March 12^nd, 2009

6:30 PM – 7:30 PM, Featheringill Hall, Room 134

I. Welcome

II. Approval of March Agenda

III. Approval of Minutes from February Meeting

IV. Officer Reports

A. President-Elect: Jonathan Wellons

a. Meeting with Dean Bandas

1. Dean Bandas will work to increase our budget

- Wants to get us double what we have now to bring our budget in line with undergrad AcFee money

2. Graduate Student Space in Divinity

- Lots of unknowns (rent, would it be used, equipment) but looking into it

3. Spreading awareness of Graduate student opportunities to receive AcFee money

- Problem is that groups must be open to all students

4. More support from the Dean of Students

- Hoping to get a direct contact/someone to help us out

b. LibQUAL+ library survey

- Huge list of prizes for participating as well as a donation to Second Harvest Food Bank for every survey completed

- http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/libqual2009/survey.html

B. Vice President of Academic Affairs: Molly Brown

a. Graduate Student Research Symposium, March 30, 2009 in SLC

- Abstract booklet done, presentations from 9am to 4pm

- Talk by Susan Basalla at 4:10pm, book distributed to first 150 attendees, reception and book signing to follow

- Still need moderators for a few of the panels, see Molly if you’re interested, also need help with running registration table

- Please take a flier or two to post in your department

b. Gender Dynamics/Communication Seminar

1. Monday, April 6th, 4:30-6:00pm, Board of Trust, SLC

2. Refreshments will be served.

3. Informal discussion of gender dynamics, communication and sexual harassment including a Q&A session

4. Open to all graduate students and co-sponsored by The Women’s Center.

C. Vice Presidents of Social Affairs: Megan Johnson

a. Mar 13th – Joint Social (Law, Owen, & Peabody) in addition to GSC at the Blue Bar — join us for drink specials and some fun camaraderie to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day!

b. Mar 18 – Jersey Boys @ TPAC (all tickets already sold)

c. Mar 21, 5PM – GSC Yazoo Brewery Tour (all spots taken)

d. April 16 – Tentative date for Spring Social

e. June 23 – 7:30PM Legally Blonde @ TPAC (Tickets $15/each)

- Megan has the tickets, see her if interested

f. Shade Tree Trot

1. Saturday – April 11th 2009 – 10AM. The first annual 5K run/walk and fundraising event to benefit The Shade Tree Family Clinic, supporting the uninsured and under-served population of East Nashville. Registration is $20

g. Life is Priceless Bone Marrow Drive/Blood Drive

1. April 20, 2009, 10am-6pm North Lobby of Light Hall

D. Vice President of Community Affairs: Kimberly Boelte

- Attempted to get group project for Humane Society but has stalled because they won’t accept groups on the weekends

- Attempting to get with other groups

- Email Kim or Steve Vilt if you have any suggestions

E. Treasurer: Samrat Chatterjee

a. AcFee Application

- Submitted, asked for considerably more money than we got this year but won’t know for a while how much we will actually get

F. Secretary: Laura Williams

- Campus-wide migration of email lists by ITS to a new listserv system

- Both of our lists have apparently been successfully moved, let Laura know if there are any problems

- Can check your subscriptions at list.vanderbilt.edu

G. Honor Council President: Jonathan Wellons

- “Thank your friends for not cheating. Or not getting caught.” – Jim

H. Webmaster: Alli McCoy

a. Website URL now changed

- changed from vanderbilt.edu/gsc to studentorgs.vanderbilt.edu/gsc

V. New Business

- Megan has a handout on Graduate Career Services she put together after talking to BRET office re: proposal to put together to give to the Provost

- Look it over and talk to Megan about your suggestions or comments

- Interested in putting together a committee on how to best meet grad student desires and needs

- Will require some effort to sell the idea to administration due to the money involved

- Committee volunteers: Laura, Nicholas Pate (EE), email Megan if you want to join in the fun

V. Committee reports

- Calendar committee: met recently to decide on calendar for 2011

- Student Health Insurance Advisory committee: met, Jon will have a report next month when all changes have been decided

- Center for Teaching Advisory committee: should have received an email about open grad student positions for next year

Old Business

- Still need one or two VP for Social Affairs – any takers?

- Should have help from the Dean of Students office for next year

- Steven Killingsworth is interested if someone will help him

VI. Call for Initial Concerns and Upcoming Events

- Grant Fellowship Workshop on 3/28 from 1-6pm through Center for Teaching

- Plenary session on how to get started on writing a grant

- Discipline-specific breakout sessions

- Info on specific grant-giving institutions and major grants awarded and multi-disciplinary funding opportunities

- Center for Teaching has an open position for a graduate student for next year of workshop coordinator, half-time job of 20 hours/week (position for advanced grad student past exams)

X. Call for Announcements:

XI. Adjournment

Next Meeting:

April, 9, 2009 @ 6:30 PM

Featheringill Hall 134

Please pass along the above information to other graduate students in your department

GRADUATE STUDENT COUNCIL MINUTES

February 12th, 2009

6:30 PM – 7:30 PM, Featheringill Hall, Room 134

I. Welcome

II. Approval of February Agenda

III. Approval of Minutes from January Meeting

IV. Elections

A. GSC President

- Nominated: Jonathan Wellons (elected)

B. Honor Council President

- Nominated: Jim Segedy (elected)

C. Honor Council VP

- Nominated: Carrie Whiting (elected)

D. Academic Affairs VP

- Nominated: Josh Arnold (elected)

E. 2x Social Affairs VPs

- No nominations, will continue election at next meeting

F. Community Affairs VP

- Nominated: Steve Vilt (elected)

G. Treasurer

- Nominated: Anand Kashyap (elected)

H. Secretary

- Nominated: Satabdi Basu (elected)

I. Webmaster

- No nominations during the meeting

- Omolola Suomonni appointed after the meeting

V. Officer Reports

A. Jon Ahlbin

- Officers met with the Provost last week

- Interest in graduate student concerns being met by Career Services

- Jon will set up a meeting with Cindy Funk of Career Services

- Possibility of a dedicated space for grad students on campus

- Budget – would like our allocation increased to $30,000-40,000

- Athletic events – validation fee is annoying

- Also brought up to Dean Bandas, Athletic Dept.

