelop area between downtown and university). He also noted that financially, Stillwater has done better than other places in economic decline. He also encouraged collaboration between the city and graduate students (work study and internships in a range of areas) and noted that students can call him directly in city hall to organize these collaborations.
b) Several questions were asked of Mr. Galloway including whether there were plans for a dog park in Stillwater. He noted that there has been talk about it, but no action. He suggested that a good approach to secure a dog park would be to get pro-canine organizations together to lobby for it. Another question included whether Stillwater would be smoke free. He stated that this was not likely due to privacy laws, but that current restaurants have designated smoking and non-smoking areas with separate ventilation systems. When asked about an ice skating rink, he noted that no permanent rink was underway. However, a temporary ice skating rink will be constructed downtown at 7th and main from Thanksgiving to New Year’s and will be open in the evenings.
c) The mayor discussed his primary role as mayor for Stillwater and how he primarily helps to dictate policy for the city. He also stated that the division between campus and city needs to be addressed. He announced several events/efforts that may help bridge this gap, including: Stillwater Oktoberfest on October 24th on Hwy 51 (He welcomed students to help plan the event). He also encouraged student involvement for a project with the Stillwater Humane Society, where students washed cages, walked dogs, etc. This month St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital will collaborate with Stillwater Medical Center for the Up til Dawn Project (groups of 5-write sponsorship letters on behalf of the hospital). He also mentioned Count Stillwater, which is an initiative to get everyone to register for the Census (foreign students welcome to participate) to get new business and growth in Stillwater. He further commented on developing downtown and how he is open to accept new and innovative ideas for this development from students.
d) Several questions were asked of the mayor including whether the Children’s Museum will be open. He noted that the museum is now called The Wonder Nation Museum and is located by community center and library (Duncan and Duck). Another representative asked whether the census will be in campus mailboxes or sent to permanent resident addresses? He noted that a form will be sent to the university to be completed for all residents and family housing on campus will get separate forms to fill out per household. Other mentions included the potential of obtaining a Target in Stillwater (committed to country club and 6th unless several other stores won’t move in). Best Buy backed out of a contract for Stillwater due to economic problems and Olive Garden has never planned on coming to Stillwater. When asked about manufacturing jobs, the response was that they weren’t sure, but that maybe a pharmaceutical company could come to Stillwater to enhance training for Chemistry students. Although, Mercruiser and Mercury Marine left, the industrial technology park by Meridian has received funding to build technical businesses and research institutions.
3. Approval of meeting minutes – September 17, 2009: Joseph Simpson (Sociology) motioned and Josh Haar (History) seconded; All approved with no abstentions or oppositions.
4. New Business:
a) Co-Sponsorship bill for Diwali Night; Representative talked about it as a spiritual festival of lights with Indian food and multicultural guest performances (African and Nepali performances). He also noted that the celebration would entail traditional and modern aspects of India. The event will take place on Friday, October 23 from 6:45-8:30pm. Burns Hargis will attend. We will vote on co-sponsorship of $500 next week. The representative also presented the budget and after queried, noted that ticket sales provide the organization with approximately $6000. Tickets will cost $8 for members and $13 for non-members. When asked why the price for tickets was increased, he noted that the organization was hoping to adequately cover costs and trying to improve performances this year. This event has been supported by GPSGA in the past.
b) A bill to grant recognized status to the Graduate Professionals in Student Affairs: Erinn will address this at the next meeting. Aravind discussed differences between recognized and registered student organizations and suggested that if an organization is not recognized, they may want to do so. Only recognized organizations will get AFAP money. This takes about 16 weeks to complete bylaws, etc. and then campus life will vote on the organization and GPSGA or SGA will present a bill to vote on including the organization.
5. Fund raising committee: Cameron volunteered to be the head of the committee to write more grants to be more independent from student activity fees. This way, we can vote to allocate funds in certain ways. Others interested in this committee volunteered and their names were recorded by Aravind.
6. Officers and committee reports:
a) Erinn discussed constitution and bylaws committee meeting on 9/22 from 11am-12:10pm on 264 SU with 9 members. She discussed how part of their job was to define the duties of officers? A first draft of changes to bylaws included nomenclature changes from departments to academic units and students groups to affiliate organizations. The next committee meeting will be 10/6/09. When asked how departments’ representatives were selected, Erinn noted that this depends on the department.
b) Lisa talked about the communications committee meeting and newsletter. She mentioned the link posted on the website for departments or student groups to submit information that may be published in the newsletter (events, awards, etc.). The deadline for these submissions is 10/16/09 and the newsletter is projected to be done 10/30/09. There will be fall and spring newsletters. Lisa also announced that she wants to make sure and include all graduate students on the GPSGA listserv and that departments can help can by sending Lisa their departmental listserv.
c) Aravind talked about United Way fundraising and boxes that go out to departments. He also mentioned that there would be a surprise gift for the student organization that raises the most money. The next general assembly meeting will include a speech by President Hargus. Aravind also requested that the research symposium committee members stay after the meeting. Aravind covered updates from Divya, which included an announcement that travel reimbursements have been submitted and most people should have received their checks by now. The next deadline for travel grant applications is November 1, 2009.
