R.6: Regarding the Charter and Bylaws of the Graduate & Professional Student Assembly

Whereas it is stated in the current GPSA Bylaws (Sect III.2 (d.vi)):

• The Committee shall review the Charter biennially during non-Activity Fee setting years. All resolutions to change the GPSA Charter during a non-Activity Fee setting year must first be reviewed by the Committee prior to submission to the voting members of the GPSA.

Whereas beginning in January 2010 with discussions of an informal working group, members of the Graduate and Professional Student community have expressed concerns about the current structure of the GPSA Charter and Bylaws;

Whereas the presentation of the GPSA Resolution 16 in March 2010, formally debated before the GPSA and tabled by a motion of its members, stirred a conversation that has engaged many Graduate and Professional students in the past year;

Whereas beginning in October 2011, the currently standing GPSA Operations and Staffing Committee, with representation and input from the various standing GPSA committees and a variety of Graduate and Professional Students, began the process of reviewing the GPSA Charter and Bylaws;

Whereas at open meetings held at the Big Red Barn on November 8, 2010, December 6, 2010, and January 31, 2011, the committee discussed a variety of issues and concerns about the current GPSA Charter and Bylaws;

Whereas these discussions were often supplemented and augmented by discussion on the GPSA online forum at www.CornellGPSA.com;

Whereas the chair of the committee, the Vice-President of Operations, updated the members of the GPSA about the progress of these discussions at its regularly scheduled meetings;

Whereas the committee has reviewed the history of the working documents of the GPSA, since its inception in 1996 and through the recent debates of the past year;

Whereas after formal and informal meetings of the committee, discussion on the GPSA online forum, e-mails exchanged by members of the GPSA, a final meeting to discuss and finalize the details of the GPSA Charter and Bylaws was held on February 17, 2011;

Whereas, as that meeting, the voting members of committee approved the attached governing documents four to one;

Whereas the changes made to the governing documents of the GPSA ensures clearer rights for all Graduate and Professional students, clarifies the rights and responsibilities of membership within the GPSA; provides better organizational efficiency of the GPSA, separates the office of Executive Vice-President from the Communications Chair and changes the role of the Executive Vice President towards that of a true executive; moves certain procedures of the GPSA from the Charter to the Bylaws, including the enumeration of all standing committees; changes the name of the Events Committee to the Graduate and Professional Student Programming Board, changes the format of meetings, mandates Area Summits, clarifies absences and removal procedures; encourages greater diversity in the GPSA, calls for focus groups to address questions of diversity and mental health; changes the procedures for the election of members and officers; and eliminates the formal biennial Charter review process;

Whereas these changes reduce the length of the current GPSA Charter by nearly thirty percent (from approximately 6,331 words to 4,427 words), thereby increasing the readability and clarity of the document;

Whereas these changes do not radically alter the current practices of the GPSA with respect to membership, organization, or operation;

Whereas the changes made to the GPSA Charter are intended to allow the GPSA to operate more cohesively and efficiently, and to focus more on the business charged to it by the Charter and less on the internal workings of the governing body;

Be it therefore resolved that the GPSA approves the changes to the GPSA Charter and GPSA Bylaws contained in the documents attached to this resolution as the governing documents of the GPSA.

Be it further resolved that the GPSA is still required to review its Bylaws each year and should continue to use that opportunity to address necessary changes in committee structure and operating procedures.

Be it further resolved that the Office of Assemblies post the new GPSA Charter and Bylaws on the GPSA Website for public access and download.

Be it finally resolved that this resolution be sent to Peggy Beach, Director of the Office of Assemblies; Kent Hubbell, Dean of Students; Barbara Knuth, Vice-Provost and Dean of the Graduate School; and to President David Skorton for his approval.

Respectfully Submitted,

Thomas J. Balcerski
Graduate & Professional Student Assembly Humanities Representative
Vice President for Operations / Operations & Staffing Committee Chair

Kyle Albert
Graduate & Professional Student Assembly Social Sciences Representative
GPSA Appropriations Chair

Evan Cortens
Graduate & Professional Student Assembly Humanities Representative
UA Graduate/Professional Student Representative

Brian Forster
Counsel to the GPSA