- Meeting vote: Career Services most important issue

B. Molly Brown

- Deadline for GSRS abstract submission is tomorrow, 2/13

- Received $174 in excess of full budget requirements in donations

C. Kim Boelte

- Thanks to those who helped with the service project yesterday

- 10-12 people came, made 42 goody bags for the Children’s Hospital

- Plans in the works for Tools for Schools, Habitat for Humanity, Humane Association

VI. University Committee Reports

VII. Old Business

A. Sexual Harassment Seminar

VIII. New Business

IX. Call for Initial Concerns and Upcoming Events

A. Vendredi Gras, Div. School Reading Room, Feb. 20 from 7-11 PM

B. Beaker Street Bues Band, Mickey Roos in Franklin, Feb. 13^th @ 8:30 PM

C. Prof 101, Feb. 21^st from 8:30 AM – 5:30 PM

X. Call for Announcements:

XI. Adjournment

Next Meeting:

March, 12, 2009 @ 6:30 PM

Featheringill Hall 134

Please pass along the above information to other graduate students in your department

GRADUATE STUDENT COUNCIL MINUTES

January 8, 2009

6:30 PM – 7:30 PM, Featheringill Hall, Room 134

1. Welcome
2. Approval of January Agenda
3. Approval of Minutes from November Meeting
4. Officer Reports

A. President: Jon Ahlbin

a. Graduate Student Meal Plan

i. Plan implemented starting January 1^st

ii. Buy meals in block of 10 for $69.50+tax

- Has anyone tried this yet?

b. GDN Update

i. GradSTEP, Saturday, January 17^th

ii. Prof. 101 Workshop, Saturday, February 21^st

- Getting tenure, how to get a job

c. Upcoming meeting with the Provost

i. Topics of conversation

- How is/could the current economic situation affect graduate students?

- Jon talked with Dennis Hall about it, current grad students can’t be let go because a department is low on funds

B. Vice President of Academic Affairs: Molly Brown

a. Graduate Student Research Symposium, March 30, 2009 in SLC

i. Abstracts due Feb. 13^th, open now, so start working on abstracts and sending them in

- Interdisciplinary presentations and posters

- Abstract submission available on the website: http://studentorgs.vanderbilt.edu/gsc/researchsymposium/

- Committee has come up with list of interdisciplinary panel titles to join or can create your own, see how it works

- Molly will send out an email with call for abstract flyers, print one or more out and post around your department

b. Susan Basalla talk at GSRS, 4:10pm

- Will be talking about examples of graduate students who have found jobs outside of academia, where to look

- Giving out copies of her book as a raffle and at the talk

c. GradSTEP, Jan 17^th

- Check Center for Teaching website for information on the workshops (titles, what they’re about)

- Happy Hour at the end of the second session

- More information from patrick.j.ahern@vanderbilt.edu

- Some sessions may be showing up as full but still have a good chance of getting into it due to no-shows the day of

C. Vice Presidents of Social Affairs: Megan Johnson

- January Happy Hour at Sam’s had an awesome turnout, so thanks for coming!

a. Upcoming activities

i. Jan 9 – GSC Advisor Steve Smartt & his band (The Exotics) will play at Mercy Lounge in Nashville at 8 PM For directions visit: http://www.mercylounge.com

ii. Jan 13 – Wizard of Oz @ TPAC; tickets are still available for ($12/each) contact Megan for more information at: megan.johnson@vanderbilt.edu

iii. Jan 16 – GSC Advisor Steve Smartt & his band (The Baker Street Blue Band) will play at the Commons at 7 PM

iv. Jan 22 – (tentative date) GSC Bowling Event — more information TBA

v. Jan 26 – Ticket sales from 10-Noon in front of Sarratt 353 for the Feb 5th Predators vs Ducks hockey game ($12/each)

vi. Feb 3 – GSC Happy Hour @ Sam’s in Hillsboro Village — come and enjoy 2 for 1 drafts & GSC will provide appetizers!

vii. Feb 5 – GSC Preds vs Anaheim Ducks (see Jan 26 for ticket sales)

viii. Feb 7 – GSC Roller Derby Extravaganza (more info TBA)

b. Check the website for specific dates: www.vanderbilt.edu/gsc

c. GSC T-shirts available $5 each please contact megan.johnson@vanderbilt.edu

D. Vice President of Community Affairs: Kimberly Boelte

a. Upcoming Events

i. January

1. Nashville Humane Association

- May not happen because Humane Association hasn’t called her back yet

ii. February 11^th

1. Make activity bags for Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital

- Contact Kim if you’re interested, can change the date depending on who is coming

iii. Rest of Semester

1. Tools for Schools

- Probably on a Saturday

2. Serve food at Nashville Rescue Mission

- Will put it together if at least 5 people will commit to helping

- Can pick what meal (breakfast, lunch, or dinner

- Open to suggestions for other events, email Kim if you have an idea

- May do Habitat for Humanity the next time the Vandy chapter does it

E. Treasurer: Samrat Chatterjee

- Budget update – will receive second installment of AcFee money at the end of the month

- Next AcFee application due at end of February/beginning of March

F. Secretary: Laura Williams

G. Honor Council President: Jonathan Wellons

- Thanks to committee who worked on panel in December

- Can get food for the next time the panel has to work late (yay for feeding the workers!)

