Minutes
Graduate & Professional Student Assembly
Discussion Meeting of the GPSA Advisory Body
Monday, August 30, 2010
Memorial Room, Willard Straight Hall
5:30–7:00 P.M.

I. Welcome and Introductions

The meeting was called to order at 5:35.

1. GPSA Introductions: 2010–11 Leadership, Committee Chairs

The executive board and committee chairs of the GPSA went around and introduced themselves.

2. Introductions of GPSA Affiliates

a. Dean of Students: Dean Kent Hubbell

Dean Hubbell introduced himself and said that he is the administrative liaison for the GPSA. He is here to act as an advocate and to articulate differing points of view.

b. Office of the Assemblies: Amy O’Donnell, Ari Epstein, Brittany Rosen

Members of the office of the assemblies introduced themselves.

c. Graduate School: Dean Barbara Knuth, Brenda Wickes

d. Trustees and Liaisons

Nighthawk Evensen, the graduate student elected trustee introduced himself.

II. Executive Updates & Announcements

1. President: Cresten Mansfeldt

Cresten Mansfeldt welcomed everyone to the first meeting. He did not have many executive updates, but due to the recent accidental tragedy in the undergraduate population, he called for a minute of silence. He explained the purpose of discussion meetings and encouraged people to attend both these and business meetings. He then went over the agenda and what is to going to happen this meeting.

2. Executive Vice President: Jennifer Swartz

As EVP, she chairs the Communications Committee. They will have presentations on initiatives and what exactly the responsibilities of field representatives entail and how to make changes to the assembly to involve non-voting members.

a. New Communications Initiatives-Ben Heavner

B. Heavner gave a presentation on the new GPSA website. The primary goal was to make the website a useful tool. If there are any things to make the website more useful, let him know so they can implement it. The website is found at Cornellgpsa.com. The discussion forum allows for more meaningful input. In order to participate you have to register. Send him a note at bbh32@cornell.edu and he will let you be able to see the GPSA related forums. Email him with questions. Anyone is welcome to participate.

b. Field Representative Responsibilities-Chris Clarke

They have been discussing ways to maximize time and effort of field members. One of the biggest responsibilities is attending these meetings, as well as sending out appeals to departments, email, and flyers. Other responsibilities of field representatives are still being discussed and debated. He invited anyone here interested to attend the working group to discuss this issue. They meet several times a month. The first meeting is tomorrow in the Big Red Barn from 2–3pm. His email is cdc54 if there are any questions.

3. Vice President of Operations: Thomas Balcerski

a. Committees & New Staffing Process

T. Balcerski showed the calendar of meetings for the year. He then went on to discuss the committee application process. GPSA interfaces with the Cornell community. They ask to turn in the sheet which went around if anyone wants to serve on a committee. He explained how to go through the committee application process. Committees are the heart of student governance.

4. Representative to the UA: Evan Cortens

a. UA Charter review process

E. Cortens introduced himself and explained what the University Assembly does. He also explained the charter review process and some of the changes put into the review. If you have questions, he is more than happy to answer them.

Roneal Desai, Liaison to the SA and Ari Epstein of the Office of the Assemblies introduced themselves.

5. Break-out Sessions

They broke into groups by field and discussed issues affecting their communities. C. Mansfeldt explained the field structure

III. Election of 3 Assembly Seats

1. Two Masters degree seats and One At-Large Seat

T. Balcerski explained how elections would work. They first opened up elections for the Masters of Engineering seat. No one present was a Masters of Engineering student, so the seat remained vacant. Next, they opened up the seat for Masters program. Garonce nominated Nantogma Yakubu. He accepted the nomination. No one else came forth to nominate. T. Balcerski closed the floor for nominations. Nantogma Yakubu won the seat. Next, the At-Large seat was up. B. Heavner nominated Asia Sikora. A. Sikora accepted. E. Cortens nominated Jolyon Bloomfield. J. Bloomfield accepted. No further nominations were on the floor. Each nominee gave a short speech explaining why they were fit for the position. After a ballot vote, A. Sikora won the seat.

IV. Old Business

1. Vote on Mental Health and Sustainability ad-hoc committees

Two ad-hoc committees need to be re-organized for this year. They explained why sustainability needs to be looked at again, due to issues regarding voting irregularities. Brian Forster explained the mental health committee and what it does. C. Mansfeldt asked for a motion to allow these to stay for one year. It was moved by Nicole Baran and seconded by E. Cortens. They moved into general discussion. Chris Clarke asked if they should we respect the overwhelming decision to make it a full committee. T. Balcerski said that they need to reconsider everything again this year, especially given that it’s a charter review year. He feels very comfortable given that there’s an active charter review and making every effort from a budgeting standpoint, they think the committee can operate as it wants to, as an ad-hoc this year without hiccups. The difference is a technical one. He is comfortable supporting the motion because it will continue to do good work as an ad-hoc and during the charter review will get support. Billie Gould, the chair of sustainability committee seconded the sentiment that T. Balcerski expressed because as much as she would’ve liked not to have the technical issues, this is the next best thing moving forward. They’ve already had pre-planning meetings and can successfully continue as an ad-hoc committee. They will bring this issue up again toward the end of the year. E. Cortens seconded what Billie said and hopes to continue the sustainability committee as an ad-hoc. He wanted to ask what the level of interest is in the mental health committee. B. Forster said they’ve not met this year yet, but at least 6–7 grad students have expressed interest as well as Brenda Wickes, Gannett, and Susan Murphy. C. Mansfeldt said as a point of clarification, the mental health will be an ad-hoc of operations and staffing, while the sustainability would be an ad-hoc of the executive committee. Chris Heckman moved to close debate and move to vote. E. Cortens seconded. By a vote of 14–0−1, the motion passes and two ad-hoc committees are now in place.

V. Q&A

C. Mansfeldt announced that there will be a vigil at 10 pm on Ho Plaza for the student who died. T. Balcerski asked for every voting member to make sure all of their information was up to date and for new members to come up after the meeting to provide the information. B. Heavner encouraged people to sign up for the forum on the website. C. Mansfeldt said to please do so, as the graduate school really wants to see this happen. He introduced Brenda Wickes. Brenda Wickes said that she is the Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Life. That entails advocating for, representing, networking, committee meetings, ideas, and providing direction to graduate groups. Her position is in the grad school but works closely with professional schools with administrators and students. She acts as an informal advisor to the GPSA. Her position was created as a result of the GCI. She is living proof that the graduate voice matters to the Cornell administration. She’s looking forward to meeting new people.

VI. Motion to Adjourn.

E. Cortens motioned to adjourn. C. Clarke seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 6:59 pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Brittany Rosen