The Executive Board
Paul A. Danczyk, President
Christy Stuber, Vice President for Committees
Nicole King, Vice President for Communications
Lindsay Howard, Vice President for Finance
On: April 1, 2004
To the: The Assembly Board
Richard Altman, School of Medicine
Esteban Anzoise, School of Education
Amanda Bochre, Biomedical Graduate Student Association (Alternate)
Jason Brezovic, School of Dental Medicine (Alternate)
Marcus Catsam, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs
Marci Chew, School of Pharmacy (Alternate)
Sharika Crawford, Pan African GPSA
Ketki Desai, Indian Graduate Students’ Association (ANKUR)
Robert Fagley, School of Arts and Sciences
Amy Giamalva, School of Social Work
Justin Hsieh, School of Arts and Sciences
Ali Ibrahim, School of Education
Timothy James, Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business
Brian Jones, Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business
Deb Lefing, School of Law (Alternate)
Ying Liu, Chinese Student and Scholars Association
Paul Love, School of Information Sciences
Wei Luo, Chinese Student and Scholars Association (Alternate)
Jason Morris, School of Arts and Sciences
Meghan Navish, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (Alternate)
Ali Ozuer, Turkish-American Student Association
Orlando Pacheco, School of Education
Sharon Parker, School of Social Work (Alternate)
Ami Patel, Graduate School of Public Health (Alternate)
Rose Ramos, Graduate School of Public Health
Jennifer Rodabaugh, School of Law
Erin Scully, School of Dental Medicine
Charlotte Smith, Biomedical Graduate Student Association
Erin Suchoza, School of Nursing
Elizabeth Trexler, School of Social Work (Alternate)
Sabri Uner, Turkish-American Student Association (Alternate)
Lin Wang, School of Engineering
Tywanna Whorley, Pan African GPSA (Alternate)
Jeanne Zanca, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Jenny Zhang, School of Pharmacy
628 Wm. Pitt Union; 3959 Fifth Avenue; Pittsburgh, PA 15260
412-648-7844 (Office) 412-648-9529 (Fax)
gpsa2@pitt.edu www.pittgpsa.org
Dr. Terry Milani, Advisor, Director of Student Activities
April 1, 2004
Dear Friend:
After an exciting academic year, I am happy to submit our annual report for the Graduate and Professional Student Association. Created in 1983 GPSA continuously strives to promote graduate and professional students’ interests on campus, among the Pittsburgh community, and nationally. This year was no different.
Beyond being active members on thirty-five different University councils, committees and boards, we actively participated in the National Association of Graduate and Professional Students. On campus, we brought to the University administration’s attention many graduate student concerns including social security numbers accessibility, library hours of operation and health facilities on lower campus. In addition to GPSA’s programs, each of the fourteen graduate and professional student governments provided active programming throughout the year, and their efforts should be commended.
To assist graduate students in their professional development, we provided over $23,000 in travel grants to regional, national or international conferences, and we provided a number of cultural and social activities including a symphony ticket giveaway, sport ticket giveaways, and our annual fall social. Each activity was available to the entire graduate and professional student body and was highly supported through their participation.
As we move into next year, we are anticipating greater services to the graduate student body. Through a proposed increase to the student activity fee, we are planning greater access and availability of travel grants; the creation of research grants; increased academic, educational, cultural and social programming; and increased participation in our national organization. This is done in an effort to strengthen the graduate student experience at the University.
I would like to personally thank Chancellor Nordenberg, Provost Maher, Vice Provost Baranger, Vice Provost Daniel, the deans, Dr. Terry Milani, Ms. Carrie Sparks, and Mr. Jeff Donovan who continually supported us and our endeavors. We would not be successful without them. Additionally, through the active support of the Assembly Board members and my fellow officers, we were able to have a very productive year. I deeply appreciate your involvement and commitment to the graduate student body.
In this report, you will find our accomplishments and programs over the last year, our financial status, a reflection on our committee representation, graduate student government highlights, and general recommendations for next year’s GPSA administration.