- Current interest: make Honor Council more diverse in terms of academic representation, racial/ethnic/nationality status makeup

- Email Jonathan if you’re interested in being on the Honor Council for upcoming cases

H. Webmaster: Alli McCoy

- Nice redesign, easy to use

V. University Committee Reports:

A. University Parking Committee: Kimberly Boelte, Molly Brown, Samrat Chatterjee, & Jonathan Wellons

B. Student Recreation Center Committee: Josh Brooks & John Mackert

C. Calendar Committee: Jonathan Wellons & Carrie Whiting

D. Religious Affairs Committee : Jennell Talley, Alli McCoy, Mekeal TeShome, & Elizabeth Weber

E. Student Health Insurance Advisory Committee: Jon Ahlbin & Leslie Dowell

F. Graduate Development Network: Jon Ahlbin, Molly Brown & Steve Smartt

G. University Library Committee: Josh Barnett

H. Center for Teaching Advisory Board: Molly Brown

I. Student IT Leaders Committee: Alli McCoy & Brian Love

VI. Old Business

A. Sexual Harassment Seminar

- Tentatively scheduled for end of March

- Molly is organizing, talk to her if you want to help out

VII. New Business

A. Upcoming GSC Elections

- Description of officer jobs

- Elections will be held next month at February general meeting

VIII. Call for Initial Concerns and Upcoming Events

- Clarification: can only get one travel grant per year

IX. Call for Announcements:

- Formation of Tracie’s book club, this month is “Love is a Mixtape”

- Have a sign-up sheet, Megan will send it out on the events list

X. Adjournment

Next Meeting:

February, 12, 2009 @ 6:30 PM

Featheringill Hall 134

Please pass along the above information to other graduate students in your department

GRADUATE STUDENT COUNCIL AGENDA

November 13, 2008

6:30 PM – 7:30 PM, Featheringill Hall, Room 138

I. Welcome

II. Approval of November Agenda

III. Approval of Minutes from October Meeting

IV. Update from the Graduate School – Assistant Provost Steve Smartt

- Writing workshops held on October 21, 2 sessions (dissertation and proposal writing)

- 50-60 in proposal workshop, 75 in dissertation workshop

- Proposal workshop feedback shows it still needs some work

- Next grant workshop tentatively for Feb 21, this one on competitive grants (rather than fellowships as the last one was)

- Also a version for faculty available

- Prof 101 workshop on Saturday, March 21

V. Officer Reports

a. President: Jon Ahlbin

(a) Task Force on Graduate Education

- Reviews graduate education, what works and what’s needed

- Any comments thereof send on to Jon

1. Humanities, Social Sciences & Education, Biological & Biomedical Sciences, and Eng., Physical Sciences, & Math

(b) Graduate Student Meal Plan

- Ongoing effort to get the same pricing as faculty

- Meeting again in December to come up with actual plan information and possibility of trying it out by January, full launch by next school year

1. Met with Camp Howard

2. Submitted names for focus group

3. Working on a graduated pricing structure for meal plan

(c) Health Insurance Advisory Committee Update

- Possibility of allergy coverage, dental?

- High premium increase, so not likely (unfortunately)

1. Looking to add Wellness Benefit

2. Looking to reduce pre-existing condition wait to 3 months with 3 month look back (currently 6 months for both)

b. Vice President of Academic Affairs: Molly Brown

(a) Graduate Student Research Symposium, March 30, 2009 in SLC

- Can submit posters or presentations

- Advisory panel first meeting on November 17, will present ideas at the next meeting

- Keynote is Susan Basalla, will be giving out copies of her book throughout the year to generate interest

(b) University Parking Update

1. (Up to) 60% discount on Music City Star train tickets

- Also MTA Free Ride program

2. Zipcar program

(c) Center for Teaching Update

- GradSTEP will be January 17, program will be up in the next week

- Reminder that the CfT has a teaching resource library at their new location at 1114 19^th Ave, open during office hours

c. Vice Presidents of Social Affairs: Megan Johnson and Josh Barnett

(a) Upcoming activities

1. Nov. 14th – TPAC Jersey Tickets, contact megan.johnson@vanderbilt.edu

2. Nov. 14th – Beer Festival 6:30 PM at Vandy Law School

3. Nov. 20th – 5 to 8 PM Fall Social in 3rd Floor Student Lounge of Light Hall; Collecting toys and donations for Toys for Tots

4. Nov. 22nd – Vandy vs. UT game tailgate

5. Nov. 24th – Ticket pre-sale for Dec. 4th Predators vs Avalanche; 10 to Noon outside GSC office Sarratt 343 ($10.00/ticket for first 100, $12.50 after that)

6. Dec. 2nd – Monthly Happy Hour 6 PM at Sam’s; Some appetizers provided

7. Dec. 4th – GSC Preds Event (vs. Avalanche)

(b) Check the website for specific dates: www.vanderbilt.edu/gsc

(c) GSC T-shirts available $5 each please contact Josh or Megan

d. Vice President of Community Affairs: Kimberly Boelte

(a) Past Events

1. Safe Haven Drive

- Special thanks to Alliance for Cultural Diversity and Research and Political Science

2. Commodore Trot

- Had enough people participate to get our name on the tshirt (yay us!)

(b) Upcoming Events

1. Dinner at Ronald McDonald House – 1st or 2nd week of December

- Waiting to hear from them re: date

2. Serve food at Nashville Rescue Mission

i. Need 5 people to contact me and commit to participating for event to occur

- Can’t do it otherwise, will work out the date with those who volunteer

e. Treasurer: Samrat Chatterjee

f. Secretary: Laura Williams

g. Honor Council President: Jonathan Wellons

- Still working on the same case, Jonathan will need volunteers to sit on the panel for the trial

- The more students who volunteer the easier it is to make the trial happen

- Other two cases are finished (one student left the program, one case was dropped by faculty)

h. Webmaster: Alli McCoy

- Keep checking the website for the most current info and RSS feed!

VI. University Committee Reports:

a. University Parking Committee: Kimberly Boelte, Molly Brown, Samrat Chatterjee, & Jonathan Wellons

b. Student Recreation Center Committee: Josh Brooks & John Mackert

c. Calendar Committee: Jonathan Wellons & Carrie Whiting

d. Religious Affairs Committee : Jennell Talley, Alli McCoy, Mekeal TeShome, & Elizabeth Weber

e. Student Health Insurance Advisory Committee: Jon Ahlbin & Leslie Dowell

f. Graduate Development Network: Jon Ahlbin, Molly Brown & Steve Smartt

g. University Library Committee: Josh Barnett

h. Center for Teaching Advisory Board: Molly Brown

i. Student IT Leaders Committee: Alli McCoy & Brian Love

VII. Old Business

a. Sexual Harassment Seminar

- Jon has contacted Stacy Nunnaly from Women’s Center to see what happened last time

- Try and get one/a better one to happen

VIII. New Business

- Research hours will now be graded as Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory

- 3 Unsatisfactory marks and you’re out

- Tiered set of remediations for each U grade

IX. Call for Initial Concerns and Upcoming Events

a. Toastmasters Chapter – Saad Hasan

- Club for networking, public speaking, critical listening

- Already a Nashville chapter, getting a campus chapter started – Saad will be in touch re:

- Every person participates in a meeting and gets feedback

- Membership fee is $35/6 months

b. International Education Week Nov. 14 – 21

X. Call for Announcements:

- Don’t forget about travel grants!