7. Graduate student health insurance-feedback forms and short discussion (approximately 5 minutes): Concerns provided by representatives included the costly coverage of dependents ($3700/year/person) and the need to add dental and vision insurance coverage. Aravind stated that the latter presents unique difficulties and will increase the price for all people. Although a representative suggested the termination of copays, this is not possible. Another recommendation included the care credit program for students, a health savings account, the option of a self-funded health plan where OSU administers claims, etc., and state employee benefits. The self-funded health plan is currently not being supported by OSU administration and the state does not consider students state employees. Mental health resources on campus were also provided including a $50 cash back program form the Counseling Center and inexpensive assessment and treatment from the Psychological Services Center.
8. Adjournment: A motion was provided by Joseph Simpson (Sociology) and was seconded by Josh Haar (History). All were in favor with no abstentions or oppositions.
Next Meeting: October 15, 2009 in LSW 103 at 5:00 PM
General Assembly Meeting Agenda
Thursday October 15, 2009 5:00 PM
Location: Life Science West 103
Before beginning the meeting, Aravind briefly reminded the representatives about the importance of filling out the online proxy form if a representative will be absent.
Joseph Simpson (Sociology) motioned and Josh Haar (History) seconded; All approved with no abstentions or oppositions.
Natural Resource and Ecology representative discussed their request to bring in a nationally known guest speaker. The group requested $400 dollars to cover some of the costs needed to bring the speaker to OSU. Aravind addressed the representatives stating that GPSGA had agreed to provide the organization with money last year, but was only able to contribute a minimal amount due to the request coming at the end of the semester when most of the funds had already been appropriated. The speaker would be coming in the spring semester. The bill to grant funds will be voted on at the next meeting.
Scott Singleton was the representative who addressed GPSGA. The organization requesting $350 from GPSGA to cover the funds needed to bring the guest speaker to OSU. The colloquium would be open to the public and approximately 70 people would be able to attend. The bill to grant funds will be voted on at the next meeting.
Chris Sheehan was the representative who addressed GPSGA regarding the Microbiology and Molecular Genetics GSA request for funds. The organization would like to bring in a speaker on November 16th. This colloquium would be open to the public. The organization is requesting $900 from GPSGA to help bring the speaker to OSU. Approximately 70 to 80 people would be able to attend, but depending on the response regarding attendance, the colloquium could be moved to a larger room to accommodate more people.
Latin Dancing and Cultural Club is proposing their 10th annual Salsa Ball. They usually entertain between 500 and 600 people with live music, dancing, and dance lessons. The organization is requesting $1000 from GPSGA. There will be tickets sold for the event, but the organization does not attempt to profit from ticket sales. Tickets will be $8 for members and $10 for non members. There was a request to view the budget for the event. There was a discussion over the organization’s budget. There were a few advertising suggestions made by representatives to the organization.
Committee had its third meeting on Tuesday, October 6th. There were six members in attendance, discussed the Duties of Officers section of the constitution and officer positions will be further reviewed. Suggestions proposed by the Membership subcommittee were reviewed. An outline of priority areas that should be focused on was made and grammatical areas that should be condensed were addressed. It was suggested that the Election Procedures become an Article section of its own. The entire constitution was suggested to be rewritten, so the members were asked to bring a copy of other GPSGA or governing bodies constitutions for review.
Joseph Simpson (Sociology) motioned and Josh Haar (History) seconded; All approved with no abstentions or oppositions. The meeting was adjourned at 6:17pm.
General Assembly Meeting Agenda
Thursday October 29, 2009 5:00 PM
Location: Life Science West 103
1. Call to order: Aravind Seshadri at 5:00pm
2. Approval of meeting minutes: October 15, 2009: Motion to approve by Joseph Simpson (Sociology), second by Josh Haar (History); All in favor, no oppositions or abstention.
3. Old Business
a. Co-Sponsorship bill for NREM GSO invited speaker: INS moved their request to first meeting of spring since their event is not until then. Motion to approve by Anissa Delecki (NREM), second Joseph Simpson (Sociology); All in favor, no oppositions or abstention. Co-sponsorship will be postponed until Spring 2010.
