MINUTES
Graduate & Professional Student Assembly Council of Representatives
April 26th, 1999
Big Red Barn Graduate & Professional Student Center Greenhouse
5:00 P.M.

I. Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by Stefan Hames, GPSA Vice President, at 5:05 p.m.

II. Open Forum

Dennis Carlson, Statistics, announced that the JA search committee is currently interviewing finalists for the position of Judicial Administrator at Cornell. The committee has already met with two of the final candidates and plans to meet with the other three. D.Carlson asked that members e-mail him at dwc14@cornell.edu if they have any questions.

A member inquired if this would be the appropriate place to inquire about using color printing for one’s thesis. She stated this would be a particularly useful feature in her department and her constituents had asked that this issue be broached.

S.Hames stated he is also interested in this topic because it would be useful in his field, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. He stated the thesis advisor in the Graduate School will be informed of this interest and it will also be brought to the attention of the General Committee of the Graduate School. He asked that any additional information be e-mailed to rsh5@cornell.edu.

III. Announcements and Reports

A) Meeting Schedule

S.Hames announced the last meeting of the 1998–99 GPSA will be held on April 26 at 5:00 p.m. The organizational meeting of the 1999–2000 GPSA will be held immediately after that 5:00 meeting.

B) Academic Leadership Series John Schwarz, GPSA President, explained that the Academic Leadership Series is a series of meetings held annually. This year, the May meeting will focus on the topic of graduate education. Various issues related to this topic will be discussed. He noted invitations will be sent out to various graduate students asking them to attend. The meeting will be a half day retreat attended by approximately 200 faculty members, administrators, and graduate students.

S.Hames encouraged members to attend this event should they receive an invitation.

Lynette Millett, Computer Science, suggested that attendees think ahead about what specific issues they would like to discuss at the meeting and come prepared to discuss them. She felt that prior planning would help maximize time spent at the retreat.

C) CIT Committee S.Hames stated the GPSA still needs to appoint a representative to the Student Assembly Committee on Information and Technologies (CIT Committee). He stated this committee is important because it is looking at various technology-related issues, such as long-term planning for CIT. He asked that interested members contact himself or Bonnie Bailey, Office of the Assemblies.

D) Kosovo Relief Effort Ayca Cubukcu, Government, announced she is organizing a campaign to assist the refugee children from Kosovo. She informed the GPSA that this campaign has received official recognition from UNICEF. She stated she would like to have the GPSA join in co-sponsoring this campaign. A.Cubukcu then read a statement explaining what the funds would be used for:

Dear friends, My name is Ayca Cubukcu. I am an undergraduate at Cornell University. I am organizing a donation campaign on Cornell campus for UNICEF to help the Kosovar refugee children. I have been in contact with the UNICEF office in New York City. They have officially recognized this campaign and given me full support. The reason I am here is to seek your support as leaders of organizations on Cornell Campus. I am working independent of any organization, but need your support as co-sponsors of this donation campaign. The aim is having the support of many organizations on Campus and making this humanitarian endeavor a broad based effort. On Monday, I am meeting with the acting Dean of Students to discuss the details of the campaign and seek the University’s approval of this activity. As you may well imagine, the approval process takes a long time - two to three weeks. On the other hand, some exceptions are granted. Given the urgency of the situation and the fact that there are only four weeks of classes left, I am asking for your organizations’ prompt response. I believe that if there is enough support and enthusiasm, reflected in an immense number of co-sponsors, we can begin the campaign by Wednesday next week. Let me assure you that your co-sponsorship need not require any financial commitment. We just need your support and voluntarism. The campaign will consist of tables across campus, with information sheets about UNICEF’s activities with regard to Kosovar refugees and sealed boxes for donations. The title of the campaign is “19,299 for Kosovo’s Children.” The number corresponds to the total number of Cornell students. The aim of the campaign is collecting 19,299 dollars - 1$ for each Cornell student. If you have any questions or want more details, please do not hesitate to call me or send me an e-mail.

Deidra Dees, GPSA Secretary, asked about collection points.

A.Cubukcu replied there will be collection tables in front of Willard Straight Hall and possibly in front of Uris Hall. She remarked that the number of tables they can have is limited by the number of volunteers to man the tables. She stated she would be open to suggestions about this topic. A.Cubukcu noted it would be possible for the GPSA to staff one table.