Sincerely,
Paul A. Danczyk
President
Index
About GPSA 4
Accomplishments 4
Student activity fee increase recommendation 4
Financial survey report 4
Concerns 5
Exposure to University offices and community programs 5
National Association of Graduate and Professional Students participation
5
Administrative Assistant 6
Programs 7
Finance 7
2003-2004 GPSA Budget 7
Travel grants 7
Supplemental funds 8
2004-2005 GPSA Budget 8
Committees 9
Graduate Student Government Highlights 10
Graduate School of Public and International Affairs 10
Graduate School of Public Health 10
Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business 10
School of Arts and Sciences 10
School of Dental Medicine 11
School of Education 11
School of Engineering 11
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences 11
School of Information Sciences 11
School of Law 12
School of Medicine 12
School of Nursing 13
School of Pharmacy 13
School of Social Work 13
Assembly Group Highlights 13
Biomedical Graduate Student Association 13
Chinese Student and Scholars Association 13
Eastern European Interest Group 13
Indian Graduate Students’ Association 14
Pan African GPSA 14
Turkish-American Student Association 14
Elections 14
President-elect 14
Vice President for Committees-elect 14
Vice President for Communications-elect 15
Vice President for Finance-elect 15
General Recommendations for Next Year 15
The mission of GPSA is to:
The GPSA Assembly, or Assembly Board (AB), is the governing body
of the organization. It is comprised of at least one representative
from each graduate and professional school. The Executive Board executes
the resolutions of the AB, and through the guidance of the AB, sets the
vision and agenda of the organization.
Accomplishments
Student activity fee increase recommendation
In March, we made a recommendation to the Board of Trustees via Dr.
Jack Daniel, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies and Dean of Students,
to increase the graduate student activity fee to $20.00 per semester for
full-time students and $10.00 per semester for part time students.
This recommendation was based on increased requests for supplemental funds
from GSGs and GSOs and the ever-constant requests for travel grants.
This additional funding will be used to strengthen GSG and GSO programming
and increase travel grant amounts and availability from GPSA. Additionally,
research grants will be created to assist those students working on theses,
dissertations, or other specialized research projects who are not able
to receive assistance from alternative sources of funding.
Financial survey report
From February to May 2003, the former GPSA Langton Administration surveyed
the graduate and professional student body to gain a better understanding
of the costs that a typical graduate student incurs throughout the year.
Compiling and analyzing the data, we published and distributed the 2003
Financial Survey Results in January 2004. The survey assessed a number
of areas including demographics, tuition, school or professionally-related
costs, family life, housing, transportation and insurance. The number
of responses to the survey was remarkable with over eight hundred graduate
students participating.
In interpreting the results, most of the numbers were not surprising, but there are a few statistics that we found interesting, including:
• 54% of graduate students pay more than $100 in monthly utilities (approximately
30% pay more than $150 per month),
• 43% of graduate students pay more than $600 in rent each month, and
• 13% of graduate students spend over $1000 annually to go “home.”
What was more shocking, however, was the reliance on outside debt beyond school-related financial aid and federal loans. Only eighteen percent (18%) reported that they could live solely on the amount of loans that they receive. The remaining eighty-two percent (82%) rely on outside income from credit card debt, alternative employment, families and/or external grants. This is disturbing as it either reflects that the students are living outside of their means, or perhaps more realistically, that graduate and professional students do not have adequate access to financial aid or loans that will cover their higher education and living costs.
The questions and response breakdowns can be found on our website— <
www.pittgpsa.org> under “general info,” “officers & reports” or by
requesting a copy through our office.
Concerns
Over the course of the year, we raised a number of concerns to the
administration. Some of those included:
i) Health facility recommendation—to speed-up the renovation for Bellefield
Fitness Center so that graduate students on lower campus will have a work-out
facility that is both modern and close to their respective schools
ii) Privacy issues—to further protect student social security numbers
by modifying billing return envelopes so that the SSNs are not visible
and drawing the administration’s attention to improper use of SSNs in posting
exam results
iii) Library hours of operation—to increase/adjust the hours of operation
for graduate student use during university holidays
In most cases, immediate action was taken to ensure that our concerns
were effectively addressed.