XI. Adjournment

Next Event: Fall Social

Thursday, November 20, 2008 @ 5 to 8 PM

3rd Floor Student Lounge in Light Hall

Please pass along the above information to other graduate students in your department

GRADUATE STUDENT COUNCIL NOTES

October 9, 2008

6:30 PM – 7:30 PM, Featheringill Hall, Room 134

I. Welcome

II. Approval of October Agenda

III. Approval of Minutes from September Meeting

IV. Officer Reports

a. President: Jon Ahlbin

(a) Task Force on Graduate Education

1. Humanities, Social Sciences & Education, Biological & Biomedical Sciences, and Eng., Physical Sciences, & Math

- Purpose: review/evaluate initiatives put forth 5 years ago, create new ones

2. One graduate student per committee

i. Email jon.ahlbin@vanderbilt.edu to volunteer

ii. Include # of years in graduate school & dept.

(b) Graduate Student Meal Plan

1. Met with Frank Gladu (Head of Business) & Camp Howard (Director of Dining)

- Receptive to working with us to find something economically feasible

- Already think our offer is good enough at $7.50, already losing money

- Suggested pilot program to start maybe in January

2. Need names for a focus group

- To meet in November

(c) Graduate Development Network Update

- Grant & Fellowship Workshop had ~200 people come (success), handouts are online and at Writing Center (www.vanderbilt.edu/grantworkshop)

- Women in Academia, 10/31, 12:10-1:30pm in Student Life Center

- International LENS Film Series in Sarratt – see website

- International Education Week, Nov 14-21, various events going on campus

- GradSTEP, 1/17, multiple workshops put on by Center for Teaching

- Will be held again in the future

i. Workshops on Writing the Dissertation (8:30 – 12:00) & Writing the Dissertation Proposal (1:00-4:00), Oct. 21, 101 Buttrick Hall

ii. Take Back the Night, Oct. 13th, 7 PM, March from Olin Field to Centennial Park

b. Vice President of Academic Affairs: Molly Brown

(a) Graduate Student Research Symposium, March 30, 2009 in SLC

- Officially changed name from GSRD to reflect more professional atmosphere

- Giving away 2 free copies of Susan Basalla’s book every meeting until GSRS

- Distributing remainder of 200 books prior to talk

- Committee meeting at the end of the month, contact Molly if you want to help out, fairly minimal time committment

(b) Maternity Policy

- Seeking volunteers to draft a university-wide policy, will be working with faculty

(c) University Parking Update

- 60% discount for Music City Star

- Zipcar program up and running, www.zipcar.com/vanderbilt

(d) Center for Teaching Update

- New space at 1114 19^th Ave S at 19^th & Edgehill

- Fall workshops on 10/15, 11/10, details on C of T website

c. Vice Presidents of Social Affairs: Megan Johnson and Josh Barnett

(a) Upcoming activities

1. Oct 18 – Sweeney Todd 7:30 PM @ TPAC- $15 tickets still available, please contact megan.johnson@vanderbilt.edu

2. Oct 24 – Ticket pre-sale for Oct 30 Predators vs Oilers; 10-Noon outside GSC office Sarratt 353 ($12.50/ticket)

3. Oct 23 – Commodore Quake featuring Lil Wayne & Lupe Fiasco Tickets $20 available at Sarratt Student Center Box Office

4. Oct 28 – Avenue Q 7:30 PM @ TPAC – GSC Tickets sold out

5. Oct 30 – Joint Social GSC Preds Event (Owen, OBGAPs etc)

6. Nov 8 – Vandy vs UF game (tentative plans to tailgate with professional schools)

7. Dec 4 – GSC Preds Event (vs Avalanche)

(b) Check the website for specific dates: www.vanderbilt.edu/gsc

- Events are on RSS feed, can subscribe

(c) GSC T-shirts available $5 each please contact joshua.m.barnett@vanderbilt.edu or megan.johnson@vanderbilt.edu

d. Vice President of Community Affairs: Kimberly Boelte

(a) Item drive for Safe Haven Family Shelter, extended to Oct.

- Please please please bring stuff to Jon, Kim, or GSC Office when buying tickets

- List of items at www.safehaven.org

- Turn in by 10/31

(b) Commodore Trot

1. 5K Walk/Run around Vandy

2. Benefit Habitat for Humanity

3. Oct. 29th at 6 PM

- Let Kim know by Tues 10/14, $10 to participate (need to pre-register)

- If there’s any service projects/etc you have in mind, contact Kim

e. Treasurer: Samrat Chatterjee

- Fall installment of AcFee came in end of September

- We have money!

f. Secretary: Laura Williams

g. Honor Council President: Jonathan Wellons

- Just finished an investigation, will be having the hearing next week

- Always need volunteers to help with cases, especially the upcoming hearing, so contact Jonathan if you want to help out

- Next project will be the Honor Code translation project, so bilingual volunteers needed

V. University Committee Reports

a. University Parking Committee: Kimberly Boelte, Molly Brown, Samrat Chatterjee, & Jonathan Wellons

b. Student Recreation Center Committee: Josh Brooks & John Mackert

c. Calendar Committee: Jonathan Wellons & Carrie Whiting

d. Religious Affairs Committee : Jennell Talley, Alli McCoy, Mekeal TeShome, & Elizabeth Weber

e. Student Health Insurance Advisory Committee: Jon Ahlbin & Leslie Dowell

f. Graduate Development Network: Jon Ahlbin, Molly Brown & Steve Smartt

g. University Library Committee: Josh Barnett

h. Center for Teaching Advisory Board: Molly Brown

i. Student IT Leaders Committee: Alli McCoy & Brian Love

VI. Old Business

a. TA Carrels in Buttrick Hall

- Possibly being removed, Associate Dean Hetherington is forming a committee

- If you may be affected, talk to your department about the issue

- Working from our side throught he A&S Dean’s Office

VII. New Business

- Possibility of doing a sexual harassment seminar (again)