Amy Carroll, Microbiology, asked if it would be possible to send checks instead of cash.

A.Cubukcu replied there is currently no Cornell account for this campaign money and it is independent from established Cornell organization. She noted that because of this, they will handle cash. However, checks can be sent directly to UNICEF and she can provide an address for that. She noted that if the campaign is approved by the University it may be possible to open a University account.

Members requested permission to send the information, with A.Cubukcu’s e-mail address, to their listservs.

A.Cubukcu responded that she hopes the information will be widely distributed and informed members that her e-mail address is ac96@cornell.edu. She added she could be reached by phone at 272–7907. She encouraged members to become involved in some way and encouraged members to do anything on their own about this issue.

S.Hames asked members if he could forward A.Cubukcu’s statement to the GPSA listserv.

Members agreed this should be done.

IV. Business of the Day

A) Review of the 1998–99 GPSA/COR Activities

J.Schwarz reported the GPSA has accomplished quite a bit this year. He stated the GPSA has made strides in improving external communications. The GPSA is one of five Assemblies at Cornell and progress has made in communicating with the other Assemblies. There has also been progress in relations with administration. For example, there have been Leadership Meetings held each month that allow the leadership of the Assemblies to discuss issues with the administration. Previously, the agenda for these meetings was set by having the Assemblies’ leadership submit questions to the administration. The Assemblies’ leadership felt this procedure was too one-sided. Now, the administration assists with setting the agenda and provides a briefing to the leadership of the Assemblies about important issues or concerns. J.Schwarz stated he is hopeful this change will allow the GPSA to be more proactive. He noted relations with the Graduate School and its administration has also been strengthened.

S.Hames agreed, noting that the Graduate School has approached the GPSA on various occasions when it needed graduate student input. For example, this was done for the TA/RA committee, which presented a report to the administration. That recommendation is currently being reviewed by administrators and it is hoped it will be used in setting Cornell policies. S.Hames stated the GPSA also got involved with the Cornell University Alcohol Policy. There was language in this policy which was not acceptable to the GPSA. He noted the GPSA was informed late about this issue, but the GPSA representatives to the UA were able to prevent the proposed policy from passing. Subsequently, a GPSA ad-hoc committee met with the writers of the policy in order to make the language of the policy more acceptable. S.Hames added that communication with TCAT improved and hopefully this will continue.

B) Future Plans for the GPSA

S.Hames informed members one big issue the GPSA will face is health insurance. The insurance carrier used by Cornell has been Chickering. It had proposed a 20% increase in premiums during contract renegotiations. Cornell’s Department of Risk Management decided this would be too expensive and opened up the health plan to bids by various companies. S.Hames stated the GPSA should take an active role on this issue because many graduate students would be affected.

S.Hames stated the GPSA must set the Graduate Student Activity Fee next year. He noted that a new GPSAFC chair will be needed because the current chair, Michael Cosh, Civil Engineering, is unable to continue. He requested that M.Cosh address members about this committee.

M.Cosh explained there are two committees which will need a new chair. The first is the Funding Policy Committee(FPC) which is the committee that actually sets the Graduate Student Activity Fee. Most of the work will be done in the fall and the overall time commitment for the FPC will be less than the time commitment for the GPSAFC. The GPSAFC works throughout the year, but is less active in the fall and very busy in the spring. M.Cosh stated there is one current member who has expressed interested in the position of GPSAFC chair. The GPSAFC distributes money to smaller organizations, and is similar to the SAFC. It meets once a month to discuss budget proposals and special project requests. During the spring, budget allocations are made and groups are informed of the GPSAFC’s decision. He stated he has learned a lot about organizations and events on campus from serving on this committee and encouraged members to participate.

S.Hames stated another issue of interest to the GPSA is regarding the student-elected Trustee position. He stated the GPSA would like to have a student-elected Trustee seat specifically designated for a graduate student. Currently, student-elected Trustee seats do not differentiate undergraduates from graduates, and it is felt that the two communities have different concerns. It is difficult getting a graduate student elected, given the numerical disproportion of undergraduates and graduates. More work needs to be done on this issue.

V. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned by S.Hames at 5:45 p.m

Respectfully Submitted, Stephanie Tinsley