Additionally, we were kept abreast or participated in a number of issues
including the:
i) Accessibility of on-line health insurance application
ii) Changes to health insurance plans
iii) Increase of the Graduate Student Assistants/Teaching Assistants/Teaching
Fellows stipend
iv) Availability of student bus passes
v) Introduction and changes in federal or state legislation
vi) Implementation of the Electronic Thesis and Dissertation
Exposure to University offices and community programs
In an attempt to introduce the Assembly Board to the varied resources
at the University and within the Pittsburgh community, a number of individuals
participated in our monthly AB meetings. Some of the presenters included:
i) Dr. Lee Patouillet, Alumni Association
ii) Paul Morgan and Eileen Morris, Kuntu Repertory Theatre
iii) Jackie Braslawsce, Jewish Student Life
iv) Carrie Sparks, Office of the Provost
v) Mike English, Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project (P.U.M.P.)
We are very grateful to each of these individuals who shared an evening
with us. Their insights into networking and resource availability
were very helpful.
National Association of Graduate and Professional Students participation
For over ten years, we have been a member of the National Association
of Graduate and Professional Students (NAGPS). This organization
comprises of other graduate and professional student associations across
the United States and promotes our collective interests on a national level.
Each year, NAGPS sponsors a national conference which is hosted by a member
university or college. This past fall, the conference was in Washington
D.C., hosted by Howard University.
Part of the conference was a lobbying day where we met with Congressman
Mike Doyle, and staff members from the offices of Senator Santorum, Senator
Specter, Congresswoman Hart, Congressman Holden, Congressman Hoeffel, and
Congressman Platts. We discussed the H.R. 3412 Higher Education Affordability
and Equity Act which NAGPS drafted. According to its bill summary,
H.R. 3412
[a]mends the Internal Revenue Code and the Higher Education Act of
1965 to expand education incentives, including: (1) the deduction for interest
on education loans; (2) making the deduction for qualified tuition and
related expenses permanent; (3) increasing allowable contributions to Coverdell
education savings accounts; (3) allowing qualified higher education expenses
(books, supplies, room, board, and special needs services) to be excluded
from gross income in the case of scholarship programs for higher education;
and (4) repealing the sunset provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax
Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 applicable to title IV (Affordable Education
Provisions) of such Act.
(<http://thomas.loc.gov/cgibin/bdquery/D?d108:1:./temp/~bd99fp:@@@D&summ2=m&|/bss/d108query.html|>)
H.R. 3412 is sponsored by U.S. Representative Phil English (PA-3) and co-sponsored by seventeen other representatives. It is currently referred to the Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness.
This November, we are honored to have the conference in Pittsburgh. We were specifically invited to host this conference by the NAGPS member schools through the current NAGPS president, Benita Barnes. This conference will strengthen our membership to the organization as part of our commitment to increase the national visibility of our University.
Accepting this invitation is consistent with our continued commitment
to NAGPS. In 2001, we hosted the Northeast Regional Conference through
the leadership of former GPSA president Stephanie Hoogendorn. We
are grateful for the University administration’s support in this endeavor
and hope that November’s conference will continue the success in highlighting
our University’s master and doctoral programs, students, and administration.
Administrative Assistant
On June 26, 2003, Tara Stricko-Neubauer submitted her resignation from
the GPSA Administrative Assistant (AA) position to take effect no later
than August 7, 2003. Tara was with us for over a year and was an
important member of GPSA. The former Langton Administration gave
her an excellent evaluation, and she played a critical role during our
administration’s transition.
In late June, we advertised the open position through our usual mass e-mail distribution list. By the close of the application deadline on July 11, we received forty applications. We were happy with both the number and quality of responses. After narrowing the field to the five strongest candidates, the Executive Board conducted interviews. On July 23, we made a recommendation to the Office of the Provost for their approval. They jointly fund the AA position and are therefore involved with the hiring process. On August 18, 2003, the Office of the Provost and GPSA made a formal offer to Jill Swavey to become the new administrative assistant, and she accepted.
We are happy to report that Jill has done an outstanding job in fulfilling
the requirements of the administrative assistant. Some of her responsibilities
include providing assistance and information to the graduate and professional
students who contact GPSA; maintaining current and historical files on
GPSA activities, budgets, correspondences, and responsibilities; assisting
and supporting the Executive Board officers; maintaining the GPSA website;
disseminating information to AB representatives and the graduate student
body; and chairing the Election Committee. She executed her duties
with integrity and professionalism.
Programs
Beyond one-time accomplishments, one of our goals was to expose the
graduate student body to Pittsburgh’s rich cultural resources. To
realize this objective, we were happy to host a number of ticket giveaways.