VIII. Call for Initial Concerns and Upcoming Events

a. Oct. 10th, 7 PM to Midnight, VandyLAN – www.vandylan.com to register

IX. Call for Announcements

X. Adjournment

Next Meeting:

Thursday, November 13, 2008 @ 6:30 PM

Featheringill Hall, Room 134

Please pass along the above information to other graduate students in your department

September 11, 2008

6:30 PM – 7:00 PM, Medical Research Building III, Room 1220

1. Welcome
2. Approval of September Agenda

- Approved

1. Approval of Minutes from July Meeting
2. Election of At-Large Members
3. Officer Reports

A. President: Jon Ahlbin

a. Graduate Development Network Update

i. Applying for NSF Graduate Research Fellowships, Sept. 14, 3:00 PM, SLC Board of Trust Room

ii. Grant & Fellowship Workshop, Sept. 20, 8:30 – 3:00 PM, Buttrick Hall – Natalie Inman

- Learn how to get your own funding to get out of being a TA or Research Assistant

- All graduate students are eligible, as well as post-docs and young faculty

- More workshops coming in the spring semester, also Prof 10, focus groups

iii. Workshops on Writing the Dissertation Proposal (8:30 – 11:00) & Writing the Dissertation (1:00-4:30), Oct. 21, 101 Buttrick Hall

iv. Women in Academia, Oct. 31, 12:10 – 1:30 PM in SLC

- Informal meet & greet (all students, not just women) for networking

v. International LENS Film Series, Sarratt Cinema

- Frequent (weekly?) short foreign films and discussion – free!

b. Two reps. needed for Student Health Insurance Advisory Committee

- Come talk to Jon if you’re interested

c. Free Ride now extended to grad students, just swipe your student ID on the bus

B. Vice President of Academic Affairs: Molly Brown

a. Graduate Student Research Day, March 30, 2009 in SLC

- Way to present your research to the campus community

i. Faculty advisory panel

- Part of effort to get more students (via the faculty) involved in the GSRD

ii. Keynote speaker

- Decided to get Susal Basalla, on non-academic careers for graduate students

b. Maternity Policy

- Not all departments currently have a formal policy

- Seeking volunteers to draft a university-wide policy

c. Center for Teaching Update

- Just moved to new space at the corner of 19^th and Edgehill

- Reminder, have a teaching material library available for use

- Upcoming workshops on discussion leading, writing a teaching statement, evidence-based teaching, the CfT Teaching Certificate Program

C. Vice Presidents of Social Affairs: Megan Johnson and Josh Barnett

a. Update on success of graduate student orientation social

- Fabulous turnout, much fun was had

b. Upcoming activities

i. Check the website for specific dates: studentorgs.vanderbilt.edu/gsc

- First Tuesday of the month – GSC happy hour at Sam’s in Hillsboro, 6-8 pm

- 9/16, 10/7, 11/4, 12/2

- October – Corn Maze at Rippa Villa

- 10/18 – Sweeney Todd at TPAC, email for tickets coming out soon

- 10/28 – Avenue Q, tickets $10

- Predators games – 10/30 (vs. Oilers), 12/4 (vs. Avalanche)

- Email Megan Johnson (megan.e.johnson@vanderbilt.edu) with special events going on around town, will be posted to the GSC website

- Not GSC, but through Vanderbilt can go to movies at the Belcourt (FlickX) and get cheap performance tickets

D. Vice President of Community Affairs: Kimberly Boelte

a. Item drive for Safe Haven Family Shelter, Sept. TBD

b. Possible future events

i. Oct. – Step Out to Fight Diabetes

ii. Nov. – Nashville Rescue Mission

iii. Dec. – Gift drive for children

c. Individual opportunities

i. Office of Active Citizenship, www.vanderbilt.edu/oacs

ii. Hands on Nashville, www.hon.org

- Contact Kim if you want to help

E. Treasurer: Samrat Chatterjee

F. Secretary: Laura Williams

a. GSC listserv

G. Honor Council President: Jonathan Wellons

- Discussing creating an Honor Code Cheat Sheet (heh)

- Need volunteers to help translate it into different languages

- Process – a claim is made, investigation is done, hearing is held

- One case ongoing, always need volunteers for conducting investigations and being on hearing committees

H. Webmaster: Alli McCoy

VI. University Committee Reports:

A. University Parking Committee: Kimberly Boelte, Molly Brown, Samrat Chatterjee, & Jonathan Wellons

- First meeting at the end of September, give any complaints to the GSC committee members to bring in front of the Parking Committee

B. Student Recreation Center Committee: Josh Brooks & John Mackert

C. Calendar Committee: Jonathan Wellons & Carrie Whiting

D. Religious Affairs Committee : Jennell Talley, Alli McCoy, Mekeal TeShome, & Elizabeth Weber

E. Student Health Insurance Advisory Committee: Need two reps

F. Graduate Development Network: Jon Ahlbin, Molly Brown & Steve Smartt

G. University Library Committee: Josh Barnett

H. Center for Teaching Advisory Board: Molly Brown

- See above

VII. Old Business

A. Graduate student meal plan

a. Flex meal plan currently priced at 10 meals for $81.94

- www.vanderbilt.edu/dining/flexmeals.php

b. Surveys to be sent out to collect data to create better plan

- Piloted on the Special Ed department, will be sending out a survey to each department rep for dissemination to all students

- Early results show that people would be interested if the price was better

VIII. New Business

IV. Call for Initial Concerns and Upcoming Events

B. Graduate seminar on equity and diversity – Carolyn Cusick

a. Oct. 3-4, 2008

b. Organized by the Graduate Students of the Department of Philosophy, called “Transforming Knowledge”

c. Based on a survey report done by the philosophy grad students on why certain groups aren’t getting PhDs in philosophy

