MINUTES
Graduate and Professional Student Assembly
October 21, 2013
5:30pm - 7:00pm
Bache Auditorium, Malott Hall

I. Welcome and Introductions

M. Dumas called the meeting to order at 5:42 pm.

Voting members present: M. Chen, G. Danies Turano, J. De Castro, M. Dumas, E. Murnane, E. Newbury, A. Powell, T. Sorg, Asmaa M’nebhi, C Yao

Voting members absent:D Bunck, C. Morris, A. Moore, M. Carignano, D.Westgren, Ann Bybee-Finley, S. Hsieh, M. Zhou

II. Approval of the Minutes

1. October 7, 2013, 1 min.

There was a motion to correct the spelling of Gannett in the minutes. The last paragraph was corrected to say karaoke event. The word varsity was corrected to diversity in the second to last paragraph.

The minutes were approved as corrected.

III. Reports of Officers and Committee Updates, 10 min.

1. Executive Committee (M. Dumas)

M. Dumas shared information about two new programs- Transitions and Perspectives- introduced by the Office of Graduate Students. Transitions has a workshop called ‘Show Me the Money’ which revolves around learning how to develop a successful budget. Another one of their workshops being offered is titled ‘Managing Personal Relationships via Communication.’ Perspectives has a workshop called Perfections- Friend of Foe.

She also informed the GPSA that the Institutional Research and Planning Office did a campus climate study on diversity and the data has been shared on the graduate student page.

C. Yao shared information about the committees that still need to be staffed. She said Communications could use more people and some external committees still have positions available. Anyone interested can email C. Yao. The new committees- Charter Day Steering Committee, Curatorial Committee, Financial Literary Steering Committee- also need to be staffed.

Information was shared about a Special TGIF with the Board of Trustees. It is an excellent opportunity to talk to the individuals who run the university and share information about the graduate/professional student life.

2. Appropriations (W. Kreuser)

W. Kreuser shared that the appropriations committee is finishing up the byline funding cycle and it is on pace. The committee will have recommendations ready by the end of the week.

3. Communications (D. Westgren)

Since D. Westgren was absent, E. Newbury shared that The Buzz will be coming up soon. She also asked everyone to like the Facebook page for the committee since information is shared through that page.

4. Finance Commission (P. Mahanti & D. Kuhlmann)

D. Kuhlmann shared that the Finance Commission has not met since the last GPSA meeting thus, there are no updates. He informed the GPSA that budget proposals and special project requests for the next cycle are due on November 1st.

5. Graduate & Professional Student Programming Board (K. Bybee Finley)

K. Bybee-Finely was absent but G. Danies Turano shared information about the Zombie Lurch which will take place on the Thursday before Halloween. She also shared that the Board will be showcasing the movie ‘Girl Rising’ on October 29th at the Cornell Cinema.

6. Student Advocacy (F. Doerflinger)

The student advocacy committee is looking for interesting topics to discuss at the meetings. If anyone has any ideas, he/she can email F. Doerflinger.

7. Faculty Awards (A. Powell)

No updates.

8. Diversity & International Students (C. Carter)

The Committee talked about the disparity in the faculty make-up compared to student diversity. Due to the small amount of faculty members from minority groups, the pressure on these faculty for mentor ship from the minority group students is staggering. He shared that the committee has started research on who to contact to address this problem.

The committee also wants to host a series of Let’s Talk events with different topics.

C. Carter highlighted two events- ‘Meet with Trustees’ on October 24th and the 3rd Annual Latino Renaissance Ball that will be Great Gatsby themed this year

IV. New Business

1. Anne Poduska, Graduate and International Student Career Advisor, 20 min.

Ann Poduska informed everyone that the Advising Office is located in Cornell Career Services (Barnes Hall). The Advising Resources for graduate and professional students is divided into 3 departments- faculty positions, postdoctoral positions, and non-academic positions. To aid students in finding possible careers, the Office follows a 3-step career development model. The 3 steps are to understand yourself which will lay the groundwork, explore possible options, and then take an action. One of the other resources available is the Resources and Career Exploration Research Project that is modeled after a research process.

She went on to share Career Service Statistics and graduate student specific programs. She talked about the other resources available to graduate and professional students such as Optimal Resume.

She shared the frequent challenges faced by Career Services, some of which are communicating events and resources, balancing discipline-specific needs with more general programs, and attendance for programs that require RSVP’s.

Lastly, she informed the students that they may speak with a career adviser at any point in their job search and about any aspect. Students can look for upcoming events on CCNet and in the graduate newsletter. She also recommended that students update their CCNet profile.

2. Jan E. Allen, Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, 20 min.

Jan E. Allen shared information about resources about graduate school writing support such as consultant service, proposal, thesis, and dissertation writing boot camps, Academic English courses for international students, product writing listserv, write-in, and fellowship resources.

She also informed the students that the Graduate School calendar is a great resource to keep updated on upcoming events.

3. R.3 — Need for Systematic, In-Depth, and Longitudinal Data about Mental Health, 15 min.

M. Dumas proposed that the resolution be tabled till the next meeting in interest of time.

4. Xine Yao, Vice President of Operations, Discussion of Absentia Policies, 10 min.

Resolution 17:A Resolution Regarding Graduate Funding and Tuition advocated that Cornell lower tuition so graduate students can pay out of their pocket when their funding ends.

The options available to students who run out of funding are either a leave of absence or a leave of abstentia. A leave of absence is like a medical absence which stops funding as well as access to Cornell resources. A leave of absentia requires that the student is 100 miles or more away from the Cornell campus and costs the students $200 a month.

V. Open Forum, 5 min.

F. Doerflinger shared that the Association for Graduate and Professional Women is having a book club meeting soon and the book chosen is Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg.

The Association for Asian Students is having a mixer on Thursday at 5:30pm in the basement of Stella’s. The mixer is cosponsored with 4 other graduate organizations.

Jeffrey Bergfalk provided an update on the resolution concerning Divestment. He hopes to take up the resolution in November/December.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:11 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Aastha Wadhwa