These included:
i. A Pittsburgh Symphony concert—100 tickets
ii. A Pittsburgh Pirates game—120 tickets
iii. A Pittsburgh Penguins game—100 tickets
iv. The Kofi Annan lecture—40 tickets, with special thanks to the Office
of the Provost for making them available to graduate students
We participated in graduate student orientations and sponsored a fall social. A winter reception and inauguration luncheon were also hosted to recognize the outstanding commitment of GPSA officers, Assembly Board representatives, GSG presidents and the administration for their continued commitment to graduate student issues.
In addition to graduate-focused programming, we were happy to be active
participants in the Golden Key International Honour Society’s Graduate
School Forum. This was an opportunity for current graduate students
to share their insight with undergraduate students who are interested in
pursuing a higher education degree. Approximately seventeen graduate
students participated in the panels with thirty-five undergraduate students
attending.
Finance
2003-2004 GPSA Budget
Operating off of the University’s fiscal year, July 1 to June 30, our
2003-2004 budget was divided into two areas: GPSA operating budget and
the GSGs’ operating budgets; both divisions received approximately $84,000.
We exerted direct control over the GPSA budget and provided oversight on
the GSG budgets.
The GPSA operating budget was distributed in the following way:
Programming: $ 54,650
Assembly Groups: $ 10,000
Office Expenses: $ 2,450
Payroll: $ 16,600
Professional Membership Participation: $
300
TOTAL: $ 84,000
Two of our largest programming expenditures were on travel grants and
supplemental funds.
Travel grants
This year we allocated $23,000 in travel grants to over 160 graduate
or professional students. The amount of the awards ranged from $50
to $200 depending on conference location and degree of student participation.
We made a fundamental shift in how travel grants are awarded. Instead of an across the board first-come/first-serve allocation, we earmarked a percentage of travel grant funding for each school based on population. The problem that we previously experienced was that some schools had their conferences at the beginning of the semester while others were later in the semester. Because of the limited funding and the high request rate, the students who requested funding at the beginning of the semester were almost guaranteed funding, while the students who requested funding towards the end of the semester were often denied. The new policy was implemented in January and seems to be addressing the problem in a fair manner. The approximate distribution by school is demonstrated on the next page.
Supplemental funds
For the 2003-2004 academic year, ten organizations were granted $12,700
in supplemental funds out of $16,000 budgeted (supplemental fund requests
for this fiscal year will be accepted until the June AB meeting).
Before requesting funding from the Assembly Board, the requesting student
group along with representatives from their respective GSGs met with the
Executive Board to discuss the request and to provide guidance in alternative
sources of funding. This meeting was also an opportunity to discuss
the request process and to answer any questions that the GSO or GSG might
have.
Although any GSG or GSO could apply for the funding, the intent for
next year’s budget is to return to the original design of the supplemental
funds to only assist those organizations that have membership in more than
one school.
2004-2005 GPSA Budget
Assuming successful passage of the student activity fee increase request,
next year’s GPSA program budget will be as follows:
Programming: $114,650
Assembly Groups: $ 20,000
Office Expenses: $ 6,250
Payroll: $ 23,100
Professional Membership Participation: $ 4,000
TOTAL (estimated): $168,000
Programming costs include educational, cultural and social activities as well as travel grants, supplemental funds, and a new expenditure, research grants. While the policy for the research grants is not finalized, it is intended to be a one-time allocation of five hundred dollars ($500) to a limited number of graduate students. This grant is to be used on research related expenses towards theses, dissertations, or special research projects where outside funding may not be available. One of the clearest examples would be a PhD candidate who successfully passed their comprehensive exams and is writing a proposal for their dissertation. Before applying for outside funding, the student must undertake preliminary research to demonstrate a need for his or her topic. This funding will help the student on his or her proposal by providing some of the funding necessary to conduct preliminary interviews, research related travel expenses, telephone calls, and printing costs.
In addition to the GPSA operating budget, the graduate student governments
will receive $168,000 collectively, which is to be used for their programming
as well as to financially support their graduate student organizations.
All of this money is collected through the graduate student activity fee.
Committees
We appreciate the administration’s invitation for us to sit on thirty-five
different committees and boards. Below is a list of those committees
with our representative. We anticipate that many of these positions
will become available towards the end of this semester as some of the representatives
will complete their master or doctoral programs, or relocate from the Pittsburgh
area.