C. Border Crossings: Boundaries of Cultural Interpretation – David Wiseman

a. Oct. 16-18, 2008

b. Organized by the Graduate Students of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese

X. Call for Announcements:

XI. Adjournment

Next Meeting:

Thursday, October 9, 2008 @ 6:30 PM

Medical Research Building III Room 1220

Please pass along the above information to other graduate students in your department

July 21, 2008

6:00 – 7:00, Medical Research Building III, Room 1220

I. Approval of July Agenda

- Approved

II. Approval of Minutes from June Meeting

- Approved

III. Election of At-Large Members

IV. Officer Reports

A. President: Jon

a. Update on finding a speaker for GSRD

- Have a current list, working on narrowing it down

- Will also take other suggestions

b. GSPPD Update

- Report from Kim Petrie about graduate consortium re: career counseling for grad students

- Consortium about social sciences PhD and 5 year outcomes, counseling resources, and need to bring the programs up to date

- Focus on realistic aspects of professorship

- Campus career center – grad students are not the focus and will not be for a while

- If we want it improved, need to get our deans to work with the career center to get a change

- Presentation on psych & counseling center, don’t forget that they offer some career and aptitude advice/testing as well

- Grant-writing workshop on September 21, dissertation workshop on October 21

B. Vice President of Academic Affairs: Molly

a. Update on planning for next year’s GSRD

- Date is set for Monday, 3/30/09

- Currently inviting faculty to be on guidance panel for GSRD, won’t be making any firm plans until September

C. Vice Presidents of Social Affairs: Megan and Josh

a. Update on past and future summer activities

- Alcohol training seminar was done

- Yazoo Brewery tour was awesome and well-attended

b. Update graduate student orientation

- Moved to Light Hall Atrium, 5-8pm on August 25

c. Upcoming

- Business school interested in doing some events with us in the future

- Sounds game on Thursday, free tickets!

D. Vice President of Community Affairs: Kimberly

a. Upcoming service opportunities

i. Ronald McDonald House Dinner on July 30th at 5 PM

- On 24^th (walking distance)

- Will be emailing out (somehow) to all grad students to get as many people as possible involved

- Email Kim if you want to help plan the menu/volunteer

E. Treasurer: Samrat

F. Secretary: Laura

- Will be updating the health insurance guide soon and getting it online/sent out for dissemination

- Thanks to everyone who has been helping with the wiki, keep on going!

G. Honor Council President: Jonathan

- Start investigating first summer case next week

- Will be saying a few words during Orientation about Honor Code as it applies to grad students

H. Webmaster: Alli

V. University Committee Reports:

A. University Parking Committee: Kimberly Boelte, Molly Brown, Samrat Chatterjee, & Jonathan Wellons

B. Student Recreation Center Committee: Josh Brooks & John Mackert

C. Calendar Committee: Jonathan Wellons & Carrie Whiting

D. Religious Affairs Committee : Jennell Talley, Alli Beck, Mekeal TeShome, & Elizabeth Weber

E. Student Insurance Advisory Board: Josh Brooks

F. Graduate Student Professional and Personal Development Committee: Jon Ahlbin, Molly Brown & Steve Smartt

G. University Library Committee: Josh Barnett

H. Center for Teaching Advisory Board: Molly Brown

VI. Old Business

VII. New Business

VIII. Call for Initial Concerns and Upcoming Events

- If you’re interested in helping out the social committee, especially for the orientation party, let Megan and Josh know

A. Call for Announcements:

IX. Adjournment

Graduate Student Orientation

Monday, August 25, 2008 @ 3-5PM at Student Life Center

Food and drinks immediately following in Light Hall Atrium

NO August meeting!

Please pass along the above information to other graduate students in your department.

June 23, 2008

6:00 – 7:00, Medical Research Building III, Room 1220

I. Approval of June Agenda

- Approved

II. Approval of Minutes from April Meeting

- Approved

III. Election of At-Large Members

New reps

- Carrie Whiting – cancer bio

- Steven Vilt – ChemE

- Robin Bairley – bio sciences

IV. Officer Reports

A. President: Jon

a. Update on finding a speaker for GSRD

i.Email jon.ahlbin@vanderbilt.edu for suggestions

b. Reminder about bus program

- Steve is still working on formal approval for the program, although we currently can ride it free

- If you know anyone who is having issues/being charged, please contact Jon so he and Steve can figure out where the kinks are

c. Update on getting meal plan for graduate students

- Jon talked to faculty, they were contacted by Dining Services, not the other way around

- Try to get feedback of how many faculty actually use it?

- Price has risen from $5/meal to $7/meal

- If you’re interested, contact VanderbiltDining@vanderbilt.edu to show that there’s interest

B. Vice President of Academic Affairs: Molly

a. Update on planning for next year’s GSRD

i. Potential dates for GSRD 2009: Monday, Jan. 12th or Monday, March 30th

ii. Forming an Advisory panel of faculty members

1. Email molly.n.fricke@vanderbilt.edu for nominations

C. Vice Presidents of Social Affairs: Megan and Josh

a. Upcoming summer activities

- June 24, 6-8, Happy Hour at Sam’s

- June 25 – Movies in the Park (“Shrek III”) at Centennial

- June 30 – Alcohol training session, RSVP to Josh if you’re coming

- June 24 – Sounds game vs Tacoma

b. Update graduate student orientation

- August 25, email if you want to help out

- Location TBA

c. T-shirts for sale: $5/each. First VU graduate student shirt in history.

D. Vice President of Community Affairs: Kimberly

a. Explanation of position

- Plan community events

- Foster communication with other graduate/professional groups on campus

b. Possible summer service events

- July – Ronald McDonald house dinner – bring food, prepare and serve

- September – Hands On Nashville (9/27?), work in repairing Metro schools

- Email Kim with suggestions for other service events

E. Treasurer: Samrat

a. Budget update

- $21,000 for the coming year – a whole $1000 more!