-Divya gave an update of funds available for co-sponsorship and opened up a discussion of funds about co-sponsorship. Several suggestions were made by the general assembly included the following: more money to the salsa ball because the event targets a broader crowd, lesser money to the salsa ball because they sell tickets for money, salsa ball representative noted that ticket sales do not cover event and some expenses must be paid a priori which necessitates funds needed from GPSGA, the Latin Dancing and Cultural Club may try to get graduate students tickets free or discounted tickets but representatives did not feel it would not be ethical to make these concessions contingent upon co-sponsorship, representatives acknowledged the importance of leisure activities in addition to departmental events, and the salsa ball may provide entertainment to support student body at large.
b. Co-Sponsorship bill for School Psychology invited speaker: (asked for $350 and Divya recommended $300; representatives also suggested $300) A friendly amendment to change co-sponsorship to $300 from $350 was motioned by Jeff Whisenhunt (Agricultural Education) and seconded by Josh Haar (History). The vote to include the amendment was 50 in favors, 1 opposed and 2 abstained. Josh Haar (History) motioned to vote on the new co-sponsorship bill and Joseph Simpson (Sociology) seconded. After a vote, 54 were in favor, 0 opposed, and 0 abstained. The School Psychology Department will receive $300 in co-sponsorship from GPSGA.
c. Co-Sponsorship bill for Microbiology and Molecular Genetics GSA: A friendly amendment to change co-sponsorship to $300 from $900 was motioned by Joseph Simpson(Sociology) and seconded by Saugata Mahapatra (Microbiology and Molecular Genetics). The vote to include the amendment was 50 in favor, 0 opposed, and 2 abstained. Jeff Whisenhunt (Agricultural Education) motioned to vote on the new co-sponsorship bill and Joseph Simpson (Sociology) seconded. After a vote, 54 were in favor, 0 opposed, and 0 abstained. The Microbiology and Molecular Genetics Department will receive $300 in co-sponsorship from GPSGA.
d. Co-Sponsorship bill for Salsa Ball: A friendly amendment to change co-sponsorship to $350 from $1000 was motioned by Joseph Simpson (Sociology) and seconded by Cherie (Microbiology and Molecular Genetics). The vote to include the amendment was 51 in favor, 0 opposed, and 0 abstained. Cherie (Microbiology and Molecular Genetics) motioned to vote on the new co-sponsorship bill and Jeff Whisenhunt (Agricultural Education) seconded. After a vote, 49 were in favor, 1 opposed, and 1 abstained. The Latin Dancing and Cultural Club will receive $350 in co-sponsorship from GPSGA. The organization may consider discounting graduate student tickets and have already advertised GPSGA as a sponsor for the event.
4. New Business
a. United Way raffle: GPSGA will have a raffle for two tickets for the Texas Tech game with tickets $5 each. The raffle drawing will take place Nov. 11 and the game is Nov. 15. Funds raised will go toward the fundraising competition that will result in recognition at a reception with Dr. Lee Bird.
b. Co-Sponsorship procedure: The GPSGA executive committee put together a draft of standard procedures and dispersed it to the general assembly to get feedback that will be a bill next semester. Several comments made by representatives included: #4 wording changed from “voted on” and “presented” rather than “passed;” if there are two deadlines per semester, GPSGA would need to split funds between them evenly; there may be an a priori percentage cap of the total amount requested by the institutions; different types of events may need to be allotted different maximums; maybe GPSGA could ask for a discount on tickets rather than free tickets; it seems unethical to require concessions from organizations seeking co-sponsorship. The executive committee and general assembly need to decide whether these procedures will be part of the bylaws and get voted on annually or just a bill that can be amended, as needed.
c. Announcement:Only recognized organizations can get money, not registered organizations. Aravind proposed that organizations should change this as necessary via campus life and then GPSGA.
5. Report from Dean Emslie about RCR and graduate assistantship: Dr. Emslie noted that RCR training must be completed within two semesters and departments must ensure compliance (including supplemental material approved by college dean and RCR online modules). Non-completion of RCR training will not result in enrollment holds, but the POS will include a checkbox for RCR and if you are funded by a grant or working on your thesis or dissertation, training must be completed by 11/1. Consequences of non-compliance may include a termination of your assistantship by the department. Dr. Emslie also brought forth a proposal by the graduate faculty council to limit graduate assistantships to 0.50 FTE in Fall and Spring and 0.75 FTE in Summer. There are no restrictions on money per hour, but on hours per semester-total from all university sources. There may be exceptions to this, but they will be rare. Several concerns about the implications of this new policy were discussed. We may discuss graduate student support of this policy in the next meeting.