Provost’s Advisory Committees
Entrepreneurial Oversight Jason Morris
Information and Technology Steering Jose Ernesto Mieres
Peterson Events Center Nicole King
Planning and Budget Lindsay Howard
Women’s Concerns Stephanie Hoogendoorn
University Council on Graduate Studies Paul Danczyk
Stephanie Hoogendoorn
Cynthia Persinger
Brian Yoder
University Senate Council Paul Danczyk
Elizabeth Holmes
Jerry McCausland
Nicholas Soulakis
Walter Trynock
University Senate Standing Committees
Admissions and Student Aid < currently unfilled>
Anti-discriminatory Policies Will Bridewell
Athletics Steve Byrne
Benefit and Welfare Priya Vader
Budget and Policies Sara Pagliari
Bylaws and Procedures < currently unfilled>
Commonwealth Relations Alik Widge
Community Relations Gina Jones
Computer Usage Justin Hsieh
Educational Policies John White
Library Fevzi Bilgin
Plant Utilization and Planning < currently unfilled>
Student Affairs Shabnaum Amjad
Tenure and Academic Freedom Fabrisia Ambrosio
University Press Nicole Scott
Board of Trustees Committees
Academic Affairs/Libraries Lila Ma
Affirmative Action Tara Stricko-Neubauer
Audit Gabriela Silvestre
Budget Anitra Manning
Health Sciences Gregory Bender
Institutional Advancement Stephanie Hoogendoorn
Investment Michael Walsh
Student Affairs Paul Danczyk
Career Service s Student Advisory Board Stephanie Hoogendoorn
Student health Advisory Board Courtney Graham
Parking and Transportation Committee Christy Stuber
Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award Selection Committee Lindsay Howard
University Review Board Hirdesh Uppal
David Verner
Aklile Berhanu
Prajakta Sonalker
Graduate Student Government Highlights
Below is a list of each school’s graduate student government, their
president’s name, three “greatest” accomplishments in the 2003-2004 academic
year, and their respective GSOs. Each GSG was very active this year,
and the three listed events are only a glimpse into a larger program.
Graduate School of Public and International Affairs
Student Cabinet
Fati Mango, President
Highlights:
1. Spring Gala, spring formal dance and alumni reception
2. Four different community service projects
3. Speaker series
Graduate Student Organization:
Agora
Graduate School of Public Health
Student Government Association
Devona Delach and Kris Cechetti, Co-presidents
Highlights:
1. Career/Internship Fair
2. End of semester social
3. International Dinner
Graduate Student Organizations:
GSPH Doctoral Student Organization
GSPH Minority Student Organization
GSPH American Congress of Healthcare Executives
GSPH Association of Women in Public Health
Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business
Evening Student Executive Board
Timothy James, President
Highlights:
1. Semi-formal
2. Pittsburgh Pirate Game and Tailgate
3. Formation of Toastmaster’s Club
Graduate Student Organization:
Global Business and Cultural Alliance
School of Arts and Sciences
FAS-GSO
Gerald McCausland, President
Highlights:
1. Grad Expo 2004, a full day of posters and judged paper presentations
featuring a full range of art and science disciplines
2. Grad-Guide 2004, a publication designed to ease the transition
into the life of a graduate student
3. Fall party
Graduate Student Organizations:
Architecture Club
Economics GSO
Math GSO
Phi Lambda Upsilon
Society for Human Resource Management
Sociology Graduate Student Organization
School of Dental Medicine
American Student Dental Association
Beth Troy, President
Highlights:
1. ASDA Day at the Three Rivers Dental Conference
2. ASDA National Lobby Day in Washington, DC
3. ADA’s Give Kids a Smile Day participant
Graduate Student Organizations:
Alpha Omega
American Dental Education Association
America Society of Dentistry for Children
Delta Sigma Delta
Hispanic Dental Association
Student Research Group
School of Education
Council of Graduate Students in Education
Esteban Anzoise, President
Highlights:
1. The Third Annual Multicultural Festival
2. Annual Student Research Conference
3. Brown bag educational sessions
School of Engineering
Engineering Graduate Student Organization
Zhouyan Wang, President
Highlights:
1. Fall welcome barbeque
2. Cultural events
3. Outings, to Kennywood and a white water rafting trip
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Student Advisory Board
Jeanne Zanca, President
Highlights:
1. SHRS Safari fall welcome event at the Pittsburgh Zoo
and Aquarium
2. Free-Our-People March and Rally in Washington, DC
3. SHRS Student Forums
Graduate Student Organizations:
National Association of Future Doctors of Audiology