F. Secretary: Laura

- Let Laura know if you are a new department rep/aren’t going to be a rep for the coming year

- Help work on the wiki! Would like to get done by August

G. Honor Council President: Jonathan

- Two cases in the queue from spring semester

- Normally don’t do cases in the summer, but if there are enough people on campus we might handle the cases this summer

- Email Jonathan if you’re available to investigate or serve on the honor council

H. Webmaster: Alli

- Email Alli for wiki editing privileges if you want to help

II. University Committee Reports:

A. University Parking Committee: Erica Bowton, Molly Brown, & Amy Pyle

B. Student Recreation Center Committee: Josh Brooks & John Mackert

C. Calendar Committee: Amy Pyle & Rory Pruitt

- Carrie Whiting volunteer

D. Religious Affairs Committee : Jennell Talley, Alli Beck, Mekeal TeShome, & Elizabeth Weber

E. Student Insurance Advisory Board: Josh Brooks

F. Graduate Student Professional and Personal Development Committee: Jon Ahlbin & Steve Smartt

G. University Library Committee: Josh Barnett

H. Center for Teaching Advisory Board: Molly Brown

III. Old Business

- Josh should be getting his 14 boxes of transition materials to Jon soon

IV. New Business

V. Call for Initial Concerns and Upcoming Events

VI. Call for Announcements:

VII. Adjournment

Summer meetings

Monday, July 21, 2008 @ 6:00 in Medical Research Building (MRB) III, Room 1220

Please pass along the above information to other graduate students in your department.

April 17, 2008

6:30 – 8:00, Medical Research Building III, Room 1220

I. Approval of April Agenda

II. Approval of Minutes from March Meeting

III. Election of At-Large Members

IV. Steve Smartt and Anna Letcher to discuss graduate stipends

- Update on direct deposit for stipends (different from wages for TA/RA)

- Five department pilot program has been successful, piloted of 130-ish students among different areas of the university (about 80% of people in pilot have opted in)

- Online application, online payment history, has been very popular

- Will be extending to all grad students

- Will hear in a month or so for a report to make sure everything has/will work

- Hope to transition in mid-summer for the fall

- Will be paid on the on the 30^th of the month for everyone (including those currently paid on the 10^th of the month, will get it 10 days sooner, NOT 20 days later)

- Payment can go into any American-based bank, so you can get your paycheck even if you’re doing work outside of Nashville

- Thank you to Erica Bowden for presenting at Graduate Education Week at the TN Capitol

V.A President report

a. Sexual harassment seminar will be in the end of April (yes, during finals)

- Has been put together by the Women’s Center (yay for them!)

b. James Lang talk was well-attended, discussed what we can expect during academic careers on the tenure track

- Spent next day doing podcast for Center for Teaching (on their website), talked to junior faculty

c. Collecting information about other grad student organizations

- Looking to get officers/contact names so we can collaborate with them

d. Also a sheet for department rep names for next year (if known yet)

- If you don’t know now, email Jon when you do

- Will be having a few summer meetings/events to have fun, plan for next year/orientation while people have a bit of extra timme

e. Goals for next year

- Molly will discuss later

V.B VP Academic Affairs report

“This is the first PowerPoint I’ve made. I’m in English and we don’t use this sort of new-fangled technology” – Sarah Kersh

a. Thank you to everyone who helped with GSRD – committee, volunteers, attendees

- 86 presentations (21 posters, 65 oral, 12 moderators) – 29 departments represented (20% more than last year)

- 103 attendees to oral presentations, does not include posters

- Heard mostly through email (59%) and word-of-mouth (44%), flyer was last (20%)

- Had good ratings for room setup, technology (with thanks to the Comp Sci department)

- Start looking forward to next year!

V.C VP Social Affairs report

a. Spring social

- Thanks to everyone who helped flyer, get food, clean up

- High attendance

b. Summer fun ideas

- 4/22 April Happy Hour

- 5/31 Jesus Christ Superstar at TPAC

- Emails will be going out for more events as they are planned

V.D Treasurer report

- Still waiting to hear about our AcFee application

- Will email when we get the allocation

V.E Secretary report

V.F Honor Council report

- Can always use more people for Honor Council core, so sign up with Erica if you’re interested in serving for next year

V.G Webmaster report

- Working on updates to the website

- New WordPress format, adding an RSS feed

VI.A University parking committee

- ZipCar coming to campus next year

- Membership fees, cheap car rentals by the hour

- Meeting in a few weeks, will send out a detailed email at that time

- Would like input on models of cars desired

VI.B Calendar committee

- Meeting in the beginning of May to decide on 2010

VI.D GSPPD

- Discussed how to improve faculty attendance for GSRD

- Mona Fredericks suggested having a faculty input board, won’t give away control but make it more attractive to faculty, hear about it from other faculty

- Will be having Prof 101 again next year, grant writing workshops in fall (9/20/08, hope to have NSF representation) and spring (both for students and for faculty to teach students)

- 10/21/08 will be dissertation writing workshop (this year includes proposal writing in addition to actual dissertation writing)

- Had 13 people apply for grad student assistant position, interviewing now

VII. Old business

- Jon and Josh have been working to transition ongoing issues from this year on to next year

VIII. New business

A. Official turnover to new officers, last meeting for several people

- Thank you for service to Alyson, Erica, Alli, Ingrid, Laura, Josh Barnett, Megan, Sarah, Josh Brooks

B. Remarks from Jon (via Molly)

- Want to wrap up Free Ride program, direct deposit for stipends

- Want to accomplish getting a maternity policy for all women grad students, meal plan option for grad students

- New position for coming year of VP Community Affairs, goal of at least one service project per month, strengthen relationships with other professional schools

- Overall, want more participation at meetings/social events/GSRD

- Tentative meeting for June planned

“I’ve obviously been doing this since God was four.” – Josh Brooks

IX. Announcements

- Keep a watch for summer activities

- Pass along names of department reps as they come in

- Email Jon Ahlbin with any questions, concerns, and issues

- Orientation party is August 25

I. Approval of March Agenda

- Approved

II. Approval of Minutes from February Meeting

- Approved

III. Election of At-Large Members

IV. Officer Reports

A. President: Josh

a. Upcoming seminar on Sexual Harrassment in April

- Due to large volume of events in early April will be moving seminar to the end of next month

