Graduate Community Initiative Working Group

Graduate Community Initiative Working Group Meeting Minutes October 30, 2007

Attendees: Joe Burke, Kris Corda, Edna Dugan, Caren Heller (by phone), Michelle Leinfelder, Susan Murphy, Brendan O’Brien, Sunny Power, Cecelia Sanders, Brenda Wickes, Ira Wasserman, Donna Wilczynski, and Yu Yu (by phone)

The minutes from the October 16, 2007 meeting were reviewed. Two follow up notes are: 1) In the continuing quest for space to be used by the GPSA, 341 Caldwell is an option; 2) Amy Richter continues to investigate office space in Olin Library.

Caren Heller, Assistant Dean for Inter-Campus Initiatives at Weill Cornell Medical College, joined the meeting by telephone. David Hajjar, Executive Vice Dean at Cornell Weill Medical College, has appointed Ms. Heller as his designee to the committee. She also noted that Randi Silver was an important link and should remain on the listserv, though David Hajjar will be removed.

Susan Murphy explained that the Working Group would be focusing on establishing interconnections between the Ithaca campus and Weill Cornell. Ms. Heller agreed to participate in meetings when appropriated by the agenda. Ms. Heller did speak to the Cornell University Graduate Linkage (CUGL) Program, which is a program jointly administered by the Weill Medical College and Graduate School of Medical Sciences and the Cornell University Graduate School.

Increasing collaboration between the faculty at Cornell University in Ithaca and at Weill Cornell Medical College and Graduate School of Medical Sciences in NYC has led to a number of graduate students spending significant amounts of time either on the NYC campus or the Ithaca campus as visiting students. The CUGL program, also known as the Linkage program, is designed to facilitate this intercampus experience. Students who apply for housing through the Linkage program are given priority status.

Other areas of connection are career services: how PhD students in NYC can access information available to PhD students in Ithaca. This item already has been identified and Rebecca Sparrow, Director of Career Services, has addressed it. However, the career services subcommittee will be sure to include this item in its work.

Also, the communications subcommittee should be mindful about how to inform students (both in NYC and Ithaca) of events and services, so as graduate students go back and forth, they have information or at least know where and how to find it.

The working group then reviewed the progress of the work of the subcommittees: their charge, membership and other activities.

� Career Services [see Committee Charge attached] Rebecca Sparrow, Director Cornell Career Services, will be invited to future meetings when appropriated by the agenda.

Review of the committee charge prompted the following points/questions: o Look broadly at services that should be available to Graduate students and not be limited to just what is listed in the Graduate Community Initiative; o Reach out to students, as appropriate; Rui Zhang, graduate student, will lead that effort. o Assess how aggressive the timeline is. Shape issues by December 15 but rather in the form of recommendations than in a formal report; o How to gather data from students, a needs assessment, without conducting a full-scale survey of all students?

� Housing [see Committee Charge attached] Review of the committee charge prompted the following points/questions: o Conduct on-going assessments of what is being done currently and how to make the best of those programs; o In terms of expansion of university-owned graduate housing, Maplewood would be torn down and rebuilt with debt financing; o Imbedded in President Skorton’s recently announced $20M investment in the community, is housing for faculty, staff, post-docs and graduate students in the private sector; o Work on how to conceptualize what is mid- and long-term; o The Master Plan, which is considered to be 85–90% complete when discussed by Trustees in January ‘08, followed by formal approval in the April Executive Committee, includes where expansion may be for the graduate community to the East and South of campus; o Brenda Wickes, Susan Riley and Kim Fezza to determine short-, mid- and long—term tasks; o Know the forecast for increased numbers in the Professional Master programs; o Do some analysis on who we have now and how are they reported in current housing and how they will be represented; o Should we gather data from students, (e.g., a needs assessment) without conducting a full-scale survey of all students? o Students and committee members should review the Real Estate Office report.

� Student Life and Programming [see Committee Charge attached] Review of the committee charge prompted the following points/questions: o A Graduate Center is a long-term goal; o Look at groups/events that have been successful in bringing together people from different fields, e.g. Ball Room Dance Program. What can be learned? o How to address the quality of life outside of academics, create social opportunities and build sense of community? o Advisors differ one to another — how to educate faculty about outside opportunities, as Cornell encourages students to be part of community? o What mechanisms are in place for students to share concerns about problems they are having with advisors? o What can be done to make sure existing resources are being used to support students as they build community?

� Communications o Members of the subcommittee met with Duffield Hall facilities staff and reported that the building has many communication mechanisms they are seeking. o The TV in the Big Red Barn is CUTV accessible. Kris Corda will be in contact with CIT.

The working group then discussed the working draft of the document being developed to summarize the work of the GCI [see Draft Document attached] A Status Report Working Draft document was presented to the group as a tool for tracking the work of committees and deadlines. A question surfaced as to why the Graduate Student Center was listed separately and the explanation was that it is a placeholder for discussion, as it is a long-term issue.

Feedback from Trustee/TGIF event Susan Murphy has received positive feedback from those who attended the Trustee/TGIF event. Sunny Power stated that the event was well attended even though it conflicted with another reception. Kris Corda offered that the students were impressed and the Trustees were very engaging.

Minutes submitted by D. Wilczynski