University of Pittsburgh Student Occupational Therapy
School of Information Sciences
Graduate Student Government
Paul Love, President
Highlights:
1. Active members of the Pittsburgh Technology Council’s
.Net users group
2. Fall party
3. Staffed the CIO IT Summit in Cranberry
Graduate Student Organization:
Minority Concerns Council
School of Law
Student Bar Association
John Marciano, President
Highlights:
1. Barrister Ball, annual formal dance
2. PLISF Auction, which raises money for students who wish to
work in the public interest field of law
3. Gavel Games, competition between Duquense and Pitt law
students
Graduate Student Organizations:
ACLU Club
Amnesty International Student Affiliates
Asian Law Student Association
Black Law Students Association
Business Law Society
Criminal Law Society
Delta Theta Phi Law Fraternity, International
Environmental Law Council
Family Law Society
Federalist Society
Feminist Law Forum
Health Law Society
Intellectual Property and Technology Law Society
International Law Society
Jewish Legal Society
Journal of Law and Commerce
Phi Alpha Delta
Pitt Law Women’s Association
Pitt Legal Income Sharing Foundation
Pittsburgh Journal of Technology Law and Policy
Pittsburgh Tax Review
Sports and Entertainment Law Society
Tax Law Society
School of Medicine
Student Executive Council
Neil Bhayani, President
Highlights:
1. Community service, including blood drive, clothing drive,
international medical supply donation, assistance at men’s shelter, and
health education outreach to prisoners
2. Multicultural events, including Unity Week, Lunar New
Year, Black History Month
3. Black Bag Ball, annual formal reception
Graduate Student Organizations:
Abdominal and Cardiothoracic Transplant Surgery Interest Group
American Medical Association
American Medical Students Association
Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association
Association for Medical Students Interested in Psych
Do No Harm
Emergency Medicine Student Association
Geriatric Experiences for Medical Students
Global Health Interest Group
HOEP Coordinators
Literature in Medicine Group
Maimonides Society
MD-PhD Program
OB/GYN Interest Group
OPALs
Operation Safety Net
Orthopedic Surgery Interest Group
Pal-PITTations
PALS
Pediatric and Adolescent Interest Group
Phi Deltal Epsilon
Rural Medicine Interest Group
Student National Medical Association
Student Physicians for Social Responsibility
Students and Latinos United against Disparities
Surgery Interest Group
Unite for Sight
Women in Medicine
School of Nursing
GNSO
Eric Wrenn, President
Highlights:
1. Spring Orientation
2. Tutoring program
3. Fall Happy Hour
Graduate Student Organization:
Nurse Anesthesis Group
School of Pharmacy
Graduate Student Organization
Jelena Janjic, President
Highlights:
1. Summer student research program
2. Graduate student orientation
3. 125th birthday party for the School of Pharmacy and
alumni day
Graduate Student Organizations:
Academy of Students of Pharmacy
Kappa Psi Pharmaceutical Fraternity
Lambda Kappa Sigma
Phi Delta Chi
Phi Lambda Sigma Pharmacy Leadership
RX Prep
School of Social Work
Student Executive Council
Elizabeth Trexler, President
Highlights:
1. Social work mixer
2. Recognition reception
Assembly Group Highlights
In addition to the graduate student governments, GPSA recognizes six
assembly groups. Those are the:
Biomedical Graduate Student Association
Robb Tomko, President
Highlights:
1. The Annual Dai Nakada Lecture and Student Symposium
2. The Annual Seven Springs Ski Trip
3. Pre-Screening Night at the Movies
Chinese Student and Scholars Association
Qi Mi, President
Highlights:
1. Spring Festival Celebration
2. Mid-Autumn Festival Celebration
3. Chinese Culture Coffee House
Eastern European Interest Group
(Temporary status)
Jason Koepke and Simona Popa, Co-presidents
Highlight:
1. First Annual Russian and East European Studies Graduate
Student Conference
Indian Graduate Students’ Association
Ketki Desai, President
Highlights:
1. Diwali celebration
2. Indian Republic Day celebration
3. Holi celebration
Pan African GPSA
Tywanna Whorly, President
Highlights:
1. 2004 Back-to-School Cookout
2. Black History Month lecture and reception
3. Annual graduation ceremony
Turkish-American Student Association
Ali Ozuer, President
Highlights:
1. Turkish Welcoming Picnic
2. Celebration of the Turkish Independence Day
3. Latif Bolat Concert, one of the most distinguished Turkish
musicians outside of Turkey
Elections
In part through the generosity of the Office of the Provost, this year’s
election was conducted on-line through the < my.pitt.edu> portal.