- Women’s Center and ODC have done a lot of work towards it

b. Visit from James Lang, Graduate Student Research Day Speaker 2008

- March 31, 4:15pm, Student Life Center

- Should be a good talk, supposed to be very engaging

- Raised $3000 to help pay for the speaker (food, speaker fee, etc) – Dean Bandas, Grad School, English, Pharm, Robert Penn Warren Center, Center for Teaching all helped

i. Help with the rest of publicity

- Emails have gone out, have posters to hang up on Sunday/Monday

- Each rep will get an email that can be personalized for your department, send it to students as well as administrators

- All department heads have already been emailed

- Postcards should be appearing in mailboxes shortly

c. Goals for the next GSC

i. Review of 2008-2009 Officer Elections

- Jon’s list

- Follow through on Metro bus program

- Finish the Wiki

- Get a grad student meal plan

- More social activities

- Continue to expand GSRD

- May have a meeting or two during the summer, especially to plan the Orientation Party and facilitate summer grad student activities

d. New job available for graduate students

- Graduate Student Coordinator, much like the assistant we asked for to help with grad student affairs

- Will also be working with campus centers

- Well paid, $20,000 plus insurance for 20 hours a week, August to May

- Grab a flyer and apply, due by next Friday! Also help get the word out

- If you haven’t heard from your DGS, ask them about it

e. Update on new housing around campus

- No longer room to have grad students live in the commons, but still working on (paid) positions to work with undergrads there

- Next plan: knock down Kissam, build Commons-like community there with built-in positions for grad students as intellectual facilitators (NOT an RA)

- Gets stipend, free room/meal plan – stay tuned

- According to Susan Barge, grad students are in the long-term housing plans

B. Vice President of Academic Affairs: Sarah

a. Academic Committee

i. Graduate Student Research Day: March 31, 2008 in the Student Life Center

1. http://studentorgs.vanderbilt.edu/gsc/gsrd_abstracts_2008.pdf

- More participation than ever, have rented out the entire SLC

- About 2/3 of departments are represented (31 departments)

- All info is on the GSC website (address above)

ii. Needs from the Academic Affairs Committee

- Still need a moderator for a humanities panel, session from 1:30-2:30 (taken care of)

- Will be door prizes for attending and filling out a survey – gift cards, movie certificates, etc

- Need volunteers to stay and clean up after James Lang’s talk

C. Vice Presidents of Social Affairs: Megan and Josh

- Need help with: carrying kegs, working the door, setup, cleanup, make a flyers

- Starting to organize next year’s welcome event – Monday, August 27 from 5-8om

- Olin Lawn (same place as next year) for now

- Alcohol training session in May, all social committee members and officers need to attend and others are welcome

- Email Megan with your availability

- Contact Megan (megan.johnson@vanderbilt.edu) and Josh (joshua.m.barnett@vanderbilt.edu) if you’d like to help out with social events for the rest of the spring/summer, also contact if there are things you’re particularly interested in helping with

b. Upcoming Happy Hours

c. T-shirts for sale: $5/each. First VU graduate student shirt in history.

5. Rent: March 30

D. Treasurer: Ingrid

a. AcFee Process Update

- Issue with undergrads about who allocates our money has been resolved

- Ingrid has been attending AcFee subcommittee meetings for arts funding allocation, other committee members have been attending other special interest groups

- Asked for $47,000 for next year, remains to be seen how much we’ll get

E. Secretary: Laura

- If you signed up on the committee, please try to get to your assigned articles

- Goal is to finish the wiki this summer

F. Honor Council President: Erica

G. Webmaster: Alli

- Email Alli if you want to work on the Wiki and don’t currently have editing priviledges

V. University Committee Reports:

A. University Parking Committee: Erica Bowton, Molly Fricke, & Amy Pyle

B. Student Recreation Center Committee: Josh Brooks & John Mackert

C. Calendar Committee: Amy Pyle & Rory Pruitt

D. Religious Affairs Committee : Jennell Talley, Alli Beck, Mekeal TeShome, & Elizabeth Weber

E. Freshman Commons Committee: Josh Brooks

F. Student Insurance Advisory Board: Josh Brooks

- Insurance only raising $20 for next year, to $1958

- Preexisting condition clause is now only 6 months instead of existing 12 months

G. Graduate Student Professional and Personal Development Committee: Josh Brooks & Steve Smartt

- Women’s Center is bringing Dr. Sue Rosser, former director of NSF, on April 15 in Stevenson

- Helping to publicize the “We Speak For Ourselves” lecture series from the Robert Penn Warren Center (so post flyers, even if you can’t go) – April 3-4

- Based on a Vandy grad’s book on African-American experience in speaking for themselves

- Warren Center is digitizing the tapes so they’re online

- Speakers on the tapes are being brought to campus to speak on Vanderbilt and civil rights history

H. University Library Committee: Josh Barnett

I. Center for Teaching Advisory Board : Sarah Kersh

VI. Old Business

- Josh is still looking in to meal plan, health insurance issues raised last meeting

- Bus system – currently haphazard, but now doing a cost-benefit analysis of making the program official

- Steve Smartt is working on the report, should hopefully know more next week

VII. New Business

A. The process of GSC Turnover

- Introduction of officers for next year (for those who were not here last month)

- If anyone would like to buy goodbye/thank you gifts for the outgoing officers, Josh Brooks would gladly accept an iPhone, Palm Pilot, etc.

VIII. Call for Initial Concerns and Upcoming Events

A. Susan Barge, from Student Housing, will be speaking next month

IV. Call for Announcements

A. Who Speaks? With the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities

-Thursday, March 27, Antoinette Brown lecture series in Benton Chapel at 7pm (keynote event of Divinity School)

- Sign up for AlertVU if you haven’t already

X. Adjournment

Spring meetings:

Thursday, April 17, 2008 @ 6:30 in Medical Research Building (MRB) III, Room 1220

(Turnover meeting for the 2008-2009 GSC)

Please pass along the above information to other graduate students in your department.