6. Officers and committee reports:
a. Divya stated that the deadline for travel grant is 11/1 for those travelling between July and October 15 2009.
b. A summary was provided by the constitution and bylaws representative, Krystin Steelman. She noted that the use of the term “academic unit” in the constitution was proposed. A rough draft of changes to the bylaws related to the composition of GPSGA (e.g. position requirements) was also discussed.
c. The research symposium committee met last week. The research symposium will be next semester in February. The committee needs graduate student volunteers to be moderators/judges volunteers.
d. Lisa noted that the newsletter is complete and will be reviewed. Dec. 20 is the deadline for abstracts for the research symposium.
e. Stephanie gave a summary of the executive committee meeting with Senator Halligan and representatives and discussed their recommendation for GPSGA to change their strategy and target the board of regents.
7. Open discussions
Meeting schedule for Spring 2010- 5 minute discussion of availability; this will be decided by the next meeting.
8. Adjournment: Motion by Andrea Moore (Black GSA) and second by Jeff (HDFS). All in favor, no oppositions or abstentions. Meeting ended at 6:15pm.
Next Meeting: November 12, 2009 in LSW 103 at 5:00 PM
General Assembly Meeting Agenda
Thursday November 12, 2009 5:00 PM
Location: Life Science West 103
1. Call to order: President Aravind Seshadri called the meeting t order at 4:59pm. He discussed turning in yellow attendance cards and the necessity of changing or updating registration for spring 2010. The due date for this is due by 1/15/2010.
2. Approval of meeting minutes: October 29, 2009; Minute approval motioned by Josh Haar (History) and seconded by Robert Schukei (Computer Science). The majority were in favor, so the minutes were approved.
3. Guest Speaker: Dr. Houston Davis (Vice-Chancellor for Academic
Affairs, Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education); Dr. Davis discussed his educational background, the structure of the state regents, and the importance of graduate education within the state in particular. A root goal of the state regents is to examine how well they are moving students through the educational pipeline in order to maximize their opportunities and get higher education (fiscal incentives, support networks in place, student development, and core learning environment). They want to find a way to get Oklahomans to stay here and get advanced degrees and want to make sure that our industry and opportunities are aligned with that training. Available state resources have decreased since the economic recession, which hit Oklahoma late. This negatively affects educational funding, but a large part of stimulus plan (stabilization grant-70%) was donated for education (salaries and tuition) to help combat these deficits over the next few years. The state regents are very invested in minimizing tuition increases and appropriately allocating these funds. Preserving educational quality over time and sustaining educational opportunities is a very important issue now. The state regents indirectly assigns the fee waivers for graduate students by assigning a cap on this (3.5% of institution’s total budget), but this is also influenced by the university and department.
4. Old Business:
United Way: Departments/organization representatives need to take whatever funds were collected for United Way to Kathy Shelton in Dr. Lee Byrd’s office for the competition and the winner will be announced in January. The campaign ends Thanksgiving, so funds need to be submitted before then.
5. Officers and committee reports:
A. Stephanie announced a Phoenix Award committee meeting on 11/13/09 at 3pm in SU 250.
B. Lisa announced that the newsletter was completed. She also asked all representatives to submit departmental e-mail lists of graduate students, so that we can send them information pertinent to all graduate students.
C. Nicki made an announcement about scheduling the membership committee meeting for next week.
D. Stephanie announced that the policies and procedures committee met with Steve Rogers (Director of Student Health Center) and spoke about health insurance (maybe self-funded option; will not be in place for 2-3 years if at all; maybe pay more money to get better benefits than the current plan). She discussed a matching plan, in which the graduate college would match an amount that graduate students added for better healthcare coverage (e.g., $10 per month). This would only apply to graduate students on the OSU insurance policy. More benefits might include raising prescription benefits and increasing maximum hospital stay coverage. GPSGA is going to collect basic facts for needs related to health insurance and send out a survey about priorities of students before deciding what the best option might be. The $10 may be deducted from your paycheck or Bursar. Part of orientation is a discussion of health plans, so students can learn more about the plans by attending these seminars or calling their insurance providers. The vast majority of students approved of obtaining more information about these plans and out options prior to proceeding with any recommendations.
E. Aravind announced that five officers are going to Lincoln, NE to the NAGPS conference. NAGPS is the national governing body for graduate student organizations and these officers will be back Wednesday afternoon with information.
6. Open discussion:
7. Adjournment: Motion by Josh Haar (History), second by Nickie Dunnigan (Master’s Counseling Society), and unanimous approval. Meeting adjourned at approximately 6:30pm.
Next Meeting: January 20, 2010 at 5:00 PM (Location TBD)