Seventeen (17) candidates ran for four positions: president, vice president
for committees, vice president for communications, and vice president for
finance. Elections were held from March 22 to 26 and a meet-the-candidates
session was on March 23rd. The election was advertised through two
advertisements in the Pitt News, one on March 22 and the second on March
23; printed fliers that were posted throughout campus; and a mass e-mail
announcement distributed through the AB representatives. Jill Swavey
chaired the Election Committee.
Approximately three hundred-twenty graduate or professional students
voted. Below are the election results.
President-elect
President-elect: Timothy James, Katz Graduate
School of Business
Other candidates: Nicole King, School of Law
Stephanie Jones, School of Education
Linda Hoffman, School of Law
Jeremiah Webb, School of Law
Vice President for Committees-elect
Vice President for Committees-elect: Justin Hsieh, FAS/Mathematics
Other candidates: Rose Ramos, Graduate School
of Public Health
Stephanie Jones, School of Education
Ann Ten Eyck, School of Law
Hong Yu, FAS/Mathematics
Linda Hoffman, School of Law
Jeremiah Webb, School of Law
Vice President for Communications-elect
Vice President for Communications-elect: Meghan Hogue, School of Law
Other candidates: JaCina Stanton, School of
Law
Joe Corrado, Katz Graduate School of Business
Linda Hoffman, School of Law
Stephanie Jones, School of Education
Diana Leech, School of Law
Sonali Shenoy, School of Health and
Rehabilitation Sciences
Jeremiah Webb, School of Law
Hung Yu, FAS/Mathematics
Vice President for Finance-elect
Vice President for Finance-elect: Prajakta Sonalker, School of
Medicine
Other candidates: Neeraj Sarda, Katz Graduate
School of Business
Gaurav Maheshwari, Katz Graduate School
of Business
Linda Hoffman, School of Education
Jeremiah Webb, School of Law
We wish all of the new officers a successful next year.
General Recommendations for Next Year
As we leave office, we would like to make a few final suggestions for
next year.
First, our participation in the NAGPS conference can be as little or extensive as we choose to make it. Our recommendation is to become highly involved with the entire conference, including room and speaker selections, socials and Pittsburgh tours. We are fortunate to have it in our area and should extend a true Pittsburgh welcome.
Second, officers, committee representatives and assembly representatives should be held accountable for their duties as outlined in the GPSA Bylaws. It is important to document our activities, no matter how trivial it may seem. We did a fairly good job doing that this year, as reflected in this report. One way to increase the accountability among the Executive Board members is to require that an annual report is presented and disseminated at the April AB meeting. The Bylaws could be amended to make this one of the president’s responsibilities. Additionally, AB and committee representatives should be held to stricter standards to document their GSGs or committee actions. This information proves to be vitally important when advocating on the graduate student body’s behalf.
Third, there has been a long standing tradition for the former administration to propose the next year’s operating budget. This is not done to hamper the incoming administration’s vision but to have a budget passed before the conclusion of the spring semester. According to our Bylaws, Section 7.2.B, the budget is to be proposed at the April AB meeting and voted on at the May AB meeting. Our recommendation is to move this deadline ahead by two months; propose at the February AB meeting and vote at the March AB. This leaves a one-month period for further discussion in case the proposal does not pass in March. To take effect permanently, the Bylaws should be amended.
Fourth, if the student activity fee is increased, the travel grant amounts should be increased. We recommend an increase across the board by at least 50% for each type of participation. Additionally, the research grants should be created as previously identified in the 2004-2005 GPSA Budget section.
Our final recommendation is to have fun. We really enjoyed being
able to serve the graduate student body this past year and hope that the
new administration will build on the foundations which we have